City guide · Italy
Florence has a compact, largely pedestrian historic centre on both sides of the Arno. The Duomo, Piazza della Signoria, Uffizi and Santa Croce form the main nor...
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Set your days, your pace and the hours you actually want to be out. The planner works around closing days and travel time, and leaves room to eat.
Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor
Florence has a compact, largely pedestrian historic centre on both sides of the Arno. The Duomo, Piazza della Signoria, Uffizi and Santa Croce form the main north-bank cluster; the Oltrarno begins across the river around Santo Spirito and Palazzo Pitti. Santa Maria Novella station lies northwest of the centre, while hilltop viewpoints and Fiesole require a separate climb or transport leg.
Checked 2026-08-26
September · September balances a 26.7°C mean high and 14.4°C mean low in Florence with 79.6 mm of normal rain across 6.2 rain days.
Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.
104 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
Giardino di Boboli
The Boboli Gardens climb the hillside directly behind Pitti Palace and run south along the line of the old city walls as far as Porta Romana.
Basilica di Santa Croce
Santa Croce is the Franciscan mother church of Florence and the largest Franciscan church in the world.
Battistero di San Giovanni
The Baptistery of San Giovanni stands free in Piazza San Giovanni, directly in front of the cathedral facade, and it is the older of the two buildings by several centuries.
Piazzale Michelangiolo
Piazzale Michelangelo is a panoramic square overlooking Florence from the south bank of the Arno River. It was designed by architect Giuseppe Poggi in 1869 as part of Florence's brief period as capital of the Kingdom of Italy.
Piazza della Signoria is Florence's principal civic square and the historic heart of the city's political life.
Palazzo Medici Riccardi is a Renaissance palace in Florence, Italy. It was commissioned by Cosimo de' Medici and designed by Michelozzo di Bartolomeo in the fifteenth century.
Basilica di Santa Maria Novella
The Basilica of Santa Maria Novella is a major Dominican church in Florence, situated opposite the city's main railway station, which shares its name.
Basilica di Santa Maria del Santo Spirito
Santo Spirito is a major basilica in Florence's Oltrarno district, formally named Basilica di Santa Maria del Santo Spirito. The church stands as one of the most significant Renaissance religious structures in the city, designed by Filippo Brunelleschi.
Cappelle Medicee
The Medici Chapels, known locally as Cappelle Medicee, constitute a significant mausoleum complex in Florence.
Palazzo del Bargello
The Bargello National Museum occupies the Palazzo del Bargello, a medieval fortress palace in central Florence. Built from 1255, it served as the city podesta residence and later as a prison and police headquarters.
Museo Galileo - Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza
Museo Galileo occupies a historic position near the Arno River in Florence, housed in the Palazzo Castellani. The institution operates under its full designation Museo Galileo - Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza.
Museo di San Marco
The Museum of San Marco occupies a former Dominican convent in central Florence, Italy. The complex holds significant importance for its architectural history and its association with prominent figures of the Italian Renaissance.
Cappella Brancacci
The Brancacci Chapel, known locally as Cappella Brancacci, is a chapel within the church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence.
Palazzo Strozzi is a Renaissance palace in central Florence, Italy. Built for the Strozzi family beginning in 1489, it represents one of the finest examples of secular Renaissance architecture in the city.
Museo Nazionale Alinari della Fotografia
Museo Novecento is a museum in Florence dedicated to twentieth-century Italian art. It occupies a prominent position in the historic centre, near Piazza Santa Maria Novella.
The Museo dell'Opera del Duomo is the storehouse and the explanation of the buildings standing outside its own door.
Basilica di San Lorenzo
The Basilica di San Lorenzo stands on its own square a short walk north-west of the Duomo, and the Opera Medicea Laurenziana, the body that runs it, describes it as the oldest cathedral in Florence: the first building raised for…
Abbazia di San Miniato al Monte is a historic basilica standing on one of Florence's highest hills, overlooking the city centre and the Arno valley.
Spedale degli Innocenti
The Hospital of Innocents, or Spedale degli Innocenti, stands as one of Florence's most significant Renaissance buildings. Designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, it opened in 1445 as Europe's first dedicated orphanage.
The Loggia dei Lanzi is an open-air sculpture gallery located on the southeast corner of Piazza della Signoria in Florence. Built between 1376 and 1382, this Gothic-style loggia was originally designed to host public ceremonies of the Florentine Republic.
Museo Stefano Bardini
Museo Bardini, locally known as Museo Stefano Bardini, is a museum in Florence housed in a historic building that once belonged to the antiquarian and collector Stefano Bardini.
Museo Horne is a museum in Florence, Italy, housed in a historic building. It is named after its founder, Herbert Percy Horne, an English art collector and historian who established the institution.
Museo Salvatore Ferragamo
The Salvatore Ferragamo Museum, or Museo Salvatore Ferragamo, is a fashion museum in Florence devoted to the work and legacy of shoe designer Salvatore Ferragamo.
Teatro della Pergola is a historic theatre in Florence, Tuscany. It stands as one of Italy's most significant theatrical landmarks, with origins tracing to the mid-seventeenth century.
Teatro Verdi is a historic theatre in Florence, part of the city’s living tradition of music, opera and drama.
The cathedral is the clearest central landmark. Piazza della Signoria and the Uffizi lie south toward the Arno, Santa Croce lies east, and Santa Maria Novella lies west near the main station. Cross Ponte Vecchio for the Oltrarno, Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens. Piazzale Michelangelo sits above the river and should be treated as a separate uphill destination rather than part of a flat centre walk.
Checked 2026-08-26
Walk for most journeys inside the historic centre. Visit Tuscany describes Florence as relatively small and largely pedestrianised, with buses and trams serving places beyond the walking core. The tram also connects selected outer districts and the airport corridor. Restricted traffic zones make driving impractical for many visitors, so use public transport for outlying stops and keep central days on foot.
Checked 2026-08-26
A fixed duration is not recorded. Plan by clusters: the cathedral and civic centre, Santa Croce, Santa Maria Novella, the Oltrarno and any hilltop or day-trip destination.
Yes. The historic centre is compact and largely pedestrianised. Most major central sights can be linked on foot, while outer districts and uphill destinations may need transport.
The Oltrarno contains Palazzo Pitti, the Boboli Gardens and Santo Spirito. Reach it across the central bridges and treat it as a separate neighbourhood cluster.
Yes. Florence uses buses and a tram network for journeys outside the pedestrian core, including selected outer districts and the airport corridor.
Public transport and walking are usually more practical. The historic centre has restricted traffic areas, narrow streets and a layout designed for short pedestrian journeys.
