Rainy day · Florence · Italy
8 things to do in Florence when it rains
Indoor sights that make a wet day feel planned rather than lost.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Ingo Mehling, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Start with Uffizi Gallery, Galleria dell'Accademia and Palazzo Pitti. Together the 8 picks below take roughly 12–16 hours across 7 areas; all charge for entry. November is usually the wettest month, with about 9 rainy days.
Key facts
- Places in this guide
- 8
- Free entry
- 0
- Time to see them all
- 12–16 hours
- Areas
- Piazza della Signoria, San Marco and Oltrarno
Florence on a rainy day
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Museum · Piazza della Signoria
1.Uffizi Gallery
Take the first entry slot, go straight to the Botticelli rooms on the second floor, then work through the later collections as the crowds build.
- Time needed
- 3–4 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Art
- Rainy day
- History
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Museum · San Marco
2.Galleria dell'Accademia
Book the first or last slot of the day; the gallery is small, and an hour is enough once you are inside.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Art
- Rainy day
Palace · Oltrarno
3.Palazzo Pitti
Pair it with the Boboli Gardens on the same visit; the garden entrance is through the palace courtyard.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- History
- Rainy day
- Architecture
Religious site · Santa Croce
4.Basilica of Santa Croce
Leave time for the museum off the cloister, where Cimabue's Crucifix, badly damaged in the 1966 flood, shows how high the Arno rose.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Art
- Architecture
- Rainy day
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Museum · Santa Croce
5.Bargello National Museum
Go when the Uffizi and Accademia queues are at their longest; the Bargello is rarely crowded and sits between the Duomo and Santa Croce.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- History
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Museum · San Lorenzo
6.Medici Chapels
Visit at opening, then step across to the Mercato Centrale for an early lunch.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes–1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- History
- Architecture
- Rainy day
Religious site · Santa Maria Novella
7.Santa Maria Novella
Around the corner on Via della Scala, the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, founded by Dominican friars, is worth a look for its frescoed sales rooms.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- History
- Architecture
- Rainy day
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Museum · Piazza del Duomo
8.Museo dell'Opera del Duomo
It is included in every Duomo combined pass and is the calmest part of the complex, so give it as much time as the climbs.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- History
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Grouped by area
| Area | Places | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Piazza della Signoria | Uffizi Gallery | 3–4 hours |
| San Marco | Galleria dell'Accademia | 1–1.5 hours |
| Oltrarno | Palazzo Pitti | 2–3 hours |
| Santa Croce | Basilica of Santa Croce and Bargello National Museum | 1.5 hours + 1–1.5 hours |
| San Lorenzo | Medici Chapels | 45 minutes–1 hour |
| Santa Maria Novella | Santa Maria Novella | 1 hour |
| Piazza del Duomo | Museo dell'Opera del Duomo | 1.5–2 hours |
Booking and timing
Of these 8, 4 low cost, 4 mid-priced. Book ahead for Uffizi Gallery and Galleria dell'Accademia. The longest visit is Uffizi Gallery; group the rest by area to save travel time.
- Uffizi Gallery: Timed tickets are strongly advised from spring to autumn; buy them on the official Uffizi site rather than from resellers.
- Galleria dell'Accademia: Timed tickets avoid queues that stretch along Via Ricasoli for an hour or more in high season.
How to fit them into 4 half-days
Grouped by area and kept to about four hours each, so you walk more than you ride.
- Half-day 1 (Piazza della Signoria): Uffizi Gallery, at least 3 hours.
- Half-day 2 (San Marco and Oltrarno): Galleria dell'Accademia → Palazzo Pitti, at least 3 hours.
- Half-day 3 (Santa Croce and San Lorenzo): Basilica of Santa Croce → Bargello National Museum → Medici Chapels, at least 4 hours.
- Half-day 4 (Santa Maria Novella and Piazza del Duomo): Santa Maria Novella → Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, at least 3 hours.
The wettest months
- November: highs of 15°C (59°F), about 9 rainy days, quiet crowds. The wettest month, with short days, but quiet museums and peppery new-season olive oil (olio nuovo) on bruschetta.
- April: highs of 20°C (68°F), about 8 rainy days, busy crowds. Terraces fill and the wisteria flowers in the Bardini Garden late in the month; Easter and school trips make the big sights busy.
- October: highs of 21°C (70°F), about 8 rainy days, moderate crowds. Mild, with more rain later in the month; chestnuts, porcini and truffles from the Tuscan hills appear on menus.
The neighbourhoods they are in
- Santa Croce — Franciscan basilica, leather workshops and late-opening bars east of the centre
- Oltrarno and Santo Spirito — Artisan workshops, a church square full of bars and the Pitti Palace across the river
- Santa Maria Novella — Station district with a Gothic basilica and the widest choice of hotels
- San Lorenzo and San Marco — Market halls, the Medici church and the Accademia just north of the Duomo
- Sant'Ambrogio — Local food market, Piazza dei Ciompi and neighbourhood trattorias
More of Florence
Questions travellers ask
+Where should I start in Florence?
Uffizi Gallery. The Medici's former government offices hold one of the world's great collections of Italian Renaissance painting: Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera, Leonardo's Annunciation, Michelangelo's Doni Tondo, Titian's Venus of Urbino and a room of Caravaggios.