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...
Photograph · Wikibusters · CC BY-SA 4.0
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.
Editorial responsibility: 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
November · November's 113.6 mm of normal rain across 9 rain days is the main planning trade-off in Florence, with temperatures from 5.1°C to 14.7°C.
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The Gucci Museum presents the history of the Florentine luxury house founded by Guccio Gucci in 1921. Set in the historic Palazzo della Mercanzia near Piazza della Signoria, it connects fashion objects with Florence’s traditions of craftsmanship, commerce, and design.
Museo de’ Medici explores the family whose political power, banking wealth, and artistic patronage shaped Florence and Tuscany.
Museo del Calcio is a museum in Florence dedicated to the history of Italian football. The institution preserves and displays artifacts, documents, and memorabilia chronicling the development of calcio in Italy.
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Basilica di Santa Maria del Carmine
Santa Maria del Carmine is a Carmelite church in Florence's Oltrarno district. The basilica dates to the thirteenth century and was rebuilt after a devastating fire in 1771 destroyed much of its interior.
Porta San Giorgio
Porta San Giorgio is a medieval city gate in Florence, located in the Oltrarno district near the Arno River. It forms part of the historic defensive walls that once encircled the city.
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Palazzo Arcivescovile
The Archbishop's Palace, known locally as Palazzo Arcivescovile, stands as the historic residence of the Archbishop of Florence. This significant ecclesiastical building occupies a prominent position near the Duomo cathedral complex in the heart of the city.
Basilica di San Marco
The Basilica of St. Mark, or Basilica di San Marco, is a historic religious building in Florence. It is distinct from St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, although both are dedicated to the same patron saint.
Forte di Belvedere
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Castello di Bisarno
Bisarno Castle, also known as Castello di Bisarno, is a historic castle in the Florence area of Tuscany. It represents the region’s layered relationship with fortified architecture, noble residences, and changing patterns of settlement.
Casa Giorgio Vasari
Casa Giorgio Vasari is a historic house museum in Florence, the former residence of the Renaissance artist, architect, and writer Giorgio Vasari. Located in the city centre, this property served as both his home and studio.
Cenacolo del Fuligno
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Chiesa di San Niccolò Oltrarno
The Church of San Niccolò Oltrarno is a parish church in Florence’s Oltrarno district, south of the Arno River. Its setting places it within a traditionally local part of the city known for artisan streets and neighbourhood life.
Santa Maria a Quinto
The Church of Santa Maria a Quinto is a religious building in Florence and part of the city’s extensive network of churches.
Santa Maria Primerana
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Chiostro dello Scalzo
The Cloister of the Scalzo, or Chiostro dello Scalzo, is a Renaissance cloister in Florence known for Andrea del Sarto’s fresco cycle.
La Fabbrica dei Saperi
Comune vecchio is the local name associated with La Fabbrica dei Saperi in Florence. The name connects the place with an older municipal identity and with the idea of a house of knowledge or learning.
Parco di Villa Fabbricotti is an English-style hillside garden below Montughi, north of Florence's busiest museum streets. It grew around a former hunting lodge that Giuseppe Fabbricotti acquired in 1864 and had transformed into a residence.
Fondazione Scienza e tecnica
Fondazione Scienza e Tecnica is a Florence institution devoted to scientific and technological heritage.
Parco di Villa Stibbert is the landscaped park surrounding Villa Stibbert in northern Florence. The villa is home to the Stibbert Museum, created around Frederick Stibbert’s collection, while the grounds provide the outdoor counterpart to the museum’s historic interiors.
Castello di Montalbano
Montalbano Castle is a historic castle structure in the Florence area, identified in OpenStreetMap as way/305689918. It belongs to Tuscany’s wider landscape of medieval defensive architecture and carries the Montalbano name associated with the region.
Monumento ai Caduti delle Guerre d'Indipendenza
The Obelisk of Piazza dell'Unità Italiana stands beside Florence's Santa Maria Novella railway station.
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
Suggested stay for a first visit: 3–4 days. 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.
