Florence, ItalyBy ArrivLast checked
Plan a trip to Florence
The densest concentration of Renaissance art anywhere, in a center you can cross in twenty minutes. Two museums need advance tickets, and the rest is walking, which is the good part.
- Couples
- Art
- Food trips
- First-timers
Free to run, and you keep editing after. Add who's coming or a pace like “slow mornings” to shape the result.
Florence at a glance
A 2 to 4 day trip to Florence comes down to a few decisions: which stops earn a morning, whether you sleep in Centro Storico or somewhere cheaper, and whether the month you picked was the right one. This page has an opinion on each. Change any of it once it is on the map.
- How long
- 2–4 days
- When to go
- April to May, then September to October. Winter wins. Summer is hot and the queues are at their longest, while November through February is cold and quiet. That is the only stretch when you can stand in front of a Botticelli without somebody's elbow in your ribs.
- Getting around
- Walk. The historic center is largely car-free and about a mile across, so the day happens on foot whether you planned it that way or not. Trains from Santa Maria Novella reach Rome in ninety minutes and Venice in two hours.
What to build the plan around
- 1
Uffizi Gallery
Book a timed entry, and two hours is enough if you head straight for the Botticelli rooms and skip the long corridors.
- 2
Duomo and Brunelleschi's dome
The dome climb needs a separate reserved slot and 463 steps, though the Baptistery and Campanile are on the same pass.
- 3
Accademia
David, and an hour is plenty, so book ahead, because the queue outside runs longer than the visit.
- 4
Piazzale Michelangelo
The city view worth the uphill walk, and it is best in the hour before sunset.
Where to stay in Florence
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- Centro Storico
- Inside the walls, with a walk to every sight, though it is busiest by day. Browse stays in Centro Storico
- Oltrarno
- South of the river, with artisan workshops and better food value, and the evenings are quieter because of it. Browse stays in Oltrarno
- San Niccolò
- Below Piazzale Michelangelo, residential, and ten minutes from the Ponte Vecchio once you are moving. Browse stays in San Niccolò
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Itineraries close to Florence
Florence has no itinerary of its own yet. These are the nearest ones, and every stop is already mapped.
Florence planning questions
- How many days do you need in Florence?
- Most people take 2 to 4 days, and the extra one earns its keep if you dislike rushing. Two days covers the Uffizi, the Duomo, and the Oltrarno. Four makes room for Siena or a Chianti day, both of which go better with a car and neither of which needs an early start.
- What is the best time to visit Florence?
- April to May, then September to October. Winter wins. Summer is hot and the queues are at their longest, while November through February is cold and quiet. That is the only stretch when you can stand in front of a Botticelli without somebody's elbow in your ribs.
- Where should I stay in Florence?
- Three areas cover most trips in Florence, since where you sleep decides how much of the day you spend in transit. Centro Storico: Inside the walls, with a walk to every sight, though it is busiest by day. Oltrarno: South of the river, with artisan workshops and better food value, and the evenings are quieter because of it. San Niccolò: Below Piazzale Michelangelo, residential, and ten minutes from the Ponte Vecchio once you are moving. If you want one answer without weighing it up, book Centro Storico and stop reading.
- How do you get around Florence?
- Walk. The historic center is largely car-free and about a mile across, so the day happens on foot whether you planned it that way or not. Trains from Santa Maria Novella reach Rome in ninety minutes and Venice in two hours.
- What should I see first in Florence?
- Start with Uffizi Gallery, Duomo and Brunelleschi's dome, Accademia. Schedule the first of those before anything else, because it is the one that suffers most from a late start. Book a timed entry, and two hours is enough if you head straight for the Botticelli rooms and skip the long corridors.
- Can I build a Florence itinerary automatically?
- Yes. Arriv takes the trip length, the pace you want, and the size of the group, then returns a mapped Florence itinerary built from venues that exist. Editing it is the point, so nothing it hands you is fixed, and you sign in only when you want to save or share.