Florence to Pistoia: A Family Day Trip
Pistoia is 36 kilometres from Florence, 45 minutes by direct train, and almost entirely unknown to visitors who are not already spending a week or more in Tuscany. That is worth understanding before you go, because it sets the tone: Pistoia is a city that performs for its own inhabitants rather than for visitors. The streets function for the people who live there, and that absence of tourist pressure makes an afternoon here feel genuinely restorative. The city also has one of the most respected zoos in Italy, which means a family day covering the historic centre in the morning and the zoo in the afternoon is both practical and varied.
Travelling from Florence
Regional trains from Santa Maria Novella to Pistoia run every 20 to 30 minutes throughout the day. The journey takes 45 to 50 minutes and costs around 4.90 euros per adult. Children aged 4 to 12 pay half fare. No changes are required; it is a single direct service, which makes it considerably less stressful than routes requiring a transfer.
From Pistoia station, the medieval centre is a flat 10-minute walk north along Via Vannucci and Via Cino. The route is obvious and the terrain presents no difficulties. If you are combining the historic centre with the zoo, the zoo is approximately 2 km from the station - a five-minute taxi ride or a 10-minute journey on local bus line 5.
By car from Florence via the A11, the journey takes 35 to 40 minutes. Paid parking near the Piazza della Resistenza car park costs around 1.50 euros per hour. Additional parking is available near the historic city walls.
Walking the Medieval Centre
Pistoia’s historic centre is almost entirely pedestrianised or restricted to residents’ vehicles. For families with pushchairs or young children who need space to move freely, this is a significant practical advantage.
The centrepiece is Piazza del Duomo, one of the most coherent medieval squares in the region. Four major buildings face the same space - the Cathedral of San Zeno, the Baptistery of San Giovanni in Corte, the Palazzo dei Vescovi, and the Palazzo del Comune - and their architectural harmony creates a sense of stepping into a medieval setting that has remained largely intact. It is markedly less crowded than comparable squares in Florence or Siena.
Inside the Cathedral of San Zeno, the Dossale di San Jacopo is a silver altarpiece begun in the 14th century and worked on by goldsmiths from Pisa and Florence across two further centuries. The level of craftsmanship - thousands of individual figures and scenes beaten in silver - is extraordinary, and children aged 8 to 14 with any interest in making things tend to find it genuinely absorbing. Entry to view the altarpiece costs approximately 3 euros for adults; children under 12 enter free.
Five minutes’ walk from the cathedral, the Ospedale del Ceppo has a 16th-century terracotta frieze running the full length of its portico. The frieze depicts the Seven Works of Mercy in glazed, brightly coloured relief - a tradition of terracotta sculpture that families who have visited the Ospedale degli Innocenti in Florence will immediately recognise. It is free to view from the street and takes 15 minutes to walk along slowly.
The Piazza della Sala, a smaller square west of the main piazza, functions as a local food market on weekday mornings. A central wellhead, small food shops, and a cafe create an atmosphere that is entirely non-touristic. A few minutes here gives a more accurate sense of how Pistoia works day to day than almost anything else in the centre.
Pistoia Zoo
The Giardino Zoologico di Pistoia at Via Pieve a Celle 160 is regarded as one of the better-managed zoos in Italy for animal welfare and conservation standards. It houses approximately 100 species across seven hectares of relatively flat terrain, navigable throughout with pushchairs and strollers.
The zoo’s most-visited attraction is its pair of giant pandas, added through a loan programme with China in the past decade. The panda enclosure is well-designed for viewing. Beyond the pandas, the zoo has particular strengths in birds, reptiles, and large mammals.
Entry prices in 2026: adults 16 euros, children aged 3 to 12 approximately 12 euros, children under 3 free. A family ticket for 2 adults and 2 children costs approximately 50 euros. Opening hours run from 9:00 to 18:00 (last entry 17:00) between April and October, with shorter hours in winter months.
There is a designated picnic area within the zoo grounds where you can eat food you have brought yourself - useful if children need feeding at an exact time rather than whenever the restaurant is ready. The in-park snack bar charges standard zoo prices: sandwiches at approximately 4 to 5 euros, hot dishes at 10 to 12 euros.
Eating and Drinking in Pistoia
Trattoria dell’Abbondanza, near Via dell’Abbondanza a short walk from the Duomo, has a local clientele of office workers and families and offers a genuine fixed lunch menu at around 12 to 15 euros per adult for two courses including water. The kitchen is consistent and the portions are generous. Children are welcome without any particular fuss.
Ristorante Arsicci near Piazza della Sala takes a slightly more contemporary approach to local produce while remaining accessible and relaxed. Main courses are 14 to 18 euros. Being positioned near the morning market makes it the natural lunch destination for families who have spent the morning in the centre.
For a faster and cheaper option, the Mercato Ortofrutticolo near Piazza Spirito Santo has a bar serving sandwiches, local cold meats, and simple hot dishes at prices that make feeding a family of four comfortable for around 15 to 20 euros.
Before heading back to Florence, pick up brigidini - the thin, anise-flavoured wafer biscuits from the Pistoia area - at one of the pastry shops near the main square. Sold in small paper packets, they travel well and make a better souvenir than anything in a gift shop.
Pistoia and back in a day, with a zoo in the afternoon: that is what a 45-minute train journey makes possible. Charlotte is at Via Guido Monaco 19, five minutes from Santa Maria Novella - the most straightforward base for a morning departure and a dinner back in Florence.
