Trip highlights
- 1Uffizi Gallery — Botticelli's Birth of Venus
- 2Duomo rooftop climb for the terracotta panorama
- 3Oltrarno artisan workshops
- 4Mercato Centrale food hall
- 5Fiesole hilltop village above the city
Daily spend
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Day-by-day plan
Arrival, Duomo & Mercato Centrale
Thursday, April 1
Est. spend
$130
per person
🌅 Morning
Arrive at Florence Santa Maria Novella Station
Piazza della Stazione, Florence
Florence has no airport of note — most people arrive by train from Rome (1.5h, Frecciarossa high-speed), Milan (1.75h), or Venice (2h). Florence Santa Maria Novella Station puts you in the city centre. Airport connections: Florence Peretola (FLR) airport is 5km away, connected by tram T2.
Book Trenitalia Frecciarossa trains in advance at trenitalia.com — prices double as departure approaches. A Rome–Florence seat can be €15–19 if booked 3+ weeks ahead.
☀️ Afternoon
Duomo complex — cathedral, baptistery, and rooftop climb
Piazza del Duomo, Florence
The Florence Duomo (Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore) is the architectural marvel that defined the Renaissance — Brunelleschi's dome (1436) was the largest in the world for 500 years and engineered without a supporting framework. Climb to the top of the dome (463 steps, no lift) for the 360° terracotta rooftop view. Cumulative ticket €30 covers all Duomo complex buildings.
Book the dome climb online 3+ days ahead — timed entry only. Arrive 15 minutes early. The Giotto Campanile (bell tower, 414 steps) has a better exterior view of the dome from the same height. Both are worth climbing.
🌙 Evening
Mercato Centrale food hall, then Lampredotto
Piazza del Mercato Centrale, Florence
The Mercato Centrale on Piazza del Mercato Centrale has a ground floor of butchers, fishmongers, and produce merchants (Monday–Saturday 7am–2pm), and a first floor food hall open until midnight. For the authentic experience: Nerbone inside the market has been serving working-class Florentine food since 1872.
Lampredotto (tripe from the fourth stomach of a cow, braised in broth, served in a bun with green sauce) is Florence's street food. The Lampredotto stalls around San Lorenzo market are the authentic experience. Don't be squeamish — it's delicious.
🍽️ Meals
Nerbone, Mercato Centrale
Florentine · $12 · Working-man's lunch since 1872. Ribollita (bread and bean soup), boiled meat, and house wine from the barrel.
Il Latini
Tuscan · $45 · Long communal tables, no menu, no choices — whatever they bring is what you eat. Antipasto through pappa al pomodoro to bistecca. Queue before they open at 7pm.
Uffizi & Ponte Vecchio
Friday, April 2
Est. spend
$180
per person
🌅 Morning
Uffizi Gallery — full morning
Piazzale degli Uffizi 6, Florence
The Uffizi is the greatest collection of Italian Renaissance painting in the world. The essential rooms: Room 2 (Cimabue and Giotto — where it all starts), Rooms 10–14 (Botticelli — Birth of Venus and Primavera in the same room), Room 15 (Leonardo), Room 25 (Michelangelo's Doni Tondo), Rooms 35 and 66 (Raphael). Allow 3 hours minimum. Entry €25 — book online at uffizi.it weeks ahead in high season.
The Uffizi is overwhelming. Pick 8 rooms and see them properly rather than rushing through all 90. The Leonardo unfinished Adoration of the Magi (Room 35) is one of the strangest and most fascinating paintings in Italian art.
☀️ Afternoon
Piazza della Signoria and Palazzo Vecchio
Piazza della Signoria, Florence
The political heart of Florence since the 13th century — the open-air sculpture museum with Cellini's Perseus, Giambologna's Rape of the Sabine Women, and a copy of Michelangelo's David (the original is in the Accademia). Palazzo Vecchio is the fortress-palace with good interior frescoes (entry €12.50).
The tower of Palazzo Vecchio (96m) has better views than the Campanile and fewer queues. Book online.
Ponte Vecchio and the Vasari Corridor
Ponte Vecchio, Florence
The 14th-century bridge covered in goldsmiths and jewellers — the only Florentine bridge not blown up by the Nazis in 1944 (legend says Hitler ordered it preserved because of its beauty). The Vasari Corridor above the shops is a private passage built in 1565 to connect the Palazzo Vecchio to the Pitti Palace.
The gold jewellery on Ponte Vecchio is genuine but expensive — window shop and walk. The view of the bridge from the Ponte Santa Trinità (the next bridge south) is the classic shot.
🌙 Evening
Oltrarno neighbourhood for aperitivo and dinner
Oltrarno, Florence
Cross the river into Oltrarno — the 'other side of the Arno' is the real Florence. Artisan workshops (leatherwork, gilding, bookbinding), local bars serving aperitivo with free snacks at 6pm, and restaurants that serve Florentines rather than tourists.
🍽️ Meals
Buca Mario
Florentine · $55 · The oldest restaurant in Florence (1886). The bistecca alla Fiorentina for two (900g T-bone, cooked rare over chestnut coals) is the definitive Florentine dinner. Order by weight — 1.2kg minimum.
Accademia, Boboli Gardens & Pitti Palace
Saturday, April 3
Est. spend
$130
per person
🌅 Morning
Galleria dell'Accademia — Michelangelo's David
Via Ricasoli 58, Florence
The David (1504) is extraordinary in person — 5.17 metres of white Carrara marble, every muscle and tendon visible. The room is designed to see it in natural light from the central oculus. The gallery also has four of Michelangelo's unfinished Prisoners — figures emerging from the stone that are more emotional than most finished work. Entry €12 — book online at galleriaaccademiafirenze.it.
Book the first entry slot (8:15am) to see the David with fewer people. By 10am the room is full. The audio guide (€6) explains the geology, the commission, and Michelangelo's technique.
☀️ Afternoon
Pitti Palace and Palatine Gallery
Piazza de' Pitti 1, Florence
The Medici family's main residence — the Palatine Gallery has more Raphael and Titian paintings than you can absorb in an afternoon. The palace also houses the Royal Apartments (as they were in 1860), the Costume Gallery, and leads into the Boboli Gardens.
The Palatine Gallery paintings hang floor-to-ceiling in the original salon arrangement — not the museum-style single-line hang. Raphael's Madonna della Seggiola and Titian's La Bella are the two you're looking for.
Boboli Gardens
Piazza de' Pitti 1 (rear entrance), Florence
16th-century formal gardens behind the Pitti Palace — fountains, grottos, an Egyptian obelisk, and an amphitheatre where the first opera performances in history were staged in 1637. Included in the Pitti Palace ticket. The upper terrace has views over Florence.
The grotto of Buontalenti (behind the Pitti entrance) contains casts of the Prisoners by Michelangelo — an extraordinary setting. Often overlooked.
🌙 Evening
Piazzale Michelangelo sunset
Piazzale Michelangelo, Florence
The broad terrace on a hill south of the Arno has the most famous view in Florence — the entire city laid out with the Duomo and Palazzo Vecchio against the Tuscan hills. Bus 13 from the station takes 20 minutes, or walk up the Viale dei Colli (30 minutes). The sunset here is genuinely spectacular.
Go 30 minutes before sunset and stay for the dusk light. Bring a bottle of Chianti from the enoteca — the square has public seating.
🍽️ Meals
Gelateria dei Neri
Italian gelato · $10 · Consistently the best gelato in Florence. The pistachio and crema are definitive. Ask for a cone, not a cup.
La Buca dell'Orafo
Florentine · $50 · Ponte Vecchio setting, family-run since 1978. The ribollita and ribollita are the dishes — but the pappa al pomodoro (tomato and bread soup) is what you won't find this good anywhere else.
Fiesole Day Trip & Departure
Sunday, April 4
Est. spend
$80
per person
🌅 Morning
Fiesole — Etruscan hill town above Florence
Fiesole, Metropolitan City of Florence
Bus 7 from Piazza San Marco takes 20 minutes up the hill to Fiesole — the town that predates Florence by 400 years. The Roman amphitheatre (2nd century BC, still used for summer concerts), the Etruscan walls, and the view down over Florence's Duomo from Villa Medici garden are the three reasons to come.
The Villa Medici garden above Fiesole (free admission) has the most beautiful view of Florence — better than Piazzale Michelangelo because it's elevated further and has the whole valley visible.
☀️ Afternoon
San Miniato al Monte church
Via delle Porte Sante 34, Florence
The Romanesque church on the hill above Piazzale Michelangelo (1018) is one of the finest buildings in Italy and largely ignored by tourists. The emerald and white marble façade, the ancient crypt, and the monk choir who sing Gregorian vespers at 5:30pm make this a more moving experience than many more famous sites.
The vespers service (5:30pm daily) is free and open to all — about 20 minutes of Gregorian chanting in a medieval church. One of the unexpectedly moving experiences in Florence.
Enoteca Alessi for wine and last lunch
Via delle Oche 27, Florence
The best wine shop in Florence since 1952 — a basement enoteca with 2,000+ labels and a small lunch menu of crostini, cold cuts, and cheese. The Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano selections are the best in the city.
Buy a bottle of Super Tuscan (Sassicaia or Tignanello) here rather than at a restaurant — half the price and the staff will explain the vintage.
🍽️ Meals
Trattoria Mario, San Lorenzo
Florentine · $15 · Communal tables, no menu, cash only, open since 1953. The lunch starts at noon but the line starts at 11:30am. Worth every minute of the wait.
Before you go
📅 Best time to visit
April–May and September–October are ideal — warm, spring flowers or autumn colours, and manageable crowds. June–August is very hot (35°C+) and the museums are at maximum capacity. December–February is cold but quiet — good museum visits with no queues, and Christmas Eve at the Duomo is memorable.
🛂 Visas
Schengen Zone — no visa required for US, UK (90 days), EU, Australian, Canadian citizens. ETA for Brits with the new UK-EU agreements. Check schengen.eu for current requirements.
💱 Currency
Euro. Florence is Italy's most expensive city after Milan and Venice. The further from the Piazza della Signoria, the cheaper the food. A half-litre carafe of house Chianti in a local trattoria: €4–6. The same wine at a tourist restaurant on the square: €18.
🆘 Emergency numbers
police: 113
ambulance: 118
european emergency: 112
💬 Things you won't find in a guidebook
- Book all major sites online before arriving — Uffizi, Accademia, and Duomo dome all sell out. Walk-in entry is possible but sometimes involves a 2-hour queue.
- The best time at any Florentine museum is in the 90 minutes after opening. Set your alarm.
- Bistecca alla Fiorentina is always ordered by weight, always rare (al sangue), and always for a minimum of 2 people. If a restaurant offers it 'well done' or for one person, leave.
- Aperitivo hour (6–8pm) is when bars offer free food with drinks — spritz with antipasto is the standard. The Oltrarno has the best aperitivo spots.
- Florence is extremely walkable. The historic centre is 3km across. Wear good shoes — the cobblestones are beautiful but uneven.
One thing worth not skipping
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