Tuscan Hill Towns Family Road Trip

Firenze Santa Maria Novella station is your route's launchpad — a busy, well-connected transport hub in the heart of Florence. If your family is arriving by train from elsewhere in Italy, this is where you disembark and collect your hire car. The station sits at Piazza della Stazione and is easy to orient around. Allow around 20 minutes here to gather luggage, get your bearings, and confirm onward arrangements before moving to the first sightseeing stop. The station itself serves as a transit point rather than an attraction, so there's no need to linger beyond practicalities.

This is your second pass through Firenze Santa Maria Novella — used here as the practical departure point for driving to the Uffizi Galleries. Having sorted your vehicle and bags at the station, you're now ready to navigate the short 4.9 km drive (around 19 minutes) to the gallery. Use this moment to confirm all family members are in the car, bags are secure, and you have your Uffizi booking to hand before setting off into Florence's traffic.

The Uffizi Galleries, rated 4.7/5 across nearly 93,000 reviews, is one of the world's great art museums — and it earns that reputation. Set in a 16th-century palace along the Arno, the collection spans centuries of Italian painting and sculpture. For families, the sheer scale can feel overwhelming, so prioritise the rooms that matter most to your group and give children room to set the pace rather than marching through every hall. A suggested stay of 150 minutes is realistic for a family visit with young children. The galleries are open Tuesday through Sunday, 8:15 AM to 6:30 PM; they are closed on Mondays.

Ponte Vecchio is Florence's most recognisable bridge — a medieval span lined with small built-in workshops that has crossed the Arno since the 14th century. It's only 0.9 km from the Uffizi, making it a natural next stop after the galleries. Walking across gives children a tangible sense of how trade and urban life coexisted on a single structure for centuries. The bridge is always open as a public thoroughfare, and 45 minutes gives enough time to walk across, look out over the Arno in both directions, and soak in the setting before moving on to Piazzale Michelangelo.