Solo travel · Florence · Italy
Solo travel in Florence
How to enjoy Florence at your own pace.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Armin Kleiner, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Florence is an easy city to explore alone: compact and walkable, with food markets and wine bars where eating solo is normal and plenty of small-group tours. Hostels and guesthouses cluster around San Lorenzo and the station. Many solo travellers base themselves in Santa Croce.
Key facts
- Base
- Santa Croce
- Getting around
- Walking
- Emergency number
- 112 (European emergency number)
- Language
- Italian
Solo travel tips
- Eat at the counters of the Mercato Centrale or at a lampredotto cart, where solo diners are the norm.
- Join a small-group walking tour or cooking class to meet other travellers.
- Stay in San Lorenzo or Santa Croce for central, good-value rooms with evening life a few minutes away.
- Keep bags zipped and in front of you on buses and around the station, the Duomo and the Ponte Vecchio, where pickpockets work the crowds.
- Late at night, use a taxi rank or app rather than accepting rides from unlicensed drivers.
Where to stay
$$$ · Best for first-timers, nightlife, food lovers and solo travellers
Santa Croce
Built around the long square in front of the Basilica of Santa Croce, this area mixes leather shops and the old leather school behind the church with bars along Via de' Benci and Via Ghibellina. It is a 10-minute walk from the Duomo, has a good spread of mid-range hotels and apartments, and the Bargello and Casa Buonarroti are on its doorstep.
- Good
- Central but calmer than the Duomo; Plenty of trattorias and wine bars; Good choice of apartments
- Watch out
- Bars around Via de' Benci are noisy at weekends; Piazza Santa Croce fills with tour groups by day
- Nearby
- Basilica of Santa Croce, Bargello, Casa Buonarroti, Sant'Ambrogio Market
Great on your own
Religious site · Piazza del Duomo
Florence Cathedral (Duomo)
If the dome slots are gone, climb Giotto's bell tower instead: it has 414 steps, landings to rest on and a view that includes the dome itself.
- Time needed
- Half a day with the climbs
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Architecture
- Views
- History
- Kids
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Museum · Piazza della Signoria
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
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
Landmark · Arno riverfront
Ponte Vecchio
Photograph it from the Ponte Santa Trinita one bridge downstream at sunset, and cross it early in the morning before the shutters open.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- Photo spot
- Shopping
- History
Viewpoint · San Niccolò
Piazzale Michelangelo
Continue five minutes uphill to San Miniato al Monte for the same view with far fewer people.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Views
- Couples
- Photo spot
- Iconic
- Kids
Historic site · Piazza della Signoria
Piazza della Signoria and Loggia dei Lanzi
Come back after dinner, when the statues are floodlit and the tour groups have gone.
- Time needed
- 30–45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Art
- History
- After dark
- Iconic
Meeting people
- Two markets, two moods — Mercato Centrale's ground floor and upstairs food hall are the easy introduction; Sant'Ambrogio is where locals shop, with a canteen inside serving cheap lunches to market workers. Go before noon for the best stalls.
- Wine windows — Small arched hatches called buchette del vino were cut into palazzo walls in the 1600s so noble families could sell wine from their estates. A handful have reopened and serve glasses of wine, spritz or gelato through the wall.
- Piazza Santo Spirito — The church steps and surrounding bars fill on warm evenings with students, locals and visitors; one of the liveliest squares in the city.
- Santa Croce and Sant'Ambrogio — Cocktail bars and pubs along Via de' Benci and Via Ghibellina, and wine bars around Piazza Sant'Ambrogio.
Sensible precautions
Florence is generally safe for visitors, but pickpockets work the buses, the station, the Duomo square and the Ponte Vecchio. Watch for petition and friendship-bracelet tricks around the major sights, and in summer take the heat seriously: carry water and avoid long walks at midday.
- Emergency number
- 112 (European emergency number)
- Staying connected
- EU roaming applies to European SIMs; other visitors can buy a local SIM or use an eSIM, and many cafés offer free Wi-Fi.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Florence good for solo travellers?
Florence is an easy city to explore alone: compact and walkable, with food markets and wine bars where eating solo is normal and plenty of small-group tours. Hostels and guesthouses cluster around San Lorenzo and the station.
+Where should solo travellers stay in Florence?
Santa Croce: Franciscan basilica, leather workshops and late-opening bars east of the centre.