FLORENCE: Florence is one of the most famous and beautiful cities in Tuscany. From Pistoia there are several trains per day and it takes about 30/45 minutes, depending on the train. The first train from Pistoia to Florence in the morning is at 4.35 and the last one in the night is at 23.12. To come back from Florence to Pistoia, the first train is at 5.10 and the last one at 00.25.
LUCCA: It is a very nice city with a valuable and very well preserved city center. The peculiarity is the ancient walls which still sourround the city. It is possible to walk on the walls, or rent bycicle to cover them all. From Pistoia there are two trains per hour, a fast one that takes 44 minutes and a slow one that takes 1 hour and 4 minutes.
PISA: Visit the famous leaning tower and the beautiful Piazza dei Miracoli! Pisa has a lovely old city center to discover. From Pistoia there are very few direct trains, the easiest solution is to take a train to Lucca and then another train to Pisa. It takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes.
SIENA: Siena is a beautiful historic city, rich in history, and surrounded by the Tuscan countryside. It has a unique charm. To go to Siena there are no direct trains from Pistoia. You can take the train from Pistoia to Firenze Rifredi and from Firenze Rifredi take another train to Siena. This solution will take 2 hours. You can also take the train to Firenze Santa Maria Novella (the central station). Once you arrive, exit the train station and head to the bus station (Sita is the name) where you can take a direct bus to Siena. This is the best solution as the bus takes you directly to the city center and it takes 1 hour and 40 minutes.
PARCO DI PINOCCHIO: If you know and love the story of Pinocchio, you can not know that its author was Italian and that he spent part of his childhood in a village near Pistoia, Collodi. Just in Collodi, in honor of the author of Pinocchio, a park was built in 1956, in which to relive the emotions and events of the most loved and known Italian book in the world. In the official website you can find many information about opening times and tickets:www.pinocchio.it
If you want to go there you can take the train from Pistoia to Pescia (approx 30 minutes) and from Pescia the bus U803 that will take you to the park in 15/20 minutes. There are no many of this bus, so check before going!
VIAREGGIO: If you want to go to the beach to swim or just to walk along the sea, the closest place is Viareggio, a small city on the Tuscany Coast. There is a train from Pistoia every hour and it takes 1 hour and 5 minutes.
VINCI: Vinci is the city which gave birth to the famous Leonardo da Vinci. Set in a beautiful landscape, in this small town you can visit the Leonardo museum and the house where Leonardo was born. The official website of Museo Leonardiano is www.museoleonardiano.it/eng
There are no trains for Pistoia, but you can take the bus 52 leaving in front of the train station of Pistoia, direction Empoli. Your stop is called Lamporecchio, after about 40 minutes. Then in Lamporecchio, you have to take another bus to go to Vinci. Before going, check the times of the bus because otherwise you could wait a lot.
Another solution is to take a train to Firenze Rifredi, and then from Firenze Rifredi to Empoli. In Empoli you have to take the bus number 49 to reach Vinci. It takes about 2 hours.
ABETONE: If you like skiing or visiting one of the best and highest mountains in the area, this is a nice place to go, to 1388 meters above the sea level. To reach Abetone you have to take the bus 54Abe, leaving in front of the train station of Pistoia. It takes 1 hour and 50 minutes. The road is full of curves, so please take that into account if you suffer of car sickness.
