Florence

Florence: A Working Guide

Florence concentrates an unusual amount of great art into a walkable historic centre, and that density creates the tourist-overcrowding problem that makes the city frustrating to visit on a summer Saturday without planning. Fourteen million visitors a year in a medieval street plan. That context shapes almost every practical decision you will make.

Booking Update (2026)

The Uffizi changed its ticketing system at the end of 2025; book through the new CoopCulture-managed site at tickets.uffizi.it rather than previous aggregators. From January 2026, there is an afternoon discount: entry after 4pm costs EUR 16 if bought on the day or EUR 20 if booked in advance. Peak season slots at any hour still fill up; book at least a month ahead from April through September. The Vasari Corridor, the elevated passageway Cosimo I built in 1565 to connect the Palazzo Vecchio to the Palazzo Pitti without descending to street level, reopened in spring 2025 and can now be visited as a combined ticket with the Uffizi for EUR 48. Worth it.

The Brunelleschi Dome at the Duomo has closure windows in 2026: February 9-13 and November 16-20. Plan around these if the dome climb is a priority.

The Main Attractions

Uffizi Gallery is the essential stop. The Botticelli rooms alone, Birth of Venus and Primavera hanging opposite each other, justify the admission. The collection also includes Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio, and Flemish masters that most visitors rush past because they came for the Renaissance Italians. Timed entry tickets still generate crowds around midday; try for a 9am or 4pm slot.

Accademia Gallery houses Michelangelo’s David. The statue is 5.17 metres of Carrara marble, carved 1501-1504. Photographs do not prepare you for the scale, or for the visible repair work at the ankles where the statue has been damaged over centuries. Book tickets in advance; the queue without a reservation runs ninety minutes in July.

The Duomo: the nave is free to enter. The climb to Brunelleschi’s dome (463 steps, EUR 20, advance booking required) gives the best aerial view of the city. The dome was completed in 1436 without supporting scaffolding, using a herringbone brick technique Brunelleschi devised specifically for this project. The Baptistry’s bronze doors by Lorenzo Ghiberti (the Gates of Paradise) on display inside are the originals; the copies are outside on the building.

Museo dell’Opera del Duomo contains those bronze originals and Donatello’s late wooden figure of Mary Magdalene. Consistently less crowded than the Uffizi. EUR 20 and covers the Baptistry too.

Beyond the Tourist Circuit

Oltrarno, south of the Arno, is the most lived-in, least sanitised part of the historic centre. The piazzas of Santo Spirito and San Frediano have bars and restaurants where the clientele is mostly local. The side streets between them on a weekday evening pass working artisan workshops: leather binders, furniture restorers, a handful of tailors. This is not what the tourist itinerary shows you.

Piazzale Michelangelo is the hilltop viewpoint with the famous panoramic view. Worth seeing. Genuinely crowded from 10am onward. Go at sunrise or an hour before sunset.

San Miniato al Monte, fifteen minutes walk further uphill from Piazzale Michelangelo, is a Romanesque church from the 11th century with an extraordinary geometric marble facade. Almost no one makes the extra climb. Gregorian chant vespers on Sunday afternoons are open to visitors.

Eating

The single best practical rule in Florence: avoid any restaurant within two blocks of the Duomo at mealtimes. The economics of tourism mean price and quality diverge sharply in those streets.

Trattoria da Ruggero in Oltrarno on Via Senese has fluorescent lighting, a menu that rarely changes, and genuinely good Florentine cooking. Ribollita (bean soup) and pappardelle al cinghiale (pasta with wild boar) are both excellent. Around EUR 25 per head with house wine. Booking required.

All’Antico Vinaio on Via dei Neri sells schiacciata sandwiches, the flat bread stuffed with cured meats, cheese, or truffle paste, for EUR 5-8. The queue extends onto the street and moves quickly. This is lunch.

For gelato: the places using natural colours (pale greens for pistachio, muted yellows for lemon) are making their own. Gelateria dei Neri in Oltrarno and Gelateria Sbrino in San Frediano are reliable.

Staying

Hotel Davanzati near Piazza della Repubblica is family-owned, central, and well-priced for its location. Doubles from EUR 140 in shoulder season.

Soprarno Suites in Oltrarno are apartment-style rooms with a communal terrace. Quieter at night than the north bank and ten minutes walk from the main sites.

Practical Notes

The Firenze Card (EUR 85) covers most museums for 72 hours. It only saves money if you visit at least six museums. Most people don’t.

October is the best month: tourist numbers drop by roughly a third after mid-September, the light is long and golden, and the olive harvest begins in the hills around Greve in Chianti.

Day trips: Siena is 75 minutes by bus from Piazza Gramsci. The Campo in Siena is one of the finest medieval piazzas in Europe. Pisa is 45 minutes by direct train; half a day is sufficient.