Florence is an easy day trip from Bagni di Lucca. It is possible to drive there in about 90 minutes, but driving in the city is difficult and parking is scarce and expensive, so I usually catch the bus. CTT (usually blue) buses go regularly in the mornings from Bagni di Lucca to Lucca and from the bus stop in Piazza Verdi (there is a bus office here where you can get timetables) take the DD (direct) bus to Florence. Once again, it is the blue CTT bus. It takes about 1 hour and 10 minutes to get to the centre of Florence.
UPDATE! The bus no longer drops you near the station, but just outside the centre. You will need to cross the road and look for the tram stop. Take the tram one stop to the station. I believe it is free, but I am not completely sure about that.
The bus trip is very pleasant. I always sit on the river side of the bus to Lucca to get good view of the spectacular Ponte della Maddalena. The bus follows the Serchio river to Lucca and the scenery is gorgeous all the way.
Ponte Maddalena
The bus trip from Lucca to Florence is also interesting. The direct bus takes the autostrada and the scenery along the way is delightful. My favourite part of the trip is the area around Pistoia, where on either side of the road there are plant nurseries. Row upon row of perfectly manicured shrubs and trees are grown to be sold all over Italy and beyond. The photos are taken from the bus so there is a bit of reflection.
Please check the timetables before your travel, but here are the best connections I have found. Take the 7.45am bus from La Villa which gets into Piazza Verdi in time to catch the 8.55am DD bus to Florence. You should arrive at about 10.10am. On the way home I catch the 3.40pm bus from Florence which arrives in Lucca in time to catch the 5.10pm bus to Bagni di Lucca which will get you home by 6.00pm. Or there is a bus from Florence at around 5.15pm which will have you in Lucca to catch the 7.00pm bus to Bagni di Lucca.
If you catch the 7.45am or the 5.10pm bus from Lucca to Bagni di Lucca say hello to Massimo, he is almost always driving these buses.
You can buy bus and train tickets at Tabacchi and some bars. There is also a bus ticket office in Lucca and Florence. Don’t forget to validate your ticket as you enter the bus.
It is also posible to catch a train from Bagni di Lucca to Lucca. It leaves from Fornoli. Local buses will take you to the train station, but probably won’t actually coordinate with any of the trains (don’t ask me why). The road to Fornoli has no footpath for some of the way, so be careful. If you catch a train from Lucca to Florence try to catch an express, which takes about 1 hour 20 minutes. The regular trains take about 2 hours and stop at every station along the way. Validate your ticket before you enter the train at one of the machines on the platform.
The website for the bus is www.vaibus.it
For trains go to www.trenitalia.com
Have a great day in Florence.
Click here for another post about getting to Bagni di Lucca.
Bella Bagni di Lucca 
Thank you Debra, this is definitely the way to go,
relaxing and enjoying the view.
The last time I drove in Italy it almost cost me my marriage.
We got lost once in Florence and it took us hours to find our way out.
Hi Debra The more i read your blogs the more I want to go to Bagni di Lucca, i am falling in love with your village. Beautiful photos also L
I think you need to visit Bagni di Lucca one day.
Florence. Ahhhh.
In the next post there will be some suggestions for a day in lovely Florence.
Such a useful and beautiful post. A day in Florence would be lovely today Debra…. Maybe lunch? Care to join me?
Shall we go to Casalinga or Bordino?? Such a difficult choice.
What a beautiful first shot! I’m sure you could win a prize with that one.
I have hundreds of photos of this gorgeous bridge.
The pictures of Florence are wonderful and that first one is a heart-stopper.
You can really appreciate how huge that church is from a distance.
Gosh, I wish I were taking the bus to Florence!
Sorry to have been away all last week. I traded the blogosphere for actual, in-the-flesh bloggers. It was fun, but I’ve missed your posts!
Hugs,
Kathy
I wish I was taking the bus to Florence right now as well. Florence is an amazing city.
Thanks for the memories!
I have done this trip dozens of times and I am never bored on the bus.
I´d be interested to know how much the return bus journey from Bagni di Lucca to Florence costs, Debra.
It costs €6.70 each way….but this is obviously subject to change. The trip from Bagni di Lucca to Lucca is €3 and the fare from Lucca to Florence is €5.10. It is cheaper to buy a ticket for the complete trip from Bagni di Lucca to Florence.
Thanks for that, Debra.
I was interested to compare prices for bus journeys here in southern Spain. Sounds pretty similar. 🙂
You must be a mind reader…I was going to send an email to you to ask if it was easy to use public transit to / from Bagni di Lucca to Lucca…..Now I know! That way, we can visit the town(s) in November when we visit again. How long are you there in November? We’d love to see your stone house!
I will only be in Bagni di Lucca until the end of October, so I will miss you this trip. I will be back again next year from January until May.
Then May it is!
Another possibility is to catch the train at Pescia. There are good parking facilities at the train station, there and the trip by car, via Benabbio, Boveglio and Collodi is very pleasant. We generally go by car to Florence and park the car at the Santa Maria Novella parking. We are used to it and we could drive blindfolded. Generally, we also stop at the big commercial centre ” I Gigli” on our way back. There are always some excellent things for the house at Leroy Merlin and there is also a Zara Home store with beautiful items for the house.
I often drive my car to Lucca and park at the station then catch the Lazzi bus to Florence. There are a few options.
I think I will hire you to arrange my trip to Tuscany! 😉
The next post will have some suggestions for Florence. I would be happy to give you some suggestions for Tuscany.
What a fabulous post. I have several version of that bridge here (Ohio) (which reminds me that I need to write about it.) – but I know it as Ponte del Diavolo, not Ponte Maddalena – so thanks for the tidbit.
Don’t know if I ever mentioned this, but my mother is from Pescia and I still have two aunts and first-cousins there.
I have been to Pescia a few times, it is a lovely town and not very far from Bagni di Lucca. Ponte Della Maddalena is the name of the bridge, but Ponte Diavolo or Devil’s Bridge is the common name. I would love to hear about your bridges in Ohio.
Thanks for the clarification.
Cincinnati is on the Ohio River, plus I grew up along in a river town on the other side of the state. Being a river city, Cincinnati has it’s share of bridges. Interestingly, the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City gets a lot of press. However, the prototype is right here … the Roebling Suspension Bridge. Here’s a starter link for you. http://www.cincinnati-transit.net/suspension.html
Thank you for the link. I have walked across the Brooklyn bridge many times…the first time was on a Thanksgiving Day several years ago and it began to snow….wonderful. Now it seems I will have to visit Cincinnati to walk across the Roebling Suspension Bridge.
🙂 … and I’ll gladly walk with you.
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What a great site! We are trying to find out how to go from Lucca to Pistoia in the morning and then Pistoia to Florence in the afternoon. Train or local bus is fine with us if it’s not too far to walk. We are visiting from Florida,USA and are newly retired. Can you give us advise? Thank you.
Take the train from Lucca to Pistoia. Look for an express if possible, or it will stop at every station. The train stops close to the city centre. You should be able to get a map at the station. Then you can get a train onto Florence in the afternoon. Pistoia stops for siesta anyway so you will need to move on.
There is a post on Pistoia called Pole dancing in Pistoia which gives a bit of info on the town. If you look at the category Florence you will find lots on the city, or look on my other blog, Bella Bagni di Lucca and look for the post A day in Florence.
Thank you for the information. We can’t wait to get there!
we are trying to find the lazzi bus timetable for Friday the 20th fo Sept 2013 to go from Bagni Di Lucca to Florence, and return. any onfo on that?
The times I have given in the post should be good for 20th September. To check bus timetables look for http://www.vaibus.it….good luck with your trip.
Hi Debra, is it possible to walk on foot from Bagni Di Lucca (Piazza Verdi) to Ponte Maddalena? How long it will takes? Thank You.
Piazza Verdi is in Lucca, which is approximately 30 minutes drive from Ponte Maddalena. I think it is too far to walk and there are no footpaths anyway.
Catch the bus from Lucca and get off at Borgo a Mozzano.
Walking from Bagni di Lucca is also difficult as there is no footpath. The bus is best from this side too.
What is the cost for the train vs the bus? Approximately.
The train fare from Bagni di Lucca to Lucca is €3.50. From Lucca to Florence is €7.60. From Bagni di Lucca to Florence is €9.70.
I think the bus from Bagni di Lucca is still €3. The bus from Lucca to Florence is €6. I’m not sure of the price of a ticket from Bagni di Lucca to Florence is. I haven’t done this for a while.
There are links to Trenitalia and Vai Bus sites in the post.