Area guide · Tuscany
Arno Corridor
The working road from Florence to the sea
- Where
- Tuscany, provinces of Pistoia and Pisa and Livorno
- Train
- 7 of 8 towns on the railway
- Best months
- June, and September
- Sea warm
- June to October
- Towns
- 8, 8 we have written about
The river corridor west of Florence: Pistoia and the spa towns under the Apennines, San Miniato and Pontedera along the Arno, Pisa, and the port of Livorno where the road meets the sea. The railway follows the river the whole way, so this is the one stretch of Tuscany that works without a car.
8 towns
The towns of Arno Corridor
1 on the water, 7 towns inland. Each card opens the town's own page, with the drive time from the nearest city and whether the train stops there.
- ✷ We've been
Pistoia
Where: Inland
Italy's nursery capital and the medieval Tuscan rival that gave its name to the pistol, a quietly extraordinary centro storico 30 minutes from Florence by train and Italy's Capital of Culture 2017.
- ✷ We've been
Abetone Cutigliano
Where: Inland
The Apennine ski pass at 1,388 meters where the Granduca's two stone pyramids of 1778 mark the old Tuscan-Modenese border.
- ✷ We've been
Montecatini-Terme
Where: Inland
Eleven thermal springs in a Liberty-style park at the foot of the Apennines.
- ✷ We've been
San Miniato
Where: Inland
The hilltop town between Pisa and Florence that produces a quarter of Tuscany's white truffles and once held the imperial seat of Otto I.
- ✷ We've been
Pontedera
Where: Inland
The Valdera's working capital on the Pisa–Florence line, where Piaggio turned a bombed aircraft plant into the birthplace of the Vespa in 1946.
- ✷ We've been
Pisa
Where: Inland
Maritime republic on the Arno, twelve kilometers from the Ligurian Sea, with the leaning bell tower at the center of a single UNESCO-listed walled compound.
- ✷ We've been
San Giuliano Terme
Where: Inland
A thermal spa ten kilometers from Pisa, where the springs were bathed since the Romans called them Aquae Pisanae.
- ✷ We've been
Livorno
Where: On the water
Tuscany's working port and Medici-planned 'New City', a 16th-century planned town built on reclaimed coast, with a Venice-like canal quarter, the Quattro Mori monument, and a 1.5-km seafront promenade that locals call the world's most beautiful balcony.
In our words
What each one is for, one line each, from our book.
The base for the first nights. A city the size of a town, with a striped duomo, a silver altar and the best pastry on this road.
Up the Apennines through San Marcello and Cutigliano to the pass at 1,388 metres. A ski village that is better in August.
West along the foot of the hills to the grandest spa in Tuscany, usually empty. The Tettuccio, and the funicular up to Montecatini Alto.
South over the Fucecchio marsh to the river and up onto the ridge. Park at the bottom and climb. This is the truffle town.
Vinci and Empoli are twenty minutes east and make one easy day.
West with the river to the factory town, and the Vespa museum, which is worth two hours and is more than the Vespa.
Along the Arno into the city. Park at the station, walk the south bank, and give the tower half an hour at most.
Marina di Pisa and Tirrenia are this commune's own coast, on the way south.
The baths under Monte Pisano, ten minutes north. On a weekday, with a day ticket.
The coast road past Marina di Pisa, Tirrenia and Calambrone to the port. End of road, and the best seafood on it.
Air, rail, road
Getting there, and around
Fly to Florence or Pisa or Bologna, take the train, or drive. Road minutes from the catalogue, scheduled trains from Firenze Santa Maria Novella.
By air
- Florence or Pisa (PSA)56 min to San Miniato
- Bologna (BLQ)1 h 40 min to San Miniato
By train
- Pistoia37 min
Pistoia, 45 direct a day
- Montecatini-Terme50 min
Montecatini Terme-Monsummano, 36 direct a day
- San Miniato41 min
San Miniato-Fucecchio, 31 direct a day
- Pontedera55 min
Pontedera-Casciana Terme, 53 direct a day
- Pisa71 min
Pisa Centrale, 57 direct a day
- San Giuliano Terme140 min
San Giuliano Terme, 4 direct a day
- Livorno80 min
Livorno Centrale, 26 direct a day
No station: Abetone Cutigliano.
By car
- Pistoia24 min from Prato
- Abetone Cutigliano1 h 17 min from Prato
- Montecatini-Terme31 min from Prato
- San Miniato49 min from Pisa
- Pontedera25 min from Pisa
- Pisa16 min from Pisa
- San Giuliano Terme8 min from Pisa
- Livorno11 min from Livorno
From our book
The three things the train cannot do ›
Abetone and the Val di Luce, the baths at San Giuliano, and the coast south of Pisa. Hire a car for those days and give it back.
Every centre has a camera ›
Park outside and walk in. Pistoia has a city lot, San Miniato's is at the bottom of the hill, Pontedera's is next to the museum, and in Pisa you park at the station and stay on foot. The fine finds your rental company months later with a handling fee attached.
Climate, sea, calendar
When to go
The comfortable months are June, and September, and the sea is warm enough to swim June to October. Measured at San Miniato, the sea at Livorno: the daytime high, the sea, the rain days.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day °C | 11 | 14 | 16 | 19 | 23 | 29 | 33 | 33 | 27 | 22 | 16 | 12 |
| Sea °C | 15 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 19 | 23 | 27 | 28 | 25 | 22 | 19 | 16 |
| Rain days | 9 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 14 |
The tinted months are the comfortable ones for the day, and the ones where the sea reaches 20 degrees.
The year
Months rather than dates. Most of these move by a week or two between years; check before booking a flight around one.
March
The marzuolo truffle fair, San Miniato
The spring truffle, at La Serra. Smaller and quieter than November.
May
The philosophy festival, Pistoia
Late in the month, and the city fills with people arguing politely.
June
Luminara di San Ranieri, Pisa
Religious & traditional
June
The Gioco del Ponte, Pisa
Late June. Two halves of the city pushing a carriage at each other on the Ponte di Mezzo.
June
The Luminara di San Ranieri, Pisa
The sixteenth. Every window on both Lungarni outlined in candle. The best night on this road.
July to August
Effetto Venezia, Livorno
Arts & performance
July
Giostra dell'Orso, Pistoia
Religious & traditional
July
Pistoia Blues, Pistoia
Early July, in the Piazza del Duomo, which is the right size for it.
August
San Bartolomeo, San Giuliano Terme
The twenty-fourth, and the same feast day up at Cutigliano.
August
San Genesio, San Miniato
The twenty-fifth.
September
The Sagra del Bombolone, Pontedera
A doughnut festival, and no apology for it.
September
The Sagra del Fungo, Pistoia
Mushrooms, in the hills above the city.
October
Terre di Pisa food and wine, Pisa
The province on tables, for a weekend.
November
Mostra Mercato Nazionale del Tartufo Bianco, San Miniato
Food & wine
November
The white truffle fair, San Miniato
Three weekends, and the reason to come in November. Book a table before you book a train.
December
Santa Barbara, Montecatini-Terme
Montecatini's own, in the quiet month.
From our book
When to come ›
Spring and autumn are the months. Winter is for the baths and for Pisa in the rain, which is better than it sounds. August works only for Abetone, where the whole point is that the mountain is cool. November is the truffle, and the buses that come with it.
1 town on the water
The sea at the end
The road ends at Livorno, a working port with a canal quarter and the Tyrrhenian beyond the breakwater. Warm enough to swim June to October.
- Livorno
Station in town · 11 min from Livorno
Our tables first, then the guides
Where to eat and sleep
These are the tables I actually eat at. Everything below this section is somebody else's recommendation, and it is labelled as such.
The café off the Piazza del Duomo with the savoury caseOff the square
Torta salata, the sandwich on crusty bread with cured pork and salad, and the rest in a paper bag for later. Four in the afternoon is the hour.
The spa hotel in the Val di LuceVal di Luce
The one with the outdoor pool and the table by the window. Tagliatelle with hare, polenta with mushrooms, the six-hour peposo. Open in August only because somebody is holding a conference, so check.
The rifugio in the Val di LuceHigher up the valley
It stays open in summer. Gnocco fritto, prosciutto, Lambrusco from over the pass, and an owner who will talk to you for an hour because nobody else has come in.
The bar on the piazzaCutigliano
For the coffee and the card game.
La Pecora NeraIn town
A fancy room with the food to match, and a table available without a reservation, which tells you about the town rather than about the kitchen.
PepeneroPiazza del Duomo
A notch above a trattoria without tipping into ceremony, and a terrace over the whole valley. Classic Tuscan plates with the truffle grated over them at the table. The bottoni are the dish.
Papaveri e PapereIn the upper town
Same idea, a little more polished. Tuscan cooking with a truffle on top. Good, and knows it.
MIU RamenSouth bank
The bowl that got us into the city properly. Go before the kitchen shuts for the afternoon.
The Shelley bar at the Bagni di PisaAt the baths
A cocktail and a plate of tramezzini in a robe, at four, after the pools. The room alone is worth the day ticket.
Stuzzicheria di MareIn the old town
The working counter and the best seafood I have eaten anywhere. Whatever came in that morning, fried or in the red sauce, with a kilo of bread.
Kirù Bistrot & DrinksPiazza Mazzini
The same fish in an upscale room with a proper drinks list. If you want the massacre with a tablecloth, this is it.
Mercato CentraleIn the hall
Buy the fish, or do not, and eat at the counters round the hall. The whole city in one room, and the cacciucco where the cacciucco comes from.
The bar near Piazza Orlando that opens before it shouldBy the port
For the black coffee, the too-sweet pastry, and on the last morning the ponce.
The pub near the same piazzaBy the port
For beer and wine and a plate of octopus that had no business being that good in a place you go to drink.
What the guides rate
Somebody else's recommendations, the guide named beside each. The town pages hold the full lists.
La Bottegaia Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 2 Gamberi · Slow Food Chiocciola
Baldo Vino Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 2 Forchette · 82/100
Locanda del Capitano del Popolo Ristorante
Gambero Rosso listed
Nonno Cianco Ristorante
Slow Food Chiocciola
Da Fagiolino Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 2 Gamberi
Caffè Storico Tettuccio Caffè
Locali Storici
Grand Hotel & La Pace Hotel
Locali Storici
Enoteca Giovanni Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 1 Forchetta · 77/100
Papaveri e Papere Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 2 Forchette · 81/100 · Michelin Selected
Pepenero Ristorante
Michelin Selected
Antico Ristoro Le Colombaie Ristorante
Slow Food Chiocciola · Gambero Rosso listed
Maggese Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 2 Forchette · 81/100 · L'Espresso Top 300
Ristorante Poldino Ristorante
Locali Storici
Caffè dell'Ussero Caffè
Locali Storici
Royal Victoria Hotel Hotel
Locali Storici
Erbaluigia Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 2 Gamberi · Michelin Selected
Locanda Sant'Agata Ristorante
Michelin Selected
Bagni di Pisa Palace & Thermal Spa Hotel
Leading Hotels of the World
Azzighe Osteria a metà Ristorante
Michelin Bib Gourmand · Gambero Rosso 2 Gamberi · Slow Food Chiocciola
Nannini Ristorante
Michelin Selected
Oscar Ristorante
Gambero Rosso listed · Michelin Selected
Ciglieri Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 1 Forchetta · 77/100
From our book
Three ways to do it
A weekend, five days or two weeks, day by day, the way we drive it. Open one to read the days.
A weekend
2 nights, based in Pisa. One base in Pisa. The train does the rest.
Read the days ›
Day 1Pisa beyond the tower
Park at the station, then Corso Italia, the Ponte di Mezzo and the Lungarno. The south bank and the parapet with the students on it. The tower for half an hour only if you must.
Sleep: Pisa
Day 2The baths and the port
San Giuliano Terme and the Bagni di Pisa on a weekday, on a day ticket. Livorno: the Terrazza, the market, and a plate of fish at the counter.
Sleep: Pisa, or home
Five days
4 nights, based in Pisa. Two bases: Pistoia for the first half, Pisa for the second.
Read the days ›
Day 1Pistoia
Arrive by train from Florence. The Piazza del Duomo, the silver altar, the frieze on the old hospital. The café case at four, which is the hour that matters here.
Sleep: Pistoia
Day 2Up the mountain
Abetone and the Val di Luce, with Cutigliano on the way up. Back down the same road for dinner in the city.
Sleep: Pistoia
Day 3The spa and the truffle
Montecatini: the Tettuccio, and the funicular up to the old town. South to San Miniato for a late lunch on the hill, then on to Pisa.
Sleep: Pisa
Day 4The factory and the city
Pontedera and the Museo Piaggio, two hours. Pisa, and the south bank at six.
Sleep: Pisa
Day 5Baths, then the sea
San Giuliano on a weekday morning. Livorno for lunch and the port.
Sleep: Pisa, or the ferry
Two weeks
13 nights. Two bases and a flat at the end: Pistoia, Pisa, then Livorno.
Read the days ›
Day 1Into Pistoia
Train from Florence, twenty-five minutes, and no car yet. The duomo, the altar, and the town at walking pace.
Sleep: Pistoia, for five nights
Day 2Florence, and out again
Back on the train for the Uffizi. The Oltrarno, then out before dinner. Sleeping in Pistoia is the whole trick.
Sleep: Pistoia
Day 3The mountain
Abetone, and the Val di Luce. Cutigliano and the bar on the piazza.
Sleep: Pistoia, or the Val di Luce if it is August
Day 4Florence again
The second city morning: whatever the first one missed. Out before dinner, as before.
Sleep: Pistoia
Day 5Down the hills
Montecatini and the Tettuccio. Montecatini Alto by funicular, then west.
Sleep: Pistoia
Day 6Move to the river
South over the marsh to San Miniato. The hill, the duomo, and lunch with the truffle grated at the table.
Sleep: Pisa, for five nights
Day 7Vinci and Empoli
Vinci, and the museum of the machines. Empoli, and back along the river.
Sleep: Pisa
Day 8Pontedera
The Museo Piaggio. The river road back into Pisa.
Sleep: Pisa
Day 9Pisa, properly
The Campo dei Miracoli early, before the coaches. The south bank, the market, and a bowl of ramen.
Sleep: Pisa
Day 10The baths
San Giuliano on a Tuesday. A robe, a cocktail and a plate of tramezzini at four.
Sleep: Pisa
Day 11Move to the port
Down the coast road past Marina di Pisa and Tirrenia. Livorno. Rent a flat and stop moving.
Sleep: Livorno, for three nights
Day 12Eat fish
The Mercato Centrale, at the counters round the hall. The Terrazza Mascagni, and the port doing its work.
Sleep: Livorno
Day 13The beach
Tirrenia or Calambrone, whichever is emptier. Back for the cacciucco where the cacciucco comes from.
Sleep: Livorno
Day 14Home along the coast
North, with the sea on your left. Pisa airport is in the city, which is the last kindness of this road.
Sleep: Home
Go deeper
The book and the letter
This page is the where and when. The depth is in our book, and the towns' own letters are in the archive.
The book
Florence to the Sea
Following the river corridor, from Florence to Livorno
The whole road, every table we eat at, and three trips day by day. Every paid plan of the letter includes it.
Get the book with the letterThe Sunday letter
Arno Corridor got its letter. One town every Sunday, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
The button takes you to the letter's own page on Substack, where you leave your email. About the letter
The long version, in the letter
The Arno CorridorThe working road from Florence to the seaOur other guides