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Florence packs more Renaissance art and architecture into a compact centre than almost any city its size on earth, and nearly all of it sits within a 20-minute walk of the Duomo. You can see the headline sights in two days, but the quieter corners of the Oltrarno and the hilltop viewpoints reward another two. Here are the standout things to do, with hours, prices and practical tips so you do not lose your day to a queue. For more on the weather by month, read our weather by month guide. For more on the best time to visit, read our best time to visit guide.
Things to Do in Florence: The Masterpieces
Climb Brunelleschi’s Dome (Cupola del Duomo)
The 463-step climb to the top of the Duomo dome, finished by Filippo Brunelleschi in 1436, is the single most memorable thing to do in Florence. You wind up between the two shells of the dome, past Vasari’s frescoes, before emerging onto the lantern for a 360-degree view over terracotta rooftops. A combined Brunelleschi Pass costs €30 and also covers the bell tower, Baptistery and museum, and the climb is limited to timed 15-minute entry slots, so reserve the earliest slot of the day. There is no lift and the stairs are steep, so it is not suitable for mobility-limited visitors or serious claustrophobia. For more on the events and festivals, read our events and festivals guide. For more on the travel tips, read our travel tips guide.
See Michelangelo’s David at the Accademia Gallery
The Galleria dell’Accademia in Via Ricasoli 58-60 is built around a single object, Michelangelo’s 5.17 m marble David (1504), plus his unfinished Slaves. Entry costs €16 and the museum opens at 08:15 most days, closes Monday in low season and stays open until 18:50 the rest of the week. The queue at opening is short, but by 10:00 it can run to two hours, so book the first slot online. Plan 60 to 90 minutes inside; almost everything else on the walls is Florentine painting rather than the marquee draw.
Walk the Uffizi Gallery
The Uffizi, on Piazzale degli Uffizi off the Piazza della Signoria, holds the single most important collection of Renaissance painting in the world, from Giotto and Botticelli’s Birth of Venus through to Leonardo and Caravaggio. A full-price ticket is €25 and timed entry is mandatory. The collection is U-shaped over three floors and demands 3 to 4 hours if you move briskly; focus on rooms 10 to 14 (Botticelli) and 41 (Raphael) if time is short. The rooftop terrace cafe gives a cheap view over the Palazzo Vecchio tower.
Cross the Ponte Vecchio
The only Florentine bridge to survive the Second World War, the Ponte Vecchio has housed goldsmiths and jewellers since 1593, when the Medici ordered the butchers out. It is free and open around the clock, and the gold and silver shops in the bridge’s overhanging huts still trade today. The best view of the bridge itself is from the next crossing downstream, the Ponte Santa Trinita, at sunset. Cross first thing in the morning to see it before the day-trippers arrive.
Visit the Palazzo Vecchio and Piazza della Signoria
The fortress-like Palazzo Vecchio has been Florence’s town hall since 1299 and doubles as a museum of Medici-era state rooms, with frescoes by Vasari and the Salone dei Cinquecento. Entry is €12.50 for the museum, and the 95 m Arnolfo Tower costs a further €12.50 for a 418-step climb with Duomo views. Just outside, the open-air Loggia dei Lanzi and the copy of Michelangelo’s David stand in the Piazza della Signoria, free to view at any hour.
Things to Do in Florence: The Oltrarno and Beyond
Tour the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens
Across the Arno, the vast Palazzo Pitti was the Medici and later Habsburg-Lorraine residence, and now holds the Palatine Gallery of Raphaels and Titians. A combined ticket for the Palatine Gallery plus the Boboli Gardens is €22, or €10 for the gardens alone. The Boboli Gardens stretch behind the palace as one of the earliest examples of the Italian formal garden, with fountains, clipped hedges and the Porcelain Museum. Allow a full half-day for both; the gardens close earlier in winter, typically 16:15 from November to February.
See the Frescoes of Santa Croce
The Basilica of Santa Croce is best known as the burial place of Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli and Rossini, but its real draw is Giotto’s 14th-century fresco cycles in the Bardi and Peruzzi chapels. Entry is €8 and includes the Pazzi Chapel, a Brunelleschi design, and the leather-working school behind the cloister, where you can watch artisans at work. It sits just east of the centre in the Piazza Santa Croce, minutes from the Casa Buonarroti museum.
Watch Sunset from Piazzale Michelangelo
The terrace of Piazzale Michelangelo, up the hill on the south bank, gives the postcard panorama over the Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio and the sweep of the Arno, and it is free. It is a 20 to 25 minute uphill walk from the Ponte alle Grazie, or you can take bus 12 or 13 from the station. Arrive 40 minutes before sunset in high season to claim a spot on the balustrade. The adjacent rose garden below the piazza is open seasonally and is a quieter escape from the crowds.
Shop the San Lorenzo Market
The covered Mercato Centrale on Piazza del Mercato Centrale is a two-floor food hall where the ground floor sells produce, meat and cheese stalls and the upstairs is a busy food court open daily until midnight. It sits beside the outdoor leather stalls of the San Lorenzo market, where haggling is expected. Budget roughly €15 to €25 for a full meal upstairs, and note the indoor hall closes Sunday afternoon.
Explore the San Marco Museum and Fra Angelico Frescoes
The Museo di San Marco, a former Dominican convent in Piazza San Marco, holds Fra Angelico’s serene frescoes in the pilgrim cells on the upper floor, including the famous Annunciation. Entry is €8 and the museum stays open until 13:50 most afternoons, closing entirely on the second and fourth Sunday and Monday of each month, so check the day before you plan it. It is rarely crowded even in summer.
For where to base yourself while ticking off this list, the Florence neighborhoods guide explains each district, and the where to stay in Florence guide pairs areas with hotels at every budget.
