Which Italian city pairs make the best day trips by train?
Bologna ↔ Modena (~30 min) and Pisa ↔ Lucca (~30 min) are the two easiest, most rewarding train day-trips in the region — no car, no stress, two cities in a day.
You don't need a car to see two cities in a day in Emilia-Romagna or Tuscany. The regional rail network does the work — here are the pairings that actually fit in a day.
Emilia: Bologna and Modena
About 30 minutes apart. Base in Bologna for the food and porticoes, hop to Modena for balsamic, the Ghirlandina and Motor Valley. Two UNESCO-grade old towns, one easy line.
Tuscany: Pisa and Lucca
Also ~30 minutes apart. Climb the Tower and walk the Lungarni in Pisa, then ride the ramparts in Lucca by late afternoon.
How do you plan it with a LocalKit guide?
Each city guide has a ‘Day trips’ chapter that pairs it with its best neighbour and tells you the realistic train times — so the connection is one tap away, even offline.