Florence- Livorno or LaSpezia Port Information
Getting Around-
From Livorno- Here is a great site on how to take a train to Florence. First, you take the shuttle to downtown Livorno. It drops you off near a McDonalds and there is a bus stop just across the street which can take you to the train station. Pisa is only 15 minutes away, and Florence is about an hour and a half. You arrive in Florence at the Santa Maria Novella station, which is in the Western part of the old city. Get a good map before you go to maximize your time.
From La Spezia- You must first take a train to Pisa and change trains there to get to Florence. The LaSpezia train station is a 15 minute walk from the port. The journey to Florence will take at least 2.5 hours. The station you will get off at in Florence is Florence SM Novella which is a 10 minute walk from the Duomo. Find exact times at the Italian rail site here. Remember, the last tender leaves at 7:30 pm.
Going to Pisa on your own should be much easier to navigate as it is only an hour away, allowing you more time to cushion your return.
You can also visit the Cinque Terre which is a collection of charming little villages on the Italian coast, by train while at this port.
From the LaSpezia train station, you would take the train toward Genova (final destination listed as Sestri Levante). Tickets are only 1.40 euros for all 5 stops and is good for 6 hours with stopovers. Make sure you validate your ticket! The towns are Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso al Mare. Rick Steves has a great section on the Cinque Terre in his Best of Europe book and Italy book.
For our opinions on Florence, read our Florence Port Review Page.
From Livorno- Here is a great site on how to take a train to Florence. First, you take the shuttle to downtown Livorno. It drops you off near a McDonalds and there is a bus stop just across the street which can take you to the train station. Pisa is only 15 minutes away, and Florence is about an hour and a half. You arrive in Florence at the Santa Maria Novella station, which is in the Western part of the old city. Get a good map before you go to maximize your time.
From La Spezia- You must first take a train to Pisa and change trains there to get to Florence. The LaSpezia train station is a 15 minute walk from the port. The journey to Florence will take at least 2.5 hours. The station you will get off at in Florence is Florence SM Novella which is a 10 minute walk from the Duomo. Find exact times at the Italian rail site here. Remember, the last tender leaves at 7:30 pm.
Going to Pisa on your own should be much easier to navigate as it is only an hour away, allowing you more time to cushion your return.
You can also visit the Cinque Terre which is a collection of charming little villages on the Italian coast, by train while at this port.
From the LaSpezia train station, you would take the train toward Genova (final destination listed as Sestri Levante). Tickets are only 1.40 euros for all 5 stops and is good for 6 hours with stopovers. Make sure you validate your ticket! The towns are Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso al Mare. Rick Steves has a great section on the Cinque Terre in his Best of Europe book and Italy book.
For our opinions on Florence, read our Florence Port Review Page.
Florence Attractions/Things to Do- Luckily, Florence is a very walkable city. All of the attractions are fairly close to one another. Get a good map, and you should be good to go!
Accademia (David)- Cost 6.50 euros. Extra 4 euro fee for advanced booking (recommended as there are LONG lines). Open 8:15-6:50. Contains most famous sculpture in the world by Michaelangelo. Children under 6 free. (Link is official ticket site) David is pretty much the only thing here, but he is worth it!
Duomo- Free entry to church. Line dies down after lunch. Cost 6 euros to climb dome. Open 10-5. Church that dominates the Florentine skyline. For a shorter line with a view of the dome instead of from the dome, try Giotto's Tower, also 6 euros. Check out the doors on the Baptistry which are said to have begun the Renaissance. The Baptistry also requires admission to enter. It is one of the oldest buildings in Florence, and the interior is decorated with beautiful mosaics. Open Tues-Sat 12:15-7:00. Cost is 4 euros. If you want see the medieval mosaic ceiling in the interior, it costs 3 euros. Doors are free as they are outside. (They are replicas; the real panels are in the Duomo Museum.) The Duomo Museum (Museo dell'Opera del Duomo) has great sculpture, including a late Michaelangelo Pieta as well as the original Baptistry doors. Open 9- 6-:50 and costs 6 euros.
Uffizi Gallery- Cost 6.50 euros plus 4 euros for recommended reservation. Open 8:15-6:35. Best collection of Italian paintings anywhere, Reservations are practically required. (Link is official ticket site)
Bargello Museum- Cost 4 euros. Open 8:15-2:00. Great sculpture museum with Donatello's David, works by Michaelangelo and others. Usually not crowded, and comparably inexpensive. Good value and interesting building.
Pitti Palace- Two types of tickets. One includes the Royal Apartments and the Palatine Gallery and costs 8.50 euros plus 3 euro reservation fee. The other includes the Gardens and a costume museum (10 euros) The Palatine Gallery is in a sumptuous palace and includes Rubens, Titians, Rembrandts and the second largest collection of Raphaels. You also get to visit six palatial rooms to see how the Hapsburgs, Medicis and Savoys lived. The palace is located on the other side of the Arno River. You can get there by crossing the Ponte Vecchio. Really great palace with tons of great art. We felt it was totally worth it. The reservation was not needed.
Santa Croce Church- Open 9:30-5:30. Cost 5 euros. Includes museum and volunteer led tours. Art filled church more famous for the famous people who are buried here including Michaelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo and Ghiberti. Frescos by Giotto. Not entirely worth the price. Very common meeting place for cruise ship tour groups, so easily accessible.
Accademia (David)- Cost 6.50 euros. Extra 4 euro fee for advanced booking (recommended as there are LONG lines). Open 8:15-6:50. Contains most famous sculpture in the world by Michaelangelo. Children under 6 free. (Link is official ticket site) David is pretty much the only thing here, but he is worth it!
Duomo- Free entry to church. Line dies down after lunch. Cost 6 euros to climb dome. Open 10-5. Church that dominates the Florentine skyline. For a shorter line with a view of the dome instead of from the dome, try Giotto's Tower, also 6 euros. Check out the doors on the Baptistry which are said to have begun the Renaissance. The Baptistry also requires admission to enter. It is one of the oldest buildings in Florence, and the interior is decorated with beautiful mosaics. Open Tues-Sat 12:15-7:00. Cost is 4 euros. If you want see the medieval mosaic ceiling in the interior, it costs 3 euros. Doors are free as they are outside. (They are replicas; the real panels are in the Duomo Museum.) The Duomo Museum (Museo dell'Opera del Duomo) has great sculpture, including a late Michaelangelo Pieta as well as the original Baptistry doors. Open 9- 6-:50 and costs 6 euros.
Uffizi Gallery- Cost 6.50 euros plus 4 euros for recommended reservation. Open 8:15-6:35. Best collection of Italian paintings anywhere, Reservations are practically required. (Link is official ticket site)
Bargello Museum- Cost 4 euros. Open 8:15-2:00. Great sculpture museum with Donatello's David, works by Michaelangelo and others. Usually not crowded, and comparably inexpensive. Good value and interesting building.
Pitti Palace- Two types of tickets. One includes the Royal Apartments and the Palatine Gallery and costs 8.50 euros plus 3 euro reservation fee. The other includes the Gardens and a costume museum (10 euros) The Palatine Gallery is in a sumptuous palace and includes Rubens, Titians, Rembrandts and the second largest collection of Raphaels. You also get to visit six palatial rooms to see how the Hapsburgs, Medicis and Savoys lived. The palace is located on the other side of the Arno River. You can get there by crossing the Ponte Vecchio. Really great palace with tons of great art. We felt it was totally worth it. The reservation was not needed.
Santa Croce Church- Open 9:30-5:30. Cost 5 euros. Includes museum and volunteer led tours. Art filled church more famous for the famous people who are buried here including Michaelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo and Ghiberti. Frescos by Giotto. Not entirely worth the price. Very common meeting place for cruise ship tour groups, so easily accessible.
Link to Rick Steves' Free Audio mp3 download walking tours of Accademia and Uffizi Gallery
