Things to do · Florence · Italy
20 best things to do in Florence
20 sights and experiences ranked for a first visit, with honest notes on time, cost and crowds.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Arek N., CC BY-SA 3.0
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Quick answer
The essential sights in Florence are Florence Cathedral (Duomo), Uffizi Gallery and Galleria dell'Accademia. Of the 20 picks below, 5 are free, 11 work on a rainy day and 6 suit children. Allow about 4 days to see the highlights without rushing.
Key facts
- Top sight
- Florence Cathedral (Duomo)
- Free sights
- 5
- Good on a rainy day
- Uffizi Gallery
- Time to see the highlights
- 4 days
At a glance
| Sight | Area | Time needed | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florence Cathedral (Duomo) | Piazza del Duomo | Half a day with the climbs | Mid-priced |
| Uffizi Gallery | Piazza della Signoria | 3–4 hours | Mid-priced |
| Galleria dell'Accademia | San Marco | 1–1.5 hours | Mid-priced |
| Ponte Vecchio | Arno riverfront | 30 minutes | Free |
| Piazzale Michelangelo | San Niccolò | 1 hour | Free |
| Piazza della Signoria and Loggia dei Lanzi | Piazza della Signoria | 30–45 minutes | Free |
| Palazzo Vecchio | Piazza della Signoria | 1.5–2 hours | Mid-priced |
| Palazzo Pitti | Oltrarno | 2–3 hours | Mid-priced |
| Boboli Gardens | Oltrarno | 1.5–2 hours | Low cost |
| Basilica of Santa Croce | Santa Croce | 1.5 hours | Low cost |
| Bargello National Museum | Santa Croce | 1–1.5 hours | Low cost |
| Medici Chapels | San Lorenzo | 45 minutes–1 hour | Low cost |
| Santa Maria Novella | Santa Maria Novella | 1 hour | Low cost |
| Museo dell'Opera del Duomo | Piazza del Duomo | 1.5–2 hours | Mid-priced |
| San Miniato al Monte | San Niccolò | 45 minutes | Free |
| Basilica of Santo Spirito | Oltrarno | 30–45 minutes | Free |
| Museo Galileo | Uffizi riverfront | 1.5 hours | Low cost |
| Mercato Centrale | San Lorenzo | 1 hour | Low cost |
| Museo di San Marco | San Marco | 1 hour | Low cost |
| Bardini Garden | San Niccolò | 1 hour | Low cost |
The 20 best things to do
Religious site · Piazza del Duomo
1.Florence Cathedral (Duomo)
Santa Maria del Fiore's red-brick dome, engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi and completed in the 1430s, is still the largest masonry dome ever built. The nave is free to enter; the dome climb (463 steps, passing close to Vasari's Last Judgement frescoes), Giotto's bell tower, the Baptistery and the cathedral museum are covered by combined passes.
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
- Book ahead
- Dome climbs need a timed reservation that sells out days ahead in spring and summer; book on the official Duomo site.
- Iconic
- Architecture
- Views
- History
- Kids
Museum · Piazza della Signoria
2.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. The corridor windows frame views of the Ponte Vecchio and the Arno.
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
- Book ahead
- Timed tickets are strongly advised from spring to autumn; buy them on the official Uffizi site rather than from resellers.
- Iconic
- Art
- Rainy day
- History
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Museum · San Marco
3.Galleria dell'Accademia
Michelangelo's David, carved from a single block of marble between 1501 and 1504, stands more than five metres tall beneath a skylit tribune designed for it in the late 19th century. The approach is lined with Michelangelo's unfinished Prisoners, figures half-emerging from the stone, and the gallery also holds a collection of historic musical instruments.
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
- Book ahead
- Timed tickets avoid queues that stretch along Via Ricasoli for an hour or more in high season.
- Iconic
- Art
- Rainy day
Landmark · Arno riverfront
4.Ponte Vecchio
Florence's oldest bridge, rebuilt after a flood in 1345, has been lined with goldsmiths' and jewellers' shops since the Medici evicted the butchers in the 1590s. The Vasari Corridor, the Medici's private passage between the Palazzo Vecchio and the Pitti Palace, runs along its upper level. It was the only Florentine bridge left standing by retreating German troops in 1944.
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
5.Piazzale Michelangelo
This terrace above the south bank looks across the whole city, from the dome and the Palazzo Vecchio tower to the hills of Fiesole, with a bronze copy of David in the middle. It is free and busiest at sunset. Walk up from San Niccolò by the Rampe del Poggi stairs, or take bus 12 or 13.
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
6.Piazza della Signoria and Loggia dei Lanzi
Florence's civic square is an open-air sculpture gallery: a copy of Michelangelo's David at the Palazzo Vecchio door, Ammannati's Neptune Fountain and, under the arches of the Loggia dei Lanzi, Cellini's bronze Perseus and Giambologna's Rape of the Sabine Women. A plaque in the paving marks where Savonarola was burned in 1498.
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
Palace · Piazza della Signoria
7.Palazzo Vecchio
The fortress-like town hall, begun in 1299, is still the seat of Florence's city government. Inside, the vast Salone dei Cinquecento is lined with Vasari's battle scenes, and the Medici apartments include the Hall of Geographical Maps with its painted map cabinets and huge globe. The Arnolfo Tower climb gives a close-up view of the cathedral dome.
Climb the tower first, because it closes in rain and high wind; the museum runs family tours that include secret passages.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Art
- Views
- Architecture
- Kids
Palace · Oltrarno
8.Palazzo Pitti
The grand dukes' later residence holds the Palatine Gallery, hung floor to ceiling with Raphael and Titian, the gilded Royal Apartments and the Gallery of Modern Art. It is usually far less crowded than the Uffizi, and multi-day combined tickets cover the Uffizi, the Pitti and the Boboli Gardens.
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
Garden · Oltrarno
1.Boboli Gardens
The terraced Medici gardens behind the Pitti climb past Buontalenti's grotto, a stone amphitheatre and the Neptune fountain to the Kaffeehaus and the Porcelain Museum, with views over Oltrarno rooftops and olive-covered hills. Shady avenues such as the cypress-lined Viottolone make it a good escape on a hot afternoon.
Wear proper shoes for the steep gravel paths and head for the top terrace by the Porcelain Museum for the widest view.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Outdoors
- Kids
- Views
- Couples
Religious site · Santa Croce
2.Basilica of Santa Croce
The great Franciscan church is Italy's pantheon, with the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli and Rossini and a monument to Dante. Giotto's frescoes fill the Bardi and Peruzzi chapels, and Brunelleschi's Pazzi Chapel in the cloister is a model of Renaissance proportion.
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
3.Bargello National Museum
Florence's medieval police headquarters and prison now holds the city's finest Renaissance sculpture: Donatello's bronze David, Michelangelo's early Bacchus and Brutus, Giambologna's Mercury and the two bronze panels Ghiberti and Brunelleschi entered in the 1401 competition for the Baptistery doors.
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
4.Medici Chapels
Behind the basilica of San Lorenzo, the domed Chapel of the Princes is clad in coloured marble and semi-precious stone inlay, while Michelangelo's New Sacristy holds his Medici tombs with the reclining figures of Night and Day, Dawn and Dusk. It is a short visit that ranks with the Accademia for anyone following Michelangelo.
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
5.Santa Maria Novella
The Dominican basilica's green-and-white marble facade, completed by Leon Battista Alberti, faces a wide piazza near the station. Inside are Masaccio's Holy Trinity, an early lesson in perspective, Brunelleschi's wooden crucifix and Ghirlandaio's fresco cycle in the Tornabuoni Chapel, which shows 15th-century Florentines in contemporary dress.
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
6.Museo dell'Opera del Duomo
The cathedral museum displays the originals removed from the Duomo complex for protection: Ghiberti's gilded Gates of Paradise and the north doors from the Baptistery, the Pietà Michelangelo carved for his own tomb, and Donatello's wooden Penitent Magdalene. A full-height reconstruction of the cathedral's medieval facade fills the main hall.
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
Religious site · San Niccolò
7.San Miniato al Monte
One of the finest Romanesque churches in Tuscany sits on the hill above Piazzale Michelangelo, with a green-and-white marble facade, an inlaid marble floor and a raised choir above the crypt. Olivetan monks live here and sing Gregorian chant at the evening service, and the cemetery terrace gives a quieter version of the Piazzale view.
Arrive for the late-afternoon chant, then walk down to Piazzale Michelangelo for sunset.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Views
- History
- Off the beaten path
- Couples
Religious site · Oltrarno
8.Basilica of Santo Spirito
Brunelleschi's last church hides one of the most harmonious Renaissance interiors behind a plain, unfinished facade: rows of grey pietra serena columns ringed by 38 side chapels. A wooden crucifix attributed to the young Michelangelo hangs in the sacristy, and the piazza outside has a small morning market and bars in the evening.
Visit in the morning, then browse the stalls on the piazza and have coffee on its benches.
- Time needed
- 30–45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Architecture
- Art
- Free
- Off the beaten path
Museum · Uffizi riverfront
9.Museo Galileo
Beside the Uffizi on the Arno, Museo Galileo displays the Medici scientific collections: Galileo's two surviving telescopes, the lens with which he discovered Jupiter's moons, astrolabes, giant globes and, in a glass reliquary, the middle finger of his right hand. Working models of early instruments make it a good stop with older children.
Use it as the rainy-afternoon option near the Uffizi, then walk the Lungarno to the Ponte Vecchio.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Rainy day
- History
- Off the beaten path
Market · San Lorenzo
10.Mercato Centrale
The 1874 cast-iron market hall has butchers, tripe counters, cheesemongers and greengrocers on the ground floor and a modern food hall upstairs with counters for fresh pasta, pizza, lampredotto and Tuscan wine at long shared tables. The streets around it are lined with the San Lorenzo leather stalls.
Shop downstairs in the morning when the traders are busiest, then eat upstairs, which stays open into the evening.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Food
- Shopping
- Rainy day
- Kids
Museum · San Marco
11.Museo di San Marco
The Dominican convent of San Marco was decorated by Fra Angelico and his workshop, who painted a fresco in the friars' cells, and the upstairs corridor opens with his Annunciation. Michelozzo's library for Cosimo de' Medici and Savonarola's cells are here too. It is one of the most peaceful museums in the city, two minutes from the Accademia.
Combine it with the Accademia in one morning; the two are a short walk apart on Piazza San Marco.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- History
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Garden · San Niccolò
12.Bardini Garden
This terraced garden climbs from Via de' Bardi up to the Villa Bardini, with a baroque stairway, an orchard and a wisteria pergola that flowers purple in spring. It is smaller and calmer than Boboli, with a view of the dome and the Palazzo Vecchio across the Arno.
Time a spring visit for the wisteria, usually late April to early May, and come early on a weekday for some quiet.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Views
- Couples
- Outdoors
- Off the beaten path
- Photo spot
Pick by interest
| Interest | Best picks |
|---|---|
| Art and museums | Uffizi Gallery, Galleria dell'Accademia, Piazza della Signoria and Loggia dei Lanzi and Palazzo Vecchio |
| History | Florence Cathedral (Duomo), Uffizi Gallery, Ponte Vecchio and Palazzo Vecchio |
| Views | Florence Cathedral (Duomo), Piazzale Michelangelo, Palazzo Vecchio and Boboli Gardens |
| Outdoors and nature | Boboli Gardens and Bardini Garden |
| Food and markets | Mercato Centrale |
| After dark | Piazza della Signoria and Loggia dei Lanzi |
| With children | Florence Cathedral (Duomo), Piazzale Michelangelo, Palazzo Vecchio and Boboli Gardens |
| On a rainy day | Uffizi Gallery, Galleria dell'Accademia, Palazzo Pitti and Basilica of Santa Croce |
What to book ahead
- Florence Cathedral (Duomo): Dome climbs need a timed reservation that sells out days ahead in spring and summer; book on the official Duomo site.
- 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.
Plan the rest of your trip
Questions travellers ask
+What is the number one thing to do in Florence?
Florence Cathedral (Duomo). Santa Maria del Fiore's red-brick dome, engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi and completed in the 1430s, is still the largest masonry dome ever built.
+What can you do for free in Florence?
Ponte Vecchio, Piazzale Michelangelo, Piazza della Signoria and Loggia dei Lanzi, San Miniato al Monte and Basilica of Santo Spirito. More free things to do.
+What is there to do in Florence when it rains?
Head indoors to Uffizi Gallery, Galleria dell'Accademia, Palazzo Pitti and Basilica of Santa Croce.
+What is there to do in Florence at night?
Piazza della Signoria and Loggia dei Lanzi are best after dark.