Florence travel guide
Where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Things to do in Florence, planned over three days
Best time to visit Florence
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Spring begins, crowds build steeply from Easter, and the Maggio Musicale season approaches.
Best months: warm at 18 to 26C, long light, gardens in bloom, everything open and crowds manageable with early slots.
Summer heat at 30 to 36C and humid; sights early, long lunch, river at evening. Many family trattorie close around Ferragosto on 15 August.
Late September still warm and busy, October prime with Chianti grape harvest, food festivals in surrounding towns and golden light.
Winter is cold, damp and quiet outside Christmas and New Year, with walk in museums, cheaper hotels and truffle season. Pitti Uomo spikes January hotels and Christmas markets run late November to December.
What's on
- Scoppio del Carro Easter Sunday
A cart hauled by white oxen is ignited by a dove shaped rocket from the Duomo altar in Piazza del Duomo.
- Calcio Storico Fiorentino June, final on 24 June
Four historic quarters play a brutal centuries old football hybrid in period costume in Piazza Santa Croce.
- Maggio Musicale Fiorentino April to June
One of Europe's oldest opera and classical festivals, anchored by the Teatro del Maggio.
- Festa di San Giovanni 24 June
The patron saint's day, with processions and fireworks from Piazzale Michelangelo watched from the Lungarni.
- Festa della Rificolona 7 September
Children and students parade handmade paper lanterns from Sant'Ambrogio to Santissima Annunziata.
- Pitti Uomo January and June
Menswear's world fair at Fortezza da Basso; wonderful street style, terrible hotel availability.
- Iris Garden opening May
The Iris Garden by Piazzale Michelangelo opens free for about three weeks while Florence's flower blooms.
- Weihnachtsmarkt Christmas market mid November to about 20 December
The Santa Croce German Christmas market and city light installations mark the Christmas season.
Worth the trip for
Best things to do in Florence
Uffizi Gallery
The greatest Renaissance painting collection anywhere, with Botticelli, Leonardo and Michelangelo in one route.
Galleria dell'Accademia
Michelangelo's David, reached through the unfinished Prisoners, in a sharp 60 to 90 minute visit.
Brunelleschi's Dome
Climb 463 steps inside the dome for the definitive Florence view and a close look at the frescoes.
Florence Baptistery
The Baptistery's mosaics, covered by the same Brunelleschi Pass as the dome climb and bell tower.
Giotto's Bell Tower
Giotto's campanile, covered by the Brunelleschi Pass, with Duomo views from the top.
Museo dell'Opera del Duomo
The calm, uncrowded home of the original Baptistery doors and Michelangelo's late Pieta.
Bargello National Museum
Italy's national sculpture museum, with Donatello and early Michelangelo at a fraction of Uffizi crowds.
Basilica di Santa Croce
Florence's pantheon church, with tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli plus Giotto frescoes.
Where to stay in Florence
Oltrarno - Santo Spirito / San Frediano
best all-round base
Artisan workshops, the city's best eating density and a lived in feel, 10 minutes over the bridge to the Duomo.
Santa Croce / Sant'Ambrogio
food markets and local evenings
The basilica, the locals' Sant'Ambrogio market, Vivoli gelato and enoteche on Via de' Neri.
Duomo / San Lorenzo
a first, short, sight-maximising trip
Duomo, Uffizi and Accademia all under 10 minutes, inside the crowds and the centre's highest rates.
Santa Maria Novella (river side)
day-trippers and grand hotels
Tornabuoni shopping and grand Arno facing hotels, 10 minutes to both trains and sights.
San Marco
budget with calm in the centre
Residential and cheaper around the Accademia and university, 10 to 15 minutes on foot to everything.
Fiesole / the hills
splurge escape
Sleep above the heat and crowds with the view, and bus or taxi down for sights.
Think twice about
- Santa Maria Novella station perimeter
Pickpocketing clusters, loitering and drug dealing reported around the station exits and gardens, plus pushy unofficial helpers at ticket machines. Stay 5 to 10 minutes toward the Arno instead.
- Duomo to San Lorenzo leather-market funnel
Not unsafe, but poor value and exhausting, with the densest crowds, touting and worst restaurants in the city at your door.
- Far periphery (Novoli, Rifredi, Campo di Marte)
Safe and cheaper, but a tram or bus commute to everything with none of the atmosphere, and match day noise near the stadium in Campo di Marte.
- Anywhere you plan to drive to
The centre is a camera enforced ZTL with near zero parking and fines per entry, so a car based Florence base is a fine generating base.
Best restaurants in Florence
Enoteca Pinchiorri
Florence's three star temple, with one of Italy's great cellars, booked weeks ahead for a once a decade dinner.
Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura
Bottura's playful one star outpost, refracting Italian classics through Mexican and Japanese influences.
Locale Firenze
A Medici palazzo solving dinner then drinks in one place, with tasting plates and a world class cocktail bar.
Osteria dell'Enoteca
The wine shop osteria whose bistecca locals send visitors to, with a cellar fridge to choose your bottle from.
Il Santo Bevitore
Candlelit, vaulted contemporary Tuscan cooking that suits a date, parents and food serious friends equally.
Osteria del Cinghiale Bianco
Wild boar pappardelle and Florentine steak across two small rooms, famous on TV and genuinely still good.
Trattoria Mario
The market lunch institution, communal tables and a handwritten daily menu built on the morning shop.
Pollini Lampredotto
Florence's true street food, slow cooked tripe in a crusty roll with salsa verde, eaten standing at the cart.
Outdoor things to do in Florence
Greve in Chianti
The Chianti e-bike day locals recommend, riding quiet vineyard roads through Greve, Panzano and Radda.
Chianti Vespa Tour
Ride a Vespa on silent country roads past villas and olive groves to a working winery lunch.
Ugolino Golf Club
Italy's historic 1934 course on the Chianti hills, sloping fairways through pines, olives and vines.
Fiesole
The perfect cheap half day, a hill town above Florence with a Roman theatre and the postcard terrace view.
Siena
Tuscany's great medieval rival, best reached by direct bus for the Campo and the striped marble Duomo.
San Gimignano
Fourteen medieval towers over Vernaccia vineyards, best as a morning before the day crowds arrive.
Lucca City Walls
Cycle the complete tree lined Renaissance wall circuit, the best family active day trip from Florence.
Chianti Hot-Air Balloon Flight
Drift over vineyard hills and cypress lines at sunrise from San Casciano, landing to a prosecco breakfast.
Best hotels in Florence
Hotel Lungarno
River facing Ferragamo family hotel on the Oltrarno bank, with top stay level service.
Palazzo Guicciardini
A luxury palazzo stay in the Oltrarno, a quiet street from the Pitti and the Ponte Vecchio.
AdAstra
Garden terrace suites in a palazzo over the Torrigiani gardens.
Palazzo Ridolfi
A mid range palazzo stay in the Santo Spirito quarter.
Hotel Silla
Quiet, old school and good value by Porta San Niccolo.
Ostello Bello Firenze
Sociable hostel with dorms and private rooms on Via Faenza, two minutes from Santa Maria Novella station.
Four Seasons Hotel Firenze
A Renaissance palazzo in the city's largest private garden on Borgo Pinti.
Plaza Hotel Lucchesi
Arno facing with a rooftop pool, on the Santa Croce edge.
Is Florence expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €90 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €210 a person |
| Splurge | €480 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Uffizi Gallery: weeks ahead
- Galleria dell'Accademia: weeks ahead
- Brunelleschi's Dome: weeks ahead
- Florence Baptistery: weeks ahead
- Giotto's Bell Tower: weeks ahead
- Museo dell'Opera del Duomo: weeks ahead
- Brancacci Chapel: weeks ahead
- Vasari Corridor: weeks ahead
- Uffizi, Accademia and the Dome climb need timed tickets days to weeks ahead in season; buy on the official sites.
- Brancacci Chapel, Michelangelo's Secret Room and the Vasari Corridor have tiny capacities; book at release.
- Book dinner 1 to 4 weeks ahead in season for Pinchiorri, Gucci Osteria, Osteria dell'Enoteca, Il Santo Bevitore and Cinghiale Bianco.
- Calcio Storico in June and Easter's Scoppio del Carro push accommodation and ticketed seats months ahead.
- Cover shoulders and knees for church entry; the Dome climb has airport style security and no large bags.
Is Florence safe?
- Pickpocketing clusters around Santa Maria Novella station, Duomo and Uffizi queues and crowded market streets; use a front crossbody bag.
- Decline distraction scams such as petition clipboards, bracelet tying and help at ticket machines, and walk away.
- Check the coperto on bills, which is legal and listed, and confirm steak weights before ordering.
- Emergency number is 112. Late night student bar zones in Santa Croce and Santo Spirito are rowdy, not dangerous.
- Check your government's current travel advice before you go.
Florence travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Restaurants on Piazza del Duomo, Via de' Calzaiuoli and the Ponte Vecchio ends with photo menus and touts serve the city's worst food at its highest prices.
- Much San Lorenzo leather market stock is imported and low grade at artisan prices; use the Scuola del Cuoio or Oltrarno workshops for real leather.
- Ponte Vecchio gold carries a tourist markup; admire and compare prices elsewhere before buying serious pieces.
- Bistecca is priced per 100g with minimum cuts around 1kg and always served rare; confirm weight and price per etto before ordering.
- Neon gelato mountains and fluorescent green pistachio are anti signals; look for dull natural colours and lidded metal tubs.
- Day tripping Florence itself for Uffizi, Duomo and Ponte Vecchio photos is the worst version of the city; do one museum properly and the Oltrarno.
Getting around Florence: public transport and more
- Walk. The centre is flat, compact and largely pedestrianised, with most sight to sight walks 5 to 20 minutes.
- Tramvia T1 and T2 link the airport, Santa Maria Novella station and the periphery; validate tickets on boarding.
- Take trains for day trips from Santa Maria Novella, but the direct bus for Siena.
- Do not drive into the historic centre ZTL; taxis are plentiful and booked by app or phone, not hailed.
- Florence Peretola airport is 20 minutes by tram; Pisa airport is the budget airline alternative at about an hour.
Who Florence suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Florence your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App Store