Florence packs more world-class art into a few walkable blocks than almost anywhere, which is exactly why a first visit can turn into a series of queues. Here are 22 things to do in Florence that are worth your time, grouped by area so you walk instead of zigzag, with what to book ahead, what's free, and what we'd skip. Updated October 2026 with prices and opening days checked on official sites.
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Short on Time? Don't Miss These Things to Do in Florence
If you only have a day or two, these four do the most for the least stress:
- Michelangelo's David: book a timed entry to the Accademia with audio app so you skip the walk-up line.
- The Uffizi: the Uffizi ticket with audio app covers all collections. Details in item 2.
- The Duomo and dome: the guided dome climb with terrace access removes the guesswork.
- Sunset at Piazzale Michelangelo: free, and the best view in town. See item 15.
For the full city overview, our Florence travel guide covers neighbourhoods, costs and getting around. This page is the item-by-item list.
Museums and Monuments Worth Booking Ahead
Florence's headline sights run on timed entry and sell out in busy months. Book these before you book dinner.
1. See Michelangelo's David (Book a Slot)
The David is one statue, in one museum, and it is still worth the effort. The Galleria dell'Accademia is small, so you can see the David and the unfinished "Prisoners" in about an hour. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, roughly 8:15 am to 6:50 pm (last admission 6:20 pm), and closed Mondays. The official site lists a ticket of about €16 plus a €4 reservation fee when you book through its own line, and says reservations are "highly recommended". We couldn't confirm any 2026 price change, so check the amount when you book.
Go at opening or in the last two hours.
Skip the guided tour unless you want the backstory: the statue speaks for itself. We cover tickets and timing in our guide to the David and the Accademia.
Tip: the Accademia and the Bargello share a combined ticket (€26, valid 48 hours) on the Bargello's official page.
Book a timed entry to Michelangelo's David with an audio app here.
2. Spend a Morning in the Uffizi
This is the one museum we'd plan a whole morning around: Botticelli's Birth of Venus, Leonardo, Caravaggio and a long chain of Medici-era rooms. The Uffizi is open Tuesday to Sunday, 8:15 am to 6:30 pm, with the ticket office closing at 5:30 pm, and it's closed Mondays. Tickets start at €25 on the museum's official site (advance named tickets can cost a few euros more, so check at checkout). Since 1 January 2026 there's also a €16 ticket for entry from 4 pm, which is the budget move if you don't mind a shorter visit.
Some rooms are closed for restoration and rearrangement at the moment, so don't count on seeing every famous painting.
The museum is free on the first Sunday of each month, which also means it's packed.
The Vasari Corridor, the elevated passage across the Ponte Vecchio, is open again. Entry is by reservation only, Tuesday to Sunday between 10:15 am and 4:15 pm, and it can't be visited separately from the Uffizi: a full ticket is €43 (€47 if bought in advance), or a €20 add-on if you already hold an Uffizi ticket. Read more in our Uffizi Gallery guide.
Get an Uffizi ticket with an audio app here.
3. Climb Brunelleschi's Dome
The cathedral itself is free: no ticket, no reservation, open Monday to Saturday (10:15 am to 3:45 pm), closed Sundays. Dress with shoulders and knees covered. The part that costs money, and the part worth paying for, is the dome.
The Brunelleschi Pass is €30 for adults and covers the dome, Giotto's bell tower, the baptistery, the cathedral museum and the Santa Reparata crypt, each once, over three calendar days. The dome slot is mandatory, fixed when you buy, and can't be changed or cancelled, so choose your date carefully. You'll need photo ID to climb the dome. It's a long, narrow staircase climb, so skip it if stairs are a problem.
Our Florence Duomo guide goes through the pass in detail. If you'd rather have the logistics handled, a guided dome climb with hidden terraces is one option.
4. Go Up Palazzo Vecchio's Tower
Palazzo Vecchio has been Florence's town hall for centuries, and the museum inside is a better value than it looks: frescoed halls, secret passages and a clear view of how the Medici wanted to be seen. The museum is around €18 and the Tower of Arnolfo with the walkway around €20 on the city museums' site (re-check when you book). It's open daily, 9 am to 7 pm, except Thursday, when it closes at 2 pm. The tower closes at 5 pm.
If you only pick one, take the tower.
You get a rooftop-level view of the Duomo without the dome queue. Reserve online, since the museum itself recommends it. You can book a Palazzo Vecchio ticket with audioguide here.
5. Look at Sculpture in the Bargello
The Bargello is the museum most visitors skip, which is its charm. It holds Donatello's bronze David and a room of Michelangelo and Cellini, in a medieval palace that rarely feels crowded. Adult entry is €12, with an optional €4 reservation. It's open Tuesday to Sunday, 8:15 am to 6:50 pm (last entry 40 minutes before closing) and closed Mondays.
It makes a good counterweight to the Uffizi: forty-five minutes here is time well spent, and you'll often have the courtyard to yourself. Book a reserved Bargello entry here if you want to skip the ticket line.
6. Step Inside the Medici Chapels
The Medici Chapels sit behind the San Lorenzo church, and the New Sacristy, designed by Michelangelo, is the reason to go. Tickets are €11, with an optional €3 booking fee. Hours match the Bargello: Tuesday to Sunday, 8:15 am to 6:50 pm, closed Mondays. Allow about an hour.
You can reserve entry to the Medici Chapels online.
Tip: Do the Math Before You Buy a Firenzecard
The Firenzecard costs €85, lasts 72 hours from your first entry, covers more than 60 museums (each once), and pays the booking surcharges. Reservations are mandatory for several of the busiest sites.
Add up your plan before you buy: the Uffizi (€25), Accademia (about €16), Palazzo Vecchio (about €18), Bargello (€12) and a Pitti-plus-Boboli ticket (€22) come to roughly €93 at on-the-day prices, before any booking fees. That makes the card worth it if you really will cram five paid sites into three days.
If you plan a slower trip, single tickets win. The official FAQ lists which sites require booking, so read it before you commit.
Squares, Bridges and Churches in the Centre
These are mostly free or cheap, and they fill the gaps between museum slots.
7. Stand in Piazza della Signoria
This is Florence's outdoor sculpture gallery, under the Loggia dei Lanzi, with Palazzo Vecchio looming behind. It's free and open all day. Go early or after dinner, when the tour groups have gone and the stone glows in the lamplight.
Don't plan more than 20 minutes unless you're stopping for a coffee.
8. Cross the Ponte Vecchio (Then Keep Going)
Florence's medieval bridge, lined with jewellers, is free, and it's packed from mid-morning on. Be honest with yourself.
This is a photograph and a crossing, not an activity. Walk it early, or look at it instead from the Ponte Santa Trinita just downstream, where the view of the bridge is better and the crowd isn't.
9. Pay Your Respects at Santa Croce
Santa Croce is the burial place of Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli, and the frescoes by Giotto's circle are worth a slow look. Admission is €10, plus €1 if you buy online. It's open Monday to Saturday from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm, and Sunday from 2 pm to 5:30 pm, with no entry after 5 pm. Shoulders and legs should be covered.
The square outside is one of the nicest places in the city for an hour of people-watching. Our Florence itinerary shows where this fits in a day.
10. Step Into Santa Maria Novella
The façade is more striking than the interior, but the church is quieter than the Duomo and the cloisters reward a short visit. Entry is €7.50. Monday to Thursday it's open 9 am to 5:30 pm, Friday from 11 am, Saturday 9 am to 5 pm and Sunday 1 pm to 5 pm, with last admission an hour before closing. It's right by the train station, so it's an easy first stop after you drop your bags.
11. Spot the Wine Windows (Buchette del Vino)
Look for small arched hatches in old palazzo walls, once used to sell wine straight to the street. Some have been revived as serving hatches for drinks and gelato. It's a free scavenger hunt, best done while walking between sights. You don't need a guide for this one: just keep your eyes on the walls.
12. Do Aperitivo Once, Instead of Dinner
Florentine aperitivo is a drink with a spread of snacks, in the early evening. Done well it can replace a light dinner, and it often costs less than a sit-down meal. Pick a bar off the main squares, ask what's included before you sit, and avoid anywhere with a photo menu out front.
Across the Arno: Oltrarno
The south bank has the best views, the best workshops and the fewest tour groups.
13. Wander Oltrarno's Workshops and Santo Spirito
Cross the river and the city changes: leather workers, framers and restorers in small studios, and Piazza Santo Spirito for a drink in the evening. It's free, and you can do it in an hour or make it an afternoon.
This is the part of Florence that feels least staged.
14. Spend an Afternoon at Pitti and Boboli
Palazzo Pitti holds the Medici's grand apartments and galleries, and the Boboli Gardens behind it are a hillside of lawns, statues and long views. Pitti is €16 on the day, Boboli is €10, and a combined ticket is €22 (all on the Uffizi group's official pages). Pitti is open Tuesday to Sunday, 8:15 am to 6:30 pm; Boboli opens at 8:15 am daily but closes on the first and last Monday of each month, and its closing time shifts from 4:30 pm in winter to 7:10 pm in June to August. A couple of Pitti rooms are closed for works right now.
Skip the interior if the weather's good and do the gardens: the views over Florence's rooftops are the payoff. You can book a Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens ticket here.
15. Watch the Sunset From Piazzale Michelangelo
The terrace is free, and on a clear evening it's the best view in town: the whole city, the Arno and the Duomo laid out below. It also fills up, so arrive 45 minutes before sunset and take a drink up with you. For a quieter option, walk a little further up to San Miniato al Monte, a Romanesque church with free entry and no booking. It's open Monday to Saturday, 9:30 am to 1 pm and 3:30 pm to 7 pm, Sunday from 8:15 am, and the monks sing vespers in Gregorian chant at 6:30 pm daily.
City bus 13 climbs up there, but check the live timetable before you rely on it. Walking up from the river is a steady uphill climb.
Eating and Drinking
Food is a headline reason to be here, and it's where a guide earns its fee.
16. Graze at Mercato Centrale (and Sant'Ambrogio)
The Mercato Centrale at San Lorenzo is open daily, 9 am to 11 pm, with a food hall upstairs and stalls below. It's the easiest one-stop lunch for a group that can't agree. For something more local, Sant'Ambrogio market is open Monday to Saturday, 7 am to 2 pm, and closed Sundays, with fewer tourists and more shoppers.
17. Take a Food Walk
A food walk is the fastest way to taste the city's staples without queueing at each stop, and it's useful on day one. Look for one that covers a market, a wine bar and a classic sandwich or two. Start with this street food and wine walking tour if you want a small-group format.
18. Learn to Make Pasta
Wondering what to do in Florence when it rains? A cooking class is a good wet-weather fallback, and it feeds you lunch. Pick one that starts at a market so you shop and cook in one go: this market tour and cooking class with wine fits that format. Our Florence tours roundup compares more options.
19. Eat Lampredotto Like a Florentine
Lampredotto is a slow-cooked tripe sandwich, served from street carts in a bun dipped in broth. It's a Florentine staple and an acquired taste. If you're curious, order it with salsa verde, eat it standing, and move on.
If you're not, nobody's keeping score. For sit-down meals, see our guide to the best restaurants in Florence.
Beyond the Centre
You can fill three days in Florence itself, but these half- and full-day trips are worth it if you have more.
20. Escape Uphill to Fiesole
Fiesole is a hill town above Florence with Roman ruins and a calm, breezy feel. The archaeological area costs €7 (€10 with the museum). In October it's open daily from 10 am to 6 pm; from 1 November 2026 to 28 February 2027 it's open 10 am to 3 pm, Monday and Wednesday to Sunday, and closed Tuesdays. A city bus (line 7) uses the standard €2 urban ticket; check the departure stop in a transit app. See day trips from Florence for more.
21. Taste Wine in Tuscany
The wine hills around Florence make an easy half- or full-day trip, and the easiest way is a small-group trip, since someone else drives. This small-group wine tasting tour to Tuscany leaves from Florence. If you'd rather drive yourself, compare car hire prices, but remember that the historic centre is a limited traffic zone (ZTL): it's camera-enforced Monday to Friday 7:30 am to 8 pm and Saturday 7:30 am to 4 pm, not on Sundays or holidays. Pick up your car outside the centre. More on Tuscany.
22. Take a Train to Pisa or Siena
Pisa and Siena are both easy trips from Florence, and they're worth a day each. Our guides cover Pisa and Siena, and the route pages cover Florence to Pisa and Florence to Siena. Heading the other way? The Cinque Terre from Florence page covers that long day.
What We'd Skip
- Queueing for a famous sandwich. Mom in Italy's Florence list tells readers to skip standing in line for an hour for one, and we agree: there are good sandwiches on nearly every block.
- The same museum twice. If you've done the Uffizi, you don't need every gallery. Pick one more museum and spend the rest on wandering.
- A boat on the Arno. The same guide calls it skippable, and the river is better from the bridges.
- Midday on the Ponte Vecchio. Come at 8 am or not at all.
How Many Days in Florence?
Two is the short answer.
Two full days covers the essentials; three lets you add Oltrarno, a long lunch and one day trip without rushing. A single day works if you pick one museum, one view and one meal. Our Florence itinerary lays out the days.
Getting Around Florence
You can walk almost everything. Trams and buses use the same €2 ticket (valid 90 minutes), and the T2 tram links Santa Maria Novella with the airport in about 20 minutes. If you're coming from Rome, see our Rome to Florence guide, and you can check train times and book on Omio. For airport details, see Florence Airport. If you need a private ride from the airport, Welcome Pickups is an option.
Best Time to Visit Florence
Spring and autumn are the usual advice, but Florence is busy for most of the year. We'll give you the month-by-month picture in our best time to visit Florence guide. Comparing cities? See Rome vs Florence and Florence vs Venice.
Where to Stay in Florence
Staying near Santa Maria Novella puts you by the train station and an easy walk to the Duomo; San Marco and Santissima Annunziata are quieter and close to the Accademia.
- Budget, Santa Maria Novella: Ostello Bello Firenze, a budget hostel-style option on Via Faenza, near the station.
- Mid-range, San Marco: Alfieri9, a well-reviewed option in the San Marco and Santissima Annunziata area.
- Upper mid-range, Santa Maria Novella: Dimora Palanca Boutique & SPA, a boutique hotel with a spa, on Via della Scala.
Florence charges a tourist tax per person per night: €3.50 to €8.00 in hotels (by star rating) and €6.00 in B&Bs and apartments, for up to seven consecutive nights, with under-12s exempt. Our guides to where to stay in Florence and the best hotels in Florence go deeper.
Plan Your Trip: Things to Do in Florence Checklist
- Hotel: book early for spring and autumn. See the three options above.
- Tickets and tours: book David, the Uffizi and the dome first.
- Getting there: Rome to Florence by train; airport transfer via Welcome Pickups.
- Car: only for Tuscany day trips; compare rental prices.
- eSIM: Yesim for data on arrival.
- Insurance: Visitors Coverage for medical and trip cover.
Frequently asked questions
Is one day enough in Florence?
One day is enough for a taste, not the full picture. Pick one headline museum, such as the Uffizi or the Accademia, add the Duomo square, cross the Ponte Vecchio, and finish with sunset at Piazzale Michelangelo. Two full days lets you add Oltrarno and a long lunch without rushing.
How many days do you need in Florence?
Two to three days suits most first-timers. Two covers the main museums, the Duomo and the bridges; three adds the Oltrarno side of the river, a market lunch and a half-day trip such as Fiesole or a Tuscany wine tour. Add more only if you want several day trips.
What shouldn't you miss in Florence?
Michelangelo's David at the Accademia, the Uffizi, the Duomo complex, Piazza della Signoria, the Ponte Vecchio and sunset from Piazzale Michelangelo are the core. If you only book one thing ahead, book the David or the Uffizi, because both run on timed entry and fill up.
Do you need to book Florence museums in advance?
Yes for the big ones. The Accademia says reservations are highly recommended, and the Uffizi sells named, dated tickets online. The Firenzecard lists several sites where booking is mandatory. Smaller museums such as the Bargello take optional reservations, so you can often walk in on a weekday.
What are the best free things to do in Florence?
The cathedral interior is free, as are Piazza della Signoria, the Ponte Vecchio, Piazzale Michelangelo and San Miniato al Monte. Wandering Oltrarno costs nothing either. National museums such as the Uffizi and Bargello are free on the first Sunday of each month, but expect long queues.
What is there to do in Florence when it rains?
Florence is easy to do indoors. Choose a museum such as the Uffizi, Palazzo Vecchio or the Bargello, graze at Mercato Centrale, which opens daily from 9 am to 11 pm, or take a cooking class. Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella are good covered stops between showers.
What should you wear to visit churches in Florence?
Cover your shoulders and knees. The Duomo complex does not admit visitors with bare legs or shoulders, and Santa Croce asks visitors to dress appropriately and cover shoulders and legs. A light scarf or overshirt in your bag is enough for most days of the year.
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