Piazza del Duomo, Florence. Copyright Gretta Schifano
This summer we went to the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy for a family holiday. We spent a few days in the beautiful city of Bologna while we were there. I’ve already written several posts about our trip (the links are at the bottom of this page), but this post is about our day trip to Florence from Bologna by train.
Emilia-Romagna is in the northern part of Italy, below Venice and above Tuscany. Bologna is the region’s capital, and has fantastic train connections to other parts of Italy. This makes it a great place to base yourself if you’re exploring Italy, especially as it’s much less touristy and, therefore, much cheaper than some of its famous neighbours (I’m looking at you, Venice and Tuscany).
Italian trains
I have happy memories of travelling by train in Italy. When I lived In Italy, as a student and then as an English teacher, my friends and I used to travel by train to different places in Italy, and beyond, whenever we got the chance. I then spent the summer after graduation interrailing around Italy with my boyfriend (now my husband). So when I learnt that Bologna is one of Italy’s main railway hubs, I decided that we’d have to go on a family train trip while we were staying there, even though we had a hire car.
Choosing a destination
It was very hard to decide where to go on our train trip, because Bologna is so very well connected by rail to so very many marvellous places. You can get to Rome from Bologna in less than two hours by train. Venice is just over an hour away, Turin two hours. I’ve been to all of these places, but I want to go to all of them again, because they’re fantastic (as is Bologna). It was impossible to choose between so many marvellous possibilities. In the, end we let our 17 year-old daughter decide where we should go on our railway trip, and she opted for the gorgeous Renaissance city of Florence in Tuscany, 35 minutes and around 70 miles away by train. I was delighted by her choice. Both my husband and I studied in Florence, at different times, but we’ve never been there with the kids, and I was really excited about taking them there. The historic centre of Florence is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is where the Renaissance came to be – it’s just an amazing place to experience.
Journey
We bought our tickets at Bologna station the evening before our trip and were on the 10.03 train from Bologna to Florence the next morning. The train was comfortable, clean and, crucially given the summer heat, air-conditioned. We had four seats around a table, with reading lights and charging points should we need them. A screen nearby showed us our route, progress and speed: the fastest speed which I saw displayed was 243 km/hr.
On the train from Bologna to Florence. Copyright Gretta Schifano
We seemed to spend much of the journey in tunnels, and we arrived at Santa Maria Novella station in the centre of Florence after just 37 minutes.
Florence
Florence is one of Europe’s greatest art centres and it was looking as breathtakingly beautiful as I remembered – but it was very hot, and very full of tourists. Five days into our trip, this was the first time that we’d ventured out of Emilia-Romagna, and it was the first time that we’d seen anyone other than Italians. We had no desire to drag the kids around any of the museums or galleries, and decided instead to explore the city on foot. Florence is very compact and it’s easy to find your way around.
We started off at San Lorenzo street market so that I could buy some marbled paper notebooks.
Handmade marbled paper, Florence. Copyright Gretta Schifano
Marbled paper is handmade in the city and I think that it’s gorgeous. We ambled along to the famous Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio and the Piazza della Signoria, with many photo stops on the way.
Ponte Vecchio, Florence. Copyright Gretta Schifano
We stopped for lunch at a cafe near the Boboli Gardens (40 euros, around £28, for four sandwiches and some still water) and I realised that the kids had had enough of traipsing around. My husband, however, was still keen to explore and revisit the city where he’d spent a happy year as a student.
So, after lunch we wandered back to Piazza della Signoria and found a shady spot under a beautiful portico where we sat for a while.
Piazza della Signoria, Florence. Copyright Gretta Schifano
I stayed there with the kids while my husband set off with the camera to walk up to Piazzale Michelangelo, which offers panoramic views of the city.
View of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo. Copyright Sal Schifano
We agreed to meet at the station to catch our 4.30 train back to Bologna. The kids and I went to look in some of the city’s designer shops and then went to have an ice-cream on our way to the station. The train was half an hour late in leaving Florence, but it was interesting waiting at the station and watching the comings and goings. My son was delighted when the local Serie A football team, Fiorentina, suddenly strode through the station en masse. He and my husband followed them outside and watched as they boarded their team bus.
Verdict
I loved going back to Florence – although I’m glad that we weren’t staying there, because it was so very busy. The train journey was very straightforward and it’s great that you can easily reach so many places by train from Bologna.
My husband says: ‘It was good to see Florence again and to show the kids around. It was really easy getting the train. Parking in Florence would have been difficult.’
My daughter says: ‘The train was a lot better than I’d excepted it to be. It was really handy to get the train. Florence was nice, but it was really packed with tourists. It was fine wandering around like we did.’
My son says: ‘I liked seeing the Fiorentina footballers at the station’.
Cost
Our return tickets from Bologna to Florence on a high speed Frecciargento train cost 48 euros (around £33) per person and cost nothing for my son because children under 14 years old travel for free on these trains (n.b. child discounts vary across train companies in Italy).
Read more
If you’d like to read more about our summer trip to Emilia-Romagna, check out these posts:
A family trip to Bologna, Italy
Mirabilandia & Mirabilandia Beach
Great places to stay in Emilia-Romagna
Atlantica water park, Cesenatico
Room Report: Hotel Tiffany, Cesenatico
Recommended guide books
The guide books which I recommend for visiting Florence are the Lonely Planet Italy Travel Guide
Would you like to go to Florence or Bologna?
If you’d like to visit Florence or Bologna, contact Julia at Truly Yours Holidays on +44 (0)3330 113388. Julia is an independent travel agent and she can arrange your flights, accommodation, car hire and more.
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Il Duomo, Florence. Copyright Gretta Schifano
Your post brought back strong memories of taking my Mum to Florence. We also went by train- from where we were staying in Lake Maggiore- and it took in beautiful swathe of Italian countryside. My Mum though that getting a train to Florence independently was one of the most adventurous things she had ever done and it was a real part of the journey. But the highlight for both of us was standing in front of Michelangelo’s David.
Getting a train in a foreign country always feels like an adventure to me – I’m with your Mum! I should have included a photo of David in here – but there are so many beautiful things to see in Florence that it was hard to choose which photos to use.
We went to Florence for the day by train on our honeymoon. It was a lovely day trip and I remember some of the places from your photographs. It’s been over 17 years since we visited and I would love to go back to explore further.
nessjibberjabberuk recently posted…Finance Fridays – Switching Energy Suppliers
Your post brought back memories for me as well. Back to when I came to be with you for your 21st in Florence. It was the first time I had ever been on my own on a plane, we couldn’t afford for both your Dad and I to go.
We had some lovely times together and I was also able to explore Florence on my own whilst you were at the University. All very exciting and I think we had lunch on your birthday somewhere near the Ponte Vecchio. I still have the photos!
Jenny Young recently posted…A train trip to Florence
I didn’t know that was the first time you’d been on your own on a plane (although I must have done at the time) – you were very brave!
Trains always seem such a wonderful way to travel – my parents have done a few trips around the alps in them. x
Sarah Bailey recently posted…Christmas at Prezzybox
We are off there next year and I cannot wait to go thanks to this post :0)
Kara recently posted…Save money on family days out with Kids Pass!
Thank you – glad that you enjoyed it!
Wow it all looks so fabulous, I really want to visit Florence and train always feels like a traditional way to go
Abi – Angel Eden Blog recently posted…Drayton Manor’s Magical Christmas Review
We have never been to Italy with Emma and are planning on going next summer, by ferry, from Greece. This post has provided many insightful tips, like ticket and lunch prices and busyness so I think we may choose to stay in a smaller town when we go and always have a packed lunch with us, £40 for 4 sandwiches is a bit steep!xx
oana79 recently posted…Children’s Grief Awareness Week UK
You’re right, in smaller places in Italy you can get much better value for money. Florence is full of tourists and so the prices are higher than in less famous places.
An interesting post, esp as we are thinking of travelling to the Lakes in Italy next year with no car, and to travel by train. Lovely photos x
mama syder recently posted…Living Room Makeover – Retro Style
That sounds like a wonderful trip.
This sounds and looks like a fabulous trip Gretta. I love Florence too, an incredible city and so romantic. What an amazing time you must of had living there:)
Lisa (Travel Loving Family) recently posted…Enchanted Christmas at Westonbirt Arboretum
It was great, I’m very lucky to have had that experience.