Unmissable Things To See And Do In Florence, Italy

We were running on fumes, museum-ed out, and bloated from all the pizza and pasta after 3 intense weeks exploring the Amalfi Coast, Rome and Siena by the time we arrived into Florence Santa Maria Novella train station in late May 2022. But honestly? It was like a reset button was pushed the minute we arrived, and we couldn’t wait to get started on our jam-packed Florence bucket list.

We’ll admit our expectations for Florence was unfairly high – we’d just heard so many good things. And guess what? Our expectations were easily surpassed. We had a healthy mid-range travel budget so we stayed in a lovely room in San Lorenzo between the train station and historic center (a few minutes walk from the Duomo), and we ticked off the big three – Uffizi, Accademia and Duomo. They were our non-negotiables.

Looking back, we think late-May was perfect for Florence. The temperatures were ideal and the crowds weren’t too bad (except for David). We found the city to be beautiful, historic, charming, romantic and our favorite – walkable. Seeing and doing everything in just a few days was easily achievable for once! On this trip we didn’t make it out to Tuscany, this one was purely a Florence visit for attractions, neighborhoods and photography.

Our favorite memories from Florence are climbing up to Brunelleschi’s Dome in the Duomo, watching sunset over the city from Piazzale Michelangelo, seeing iconic Renaissance art, and generally eating ourselves into oblivion. Based on what we learned from our trip, we’re going to walk you through the experiences we consider unmissable on a first vacation to Florence. Let’s dive in!

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Exploring The Extra Florence Duomo Sites

Okay, let’s start with what we think is the most unmissable thing to see in Florence – the spectacularly beautiful Duomo, or Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore in Italian. In our opinion, the cathedral is THE standout Gothic-style building in an already beautiful historic center filled with stunning cobbled streets and architecture.

When standing right next to the Duomo (on all sides), we honestly thought it looked like a cathedral-shaped cardboard cutout had been plopped into a grand plaza. It genuinely looked fake to us! When you see it in person, you’ll know exactly what we mean. One thing we found frustrating? It was so hard to capture decent photos of the cathedral – it was too big and we were too close, so we had to get creative. After a bit of hunting, we found our favorite Duomo view at the Torre di Arnolfo in Palazzo Vecchio (which we cover later).

Florence Duomo is free to go inside anytime between 10:15 AM – 3:45 PM from Monday to Saturday (it’s closed Sundays). We passed it a lot because our hotel was close by, and we noticed the line was usually quietest right as it opened and just before it closed.

But what we didn’t know until we started researching properly a few days before we arrived is that there were 5 additional sites to explore: Crypt, Museum, Baptistery, Bell Tower and Dome. And we’ll admit we panicked because we hadn’t pre-booked tickets for the bonus areas.

Here are the different tickets available:

• Ghiberti Pass: Baptistery, Museum + Santa Reparata (€15/adult)
• Giotto Pass: Bell Tower, Baptistery, Museum + Santa Reparata (€20/adult)
• Brunelleschi Pass: Dome, Bell Tower, Baptistery, Museum + Santa Reparata (€30/adult)

We wanted Brunelleschi Passes so we could see all 5 areas including the famous Dome. So the first thing we did after arriving into Florence was go to the ticket office in person to try booking the “all-in” pass (ticket office map location). We immediately saw a sign showing “tickets sold out today”, worried even more, waited 20 minutes in line, and found out the next 2 days of our trip were fully sold out – but luckily there were a few tickets left for our third and last day in Florence. Phew!

We instantly bought the tickets and reshuffled the rest of our itinerary around doing the Duomo’s extra sites on our final day. Don’t make the same mistake we did, book your tickets in advance. Read our guide on exactly how to visit Florence Duomo to see more mistakes you should avoid.

So what are these extra sites?

Santa Reparata: Underground archaeological site containing excavated remains and mosaic floors of the 5th century basilica that stood before the current cathedral. It had low ceilings and dim lights, adding to the eerie feel as we looked upon Brunelleschi’s tomb.

Museo dell’Opera del Duomo: Houses original masterpieces and sculptures like Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise and Michelangelo’s Pieta. Honestly, we thought this was the most underrated site – there was barely anyone inside when we visited.

Baptistery: Octagonal Romanesque building with intricate golden ceiling mosaics. There was lots of scaffolding inside during our visit so we unfortunately missed the massive showpiece bronze doors.

Bell Tower: Tall and thin Gothic tower with marble decoration and panoramic views of the city following a 414-step climb. We loved the Dome view from the top of the Bell Tower.

Dome (Brunelleschi’s Cupola): The largest masonry vault in the world (self-supporting structure) accessed via 463 steps. It was well worth getting the more expensive pass to see the Dome. We really liked the elevated cathedral interior balcony, the narrow staircases and the highest viewpoint in Florence. But like the Empire State Building or the Eiffel Tower, you can’t see the Dome from the Dome, and it’s the thing we always looked for in the skyline.

Brunelleschi’s Dome is by far the most popular site among the Duomo’s monuments, but it’s only included on the most expensive pass that sells out well in advance. If you want to visit the Dome, book tickets in advance. We think it might be possible to buy the Giotto Pass or Ghiberti Pass in person, but we still wouldn’t risk it if we visited Florence June – September.

It’s also important to know that the Dome and Bell Tower have 400+ steps to climb. They both open at 8:15 AM, and we highly recommend arriving early to beat the crowds and heat, especially in peak season (the Dome requires a pre-booked time slot, try to get early morning).

Now, you absolutely don’t have to pay to see any of these additional sites – you can simply admire the Cathedral’s intricate detail from the outside, and go inside the main cathedral to look up at the Dome from below. That won’t cost you a penny. But we did visit each bonus site and we thought they were all well worth doing, especially the Dome which had awesome views over the city.

If you have a bit of cash to splash, take a look into this VIP after hours tour of the Duomo with Dome climb included. It’s expensive, but it gets you inside the Cathedral after it closes to the public, which would be a totally unique and very cool experience.

Kristen’s fitness tip: We climbed 463 steps to reach the Dome and 414 steps to reach to Bell Tower. They were both lung-busters and some sections were steep, narrow or enclosed – so we don’t think they’re suitable for everyone. Make sure you’re able to do the climbs before paying for tickets.

Admiring Renaissance Masterpieces In The Uffizi Gallery

Florence is the epicenter of Renaissance art, and there’s no better place to see its masterpieces by Botticelli, Michelangelo, da Vinci and Raphael than the world famous Uffizi Gallery. It was once the administrative office of the Medici family (Uffizi means offices), then it became their private art gallery and eventually ownership was transferred to the city of Florence once the family line ended.

After entering at 8:15 AM with the first time slot of the day (we had to pre-book this in advance), we asked staff where the best place was to begin and they told us to go straight up to Renaissance on the Second Floor. It turned out the Uffizi was a linear museum, which we loved because it took the stress out of navigating.

Now, we’ll happily admit we’re not art history experts. But we can appreciate historical importance and significance, and that’s what we found in abundance inside the Uffizi. We started with Da Vinci’s Annunciation, Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Michelangelo’s Doni Tondo on the Second Floor, walked in a U-shape, dropped down to the First Floor for Baroque, saw some Flemish art and finished with Caravaggio’s Medusa.

But we realized the Uffizi Gallery was about more than just the paintings. The whole building, outside and inside, is architecturally stunning. We loved just walking down the halls filled with Roman and Greek statues, and we found a fantastic photo op overlooking the Ponte Vecchio and Arno River from the far end of the Second Floor.

One of our favorite parts of the visit was how quiet it felt inside. Despite having the first time slot of the day, we still expected it to be swarming – so we were grateful not to have that dreaded packed-in-like-sardines feeling that we’ve experienced in places like the Vatican, Louvre and Palace of Versailles.

We learned afterwards it’s because the Uffizi Gallery has a maximum limit of 900 people inside at once – and that works for us! It’s annoying in one sense because tickets are harder to get, but we did enjoy the experience a lot more than we would have with double the people.

Mark loved the beautiful ceiling frescoes for photo ops as we walked through the corridors, so don’t forget to look up when you visit. Overall we thought it was an easy and calm way to enjoy Renaissance masterpieces, and we’d definitely go again.

The Uffizi Gallery is open 8:15 AM – 6:30 PM from Tuesday to Sunday, but it’s closed on Mondays. Tickets cost €25/adult + €4 extra to reserve a time slot so you don’t have to wait in line (which we strongly recommend). They sell out quickly, so head over to the official site and book tickets before arriving in Florence.

Here’s a top tip we took advantage of and you should too: Buy an early bird ticket between 8:15 AM – 8:55 AM. It’s €6 cheaper at €19/adult and it avoids the crowds. Double win!

Mark’s insider tip: The Vasari Corridor was used by the Medici family to safely walk between Palazzo Vecchio and Palazzo Pitti. It closed for 8 years before reopening in 2024, and you can now by a ticket add-on to enter the corridor through Uffizi, before exiting into the Boboli Gardens. It costs an extra €18 to walk the corridor.

Seeing The Famous Statue Of David At The Accademia

The Accademia Gallery is the second most visited museum in Florence after the Uffizi Gallery, and honestly we think they’re both unmissable for lovers of history or art. For us, the obvious and glaring difference between the two was that the Uffizi didn’t have one single standout masterpiece, but the Accademia did – Michelangelo’s iconic white marble statue of David.

Even though we knew it was the big hype and everyone rushed straight to it, we still found David to be mightily impressive. The lifelike detail was incredible, his stance and expression had meaning, and it was intended to be viewed from below so parts of his anatomy were created to appear larger on purpose – just not the one you’re thinking!

Michelangelo was only 26 years old when he carved it – impressive work by an undoubted genius. But as a tourist visiting the museum to see David – boy was it busy. We’d pre-booked the 12:30 PM time slot thinking it would be quieter after the morning rush. We were wrong. The lines outside were wild, it was wall-to-wall frustrated and hot tourists which wasn’t a great start.

Once we got in we beelined it for David (like everyone else), which was located in a specially designed room on the first floor called The Tribune – and it gave us flashbacks to Mona Lisa. Selfie sticks were flying all over the place and the obligatory idiot was doing things that made everyone else tut. You know who we mean.

The crowds were so heavy at David that it almost felt like there was nothing else inside the gallery. But that of course wasn’t true. We ended up seeing tons more unmissable pieces like Michelangelo’s Prisoners, the Museum of Musical Instruments, Bartolini’s Plaster Cast Gallery and heaps more notable pre-Renaissance Italian paintings.

Our advice is to manage your expectations at David, and make sure you allow plenty of time to see the rest of the gallery. It only took us an hour to look around, but we probably would have stayed longer if it wasn’t so awfully crowded in there.

The Accademia is open 8:15 AM – 6:50 PM from Tuesday to Sunday, but it’s closed on Mondays. Tickets cost €16/adult (free for under 18’s) + €4 extra to reserve a time slot so you don’t have to wait in line (which we strongly recommend). If we did it again, we’d book 8:15 AM or leave it until 5:00 PM when it’s much quieter.

Tickets sell out very quickly, so book in advance at the official site before arriving into Florence. Alternatively, book an affordable guided tour like this one which includes skip the line tickets and guide. Finally, the Accademia is free every first Sunday of the month, but time slots can’t be booked, so the line to get in is usually massive. If we were to try this, we’d go much later in the day.

Mark’s tour tip: The best way to make the most of your visit to both the Accademia and Uffizi is to take an expert-led guided tour. Not only do you skip the lines, but you also get a professional art historian who explains what you’re looking at. Not doing a tour was one of our big mistakes. We’ve taken a few tours with Walks of Italy, and we highly recommend the company. In Florence we would happily book this Accademia, Uffizi and Duomo tour or this cheaper Accademia and Duomo only tour – both have near perfect reviews.

Visiting More Museums

Florence is overflowing with museums, galleries and palaces containing important works of art or history – but trust us, it’s so easy to hit a wall and get museum-fatigue. We’re happy to admit we were overwhelmed by the amount of museums on our wishlist before arriving, and because we have travel FOMO we definitely ended up overdoing it.

Let’s be realistic for a minute. You probably have just a few days in Florence and there’s only so many museums you can visit, right? Remember, there are other things to see and do outside of museums that will also eat up time on your itinerary. Our advice? If you have 3+ days and you’re interested in art or history, yes plan to see more museums. Otherwise, stick to the “big three” – Duomo, Accademia and Uffizi.

The most difficult part of visiting Florence for us was struggling against being sucked into every single museum we walked past. Our travel style has always been to see and do as much as humanly possible when we visit new places, but there were almost too many important museums and we ended up with a serious case of museum burn-out.

If we’re being totally honest with you, by the end of our action-packed 3-day trip, all the paintings and sculptures started blurring into one so we weren’t appreciating them as much.

Here are some of the popular museums we either visited or would do on a second trip (our advice is to pick a few but not all of them unless you have at least a full week):

• Museo Leonardo Da Vinci
• Museo Galileo
• Museo Nazional del Bargello
• Museo di San Marco
• Museo degli Innocenti
• Palazzo Medici Riccardi
• Palazzo Strozzi

We booked our hotel room at Palazzo della Stufa Residenza D’Epoca which was just 2 minutes walk from the Medici Palace, so we did that one. It cost us €10 each to get in and we were two of maybe 10 people inside the whole time, which made a nice change.

Another museum we thought was fantastic but didn’t appreciate as much as we should have due to burn-out was the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, which also cost us €10 each. The palace setting itself was a work of art and it contained more Renaissance sculptures by Michelangelo – just without the swarming crowds. We also visited the Pitti Palace, which we cover later.

Finally, if we took our kids to Florence, we’d do both the Da Vinci and Galileo museums. They look fun, interactive and engaging – and not all paintings or sculptures!

Kristen’s top attractions tip: If you want to visit lots of museums, consider a FirenzeCard – it’s a museum pass that gets you into pretty much all the popular touristy places for €85/adult. But only get one if you know for sure you’ll visit tons of museums.

Taking A Cooking Class

Let’s step away from museums for a minute. Remember, you’re not just in Florence – you’re in Tuscany, and you’re in Italy. This is one of the best places in the world, if not the best, for dreamy cooking classes and food tours.

In fact, food tours and cooking classes have become so popular for tourists that the competition is sky high – which has resulted in seriously high quality options. Honestly, we rarely see this many highly rated foodie tours when we visit and write about places.

Here are the top rated foodie tours and classes we would consider booking next time:

Pasta Cooking Class with Unlimited Wine: Affordable 3-hour class with sky high ratings and unlimited wine! Choose between two types of cooking class with different starting times throughout the day.

Sunset Food & Wine Tour: 3.5-hour food, wine and walking tour. More expensive but has near perfect reviews – 14 Tuscan specialties, 5 wine pairings, Negroni cocktails and Florence’s famous wine windows. It looks fantastic! (And here’s another very similar tour that’s a bit cheaper and also looks superb).

Pizza/Pasta Class at Tuscan Farm: 6-hour food class at a Tuscan farm with hands on pizza or pasta lesson. Includes 3 course meal, wine or beer, transport and recipes to take home. It has near perfect reviews and looks amazing.

Booking A Wine Tasting Tour

Those food tours look irresistible, but what if you’d rather spend your travel money on wine tasting instead of cooking classes?

Well, you’re in luck – Tuscan wines are world famous, delicious, steeped in history and easy to visit by one of a few top rated tour options originating right out of Florence.

Wine is so popular in Tuscany because the region has a perfect blend of climate and geography, and it’s the main area in Italy for growing the Sangiovese grape – which is unique because of its high tannin and acidity.

Plus, it’s Tuscany – rolling hills, cypress trees and picturesque towns. We don’t need to say any more than that.

Here are the top rated wine tours we would consider booking in the region if we didn’t hire a car to do Tuscany independently:

Off Road Tuscany Wine Safari: Half or full day wine tastings in either Chianti or Brunello and Montepulciano. They’re all highly rated options including meals, wine, cheese and expert guides.

Tuscany Wine Tasting Experience: Small group 4-hour tour through Chianti stopping at 2 wineries. Tour the cellars, taste cheeses and bruschetta, and drink wine. Morning or afternoon start times, very highly rated.

Essence of Chianti: Top rated small group 8-hour tour through Chianti to 3 wineries. Includes lunch, Tuscan specialties and a stop in Greve. It’s a bit more expensive but it looks like so much fun.

All three of the wine tours above look great but we really like the sound of the “Essence of Chianti” tour just from looking at the glowing reviews left by other visitors.

Now that we’ve ticked off the famous museums and attractions in Florence, we’ll spend our next trip taking non-stop cooking classes and wine tours. We’ll either hire a car and do it ourselves, or we’ll just stay in Florence and book a bunch of these tours to let someone else do the driving while we do the eating and drinking!

Browsing For Jewelry On The Ponte Vecchio

Okay, back in Florence – the Ponte Vecchio is a famous medieval bridge crossing the Arno River. But it’s not just a picturesque cobbled pedestrian walkway, it’s also lined on both sides by independent and mega-brand jewelry shops.

Walking across “the old bridge” is a rite of passage for visitors to Florence, so don’t miss it. We must have walked over it at least 5 times during our visit, but our two favorite times were early in the morning and much later in the evening when it was quieter.

During the day the bridge was jam-packed and there were one or two suspicious looking characters lurking around so we were extra careful with our belongings. If you cross it during a crowded time, keep your valuables tucked away.

Our favorite view of the Ponte Vecchio was from the Ponte alle Grazie as we crossed back over the river into the historic center after watching sunset from Piazzale Michelangelo (which we cover next).

It was a fantastic photo spot because we could look straight up the Arno, which was lighting up as darkness rolled in. Interested in photography? We loved walking around the streets near the Ponte Vecchio to find unique perspectives.

Remember, you can walk across the Arno on top of the Ponte Vecchio’s buildings if you pay extra for the Vasari Corridor when you visit the Uffizi. We’re not sure we’d pay €18 each for it, but it would be a cool experience.

Oh, and don’t miss the long tunnel-like sequence of arches on the northeast side of the bridge near the Uffizi, it’s another of our favorite photo spots in Florence.

Mark’s planning tip: Read our step by step 3 days in Florence itinerary next to see exactly how to make the most of your time in the city.

Watching A Stunning Sunset From Piazzale Michelangelo

Continuing with the photography theme, the serene and colorful sunset we had over Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo is one of our favorite memories after spending 5 weeks exploring Italy.

It was peaceful, beautiful, romantic and of course as travel photographers we loved how photogenic the view was.

We waited until late afternoon, crossed the Ponte Vecchio and climbed up to Piazzale Michelangelo through the lovely Giardino delle Rose – and we highly recommend you do the same.

You can go up a different way via Porta San Niccolo, but we recommend going down that way instead when it’s dark. The rose garden has stunning views over the city through flowers and trees, so make sure you do it during daylight on the way up (it’s free). There was even a small Japanese garden we enjoyed.

Now, we didn’t expect Piazzale Michelangelo to be so vast and open once we reached the top. There were food trucks and souvenir stalls dotted around a replica bronze statue of David, and even a few pop up bars selling drinks.

We found several different photo spots with city views – our favorites were Belvedere Franco Zeffirelli, on this nearby staircase and on this pedestrian ramp to the north – but they were all packed full of tourists.

We expected it to be busy, but it was even more crowded than we imagined. Understandably so, it’s a lovely view and it’s easy to reach by foot from anywhere in Florence’s historic center where almost everyone stays.

Luckily we’d planned well and arrived in good time to get a prime time spot to set our tripod up. But by the time the sun was beginning to set, it felt like we were at a concert or a sports game.

Kristen’s sunset tip: If you don’t like crowds or want to try something a bit different, we found a fantastic second viewing area which had trees partially in the way of the view, but we were the only two people there – it was on this terrace right outside the Basilica di San Miniato (photo above).

Visiting The Pitti Palace + Boboli Gardens

Sticking to the south side of the Arno, another popular place we visited was the Pitti Palace – a huge Renaissance palace that was once the seat of the rulers of Florence and Tuscany, including the Medici.

Today the palace houses important paintings, sculptures, objects and artworks in various galleries. And directly behind the palace we also visited the Boboli Gardens – a vast Italian style garden with lots of hedges, fountains and statues.

The palace can be visited alone for €16/adult, or the Boboli Gardens can be visited without the palace for €10/adult. We bought combination tickets to the palace and gardens which cost us €22/adult. Here’s the official site to book tickets.

It’s important to know that our ticket to see the Boboli Gardens also included the nearby and interconnected Bardini Gardens for free. Now, we actually preferred the Bardini Gardens because it had lots of flowers and awesome city views, whereas the Boboli Gardens were pretty dry and boring – at least when we visited in May.

The palace is open 8:15 AM – 6:30 PM from Tuesday to Sunday, but it’s closed every Monday. We don’t think you’d have any issues turning up on the day for most of the year, but we would book tickets in advance if we visited in July or August.

Boboli Gardens is open at the same times, but it only closes on the first and last Monday of each month. And Bardini Gardens is open 10:00 AM – 7:30 PM every day, but it closes the first and last Monday of each month. (You’d just make this less confusing, right?)

Kristen’s first-timer tip: We enjoyed the palace and gardens, but we don’t think they’re essential if it’s your first time in Florence or if you’re short on time. Prioritize other attractions in this guide and visit Pitti Palace if you have time left.

Getting The Best Florence View From Palazzo Vecchio

Located in the grand Piazza della Signoria, the Palazzo Vecchio is Florence’s town hall and second most recognizable building after the Duomo. Before moving to Pitti Palace, this was the residence of the Medici family.

Today, it houses a museum featuring Roman ruins, a medieval fortress and Renaissance artwork – and it also has a 94m tall tower called the Torre di Arnolfo which we climbed to our favorite vantage point over Florence and especially the Duomo.

We found the buildings surrounding the massive Piazza della Signoria to be incredibly photogenic, but the Palazzo Vecchio was the standout piece of architecture because it looked like a castle.

But even better was the gigantic statues on display within the square like the Fountain of Neptune, the statue of Cosimo Medici and Perseus with the head of Medusa (see our photo below).

Inside, we think it would be worth paying to explore the museum and learn about Florence’s political history if you’re interested in that side of travel. But if you’re visiting on a tight budget or you’re short on time, skip the museum and just go up the Torre di Arnolfo instead. That’s exactly what we did.

We absolutely loved the view from the top of Torre di Arnolfo because it gave us close up and unobstructed views of the Duomo and Florence’s historic center. And the 200+ steps to get up there weren’t too bad.

The museum is open every day 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM with the exception of Thursdays when it closes at 2:00 PM. Tickets for the museum are €17.50 for over 25’s, €15 for 18-25 or free for under 18’s.

The tower is open every day 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM with the exception of Thursdays when it closes at 2:00 PM. Tickets for the tower cost us €12.50 for over 25’s, but it’s only €10 for ages 18-25 or free for under 18’s.

There was no line when we bought tickets in person, but you might want to book ahead through the official site if you’ll be visiting in July or August.

Kristen’s fun find: Go to the Fontana del Porcellino near Piazza della Signoria, find a bronze fountain of a boar and rub its snout. Why? Because it will ensure your return to Florence.

Eating Local Food At Mercato Centrale

Let’s change the pace again and talk about a slice of foodie heaven at Mercato Centrale – a massive food market spread across two floors in-between the train station and historic center.

Mercato Centrale is a place you go to browse and try the tastes of Tuscany without having a sit down meal or going on a tour.

There’s plenty of opportunity to buy souvenirs from local vendors, before choosing something to eat from a wide range of culinary delights in its vast food court.

On the ground floor we browsed shops selling olive oil, meat, cheese and more. Then we ate pizza and sfogliatella, and washed it all down with a Peroni in the food court.

We really liked the atmosphere in the food court and think it’s well worth visiting, even if you don’t eat. But we weren’t huge fans of pushy vendors selling clothes, handbags and a range of other souvenirs in the streets outside the market.

If you want to take home souvenirs, this would be a great place to do it. Otherwise, do what we did and simply walk past the stalls without stopping until you get inside the market and enjoy the food.

Not Skipping The Medici Chapels

We didn’t do this one, which was a big mistake from our trip. Looking back, we think the Medici Chapels are a must-visit if you’re interested in history, art or the Medici family’s influence on Florence. The chapels are located inside the Church of San Lorenzo, which is the oldest church in the city (4th century).

Inside you’ll find Michelangelo’s sculptures of Dawn and Dusk along with more Renaissance art, sculptures and frescoes – in addition to the tombs of the Medici family, who were of course one of the most influential families in Italian history.

The chapels are open 8:15 AM – 6:50 PM from Wednesday to Monday, but they’re closed on Tuesdays.

Tickets cost €9 for over 25’s, €2 for ages 18-25 or free for under 18’s – and there’s a €3 booking fee. You can also pay a pretty hefty €32 to see Michelangelo’s secret room. We’re intrigued! Book your tickets at the official site.

The intricately detailed interior of the chapels look amazing and we’ll definitely do this next time we visit Florence. We don’t think it’s necessarily a must-do-at-all-costs attraction for your first visit, but if you have a bit of spare time we encourage you to try squeezing it in.

Mark’s money saving tip: You can get free admission to the Medici Chapels the first Sunday of every month.

Seeing Tombs Inside The Basilica Of Santa Croce

The Basilica of Santa Croce is most famous for being home to the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo and other famous figures who had a significant influence over the history of Florence.

That was enough to get it on our list of things to see. And after doing a bit of research, we discovered lots of people saying this is one of the very best churches to visit in Florence, which is saying something in a city with so many churches.

As we arrived into Piazza di Santa Croce we were blown away by how attractive the basilica looked at the far side of the square. It was a real eyebrow-raiser.

After taking a ton of photos from outside, we went in to explore the tombs, notable artworks, sculptures, frescoes (most famously by Giotto) gardens, and cloisters – there was plenty to see.

We’ll admit we always find it a bit strange walking around places with people buried below our feet. But it really was a lovely and peaceful place to slowly walk around for an hour.

The basilica is open 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM from Monday to Saturday, and 12:30 PM – 5:45PM on Sunday. Tickets cost €10 for adults, €6 for ages 12-17 or free for under 12’s – and there’s a €1 booking fee.

Visiting The Basilica Of Santa Maria Novella

Another church we visited was the Basilica Of Santa Maria Novella – and this one is a bit of a hidden gem that you might want to add to your Florence itinerary.

It’s a stunning Gothic style church that was built in the early 1300’s by Dominican friars, and its facade is the only original remaining in all of Florence (the others have all been reworked).

Inside we saw Giotto’s Crucifix, Masaccio’s Trinity and the Strozzi Chapel among other notable works. There were also two cloisters to walk around – the small and grand cloisters – which were included with the ticket price.

Tickets cost €7.50 for adults, €5 for ages 11-18 or free for under 11’s – and there’s a €1 booking fee (here’s the official site). Or you can book tickets in person, and it usually isn’t too busy.

The opening hours here vary:

• Monday to Thursday: 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM
• Friday: 11:00 AM – 5:30 PM
• Saturday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
• Sunday: 1:00 PM – 5:30 PM

Mark’s rest stop tip: We stumbled into a great Irish Pub near the church called The Joshua Tree Pub – it was perfect for a quick pit stop before cracking on with sightseeing.

Eating Non-Stop Pizza, Pasta & Gelato

Phew, are you as churched out and museum-ed out as we are? No, well wait until you arrive into the city! We’ve covered all the top things to see and do in Florence, so let’s dive back into the tasty stuff – food and drinks.

We always overindulge with far too much pizza, pasta and gelato when we visit Italy. Here’s a funny story: Florence was the final stop on our 3-week Italian adventure in 2022, and straight after we started our 8 day trek on the legendary Tour du Mont Blanc Trail. Let’s just say we could have prepared better – those first few days were brutal!

Considering the pizza and pasta is as good as it gets anywhere in the world, we always find eating out in Italy to be surprisingly affordable – even in a place as popular as Florence.

Sure, we could have eaten at high end restaurants or taken non-stop cooking classes for the most luxurious experiences. But honestly, you absolutely don’t have to. We never struggle to keep our food costs down in Italy, which helps with balancing out our overall travel budget.

There are so many great places to eat pizza and pasta in Florence, so make sure you have a good look around on a map and do your research. We don’t think booking restaurants ahead of time is essential, we usually just turn up and pick a place based on ratings or how many locals are inside.

Want some recommendations? We enjoyed excellent pizza at Ciro and Sons near the Basilica di San Lorenzo and Mister Pizza near the Duomo. For pasta we tried Vini e Vecchi Sapori and Coquinarius – and both were fabulous.

For lunch, look no further than sandwiches at I’ Girone De’ Ghiotti and All’Antico Vinaio – both had long lines when we visited, but the sandwiches were fantastic.

Or if you want a true Tuscan treat, take a look at Ristorante Braceria Auditore for Florentine steaks and La Fettunta for more Tuscan classics.

Gelato in Italy is amazing and you absolutely must try it in Florence. We had at least 2 gelatos every day – which sounds so bad but it’s just too good! We recommend Perche no, Edoardo il Gelato and My Sugar.

The food is amazing, but let’s talk about drinks – Florence has something fun and unique that you must try called “wine windows”.

Essentially, there’s over 150 tiny arch-shaped windows dotted around the city from which you can be served a glass of wine or any other drink (learn more). Social media has kind of made it a bit gimmicky, but we still thought it was a cool experience.

What else should you drink outside of wine? Well, one of our personal non-negotiable rules is an Aperol Spritz during the aperitivo hour before dinner. And did you know the Negroni cocktail was invented in Florence? Give it a try!

Kristen’s brunch tip: If you need a break from Italian food, we highly recommend Rooster Cafe for brunch – the waffles and pancakes were superb.

Taking A Day Trip

Okay, let’s finish with something you can (and should) do from Florence if you have 4+ days – take a day trip. That could either be the rolling Tuscan hills or another nearby city.

We loved Siena, it was like a smaller and way less crowded version of Florence in many ways. Our two favorite things to do in Siena were walking around Palazzo Pubblico and visiting Siena Duomo.

But alternative day trips to consider include visiting Lucca, Pisa, Bologna, or even the Cinque Terre. They’re all within 1-2 hours drive with a hire car, they’re connected by train links, or there are also plenty of tours running to those places.

If you want to do Tuscany for a day or two using Florence as a base, you can either hire a car and do it independently or book one of many tours originating in Florence.

When we take our next trip to Florence we’ll hire a car and drive around Tuscany – prioritizing Panzano, Greve in Chianti, San Gimignano, Siena, Pienza, Montepulciano, Val d’Orcia and Montalcino.

But if you’d rather have someone else do the driving and explaining – you could always book a day trip tour instead of hiring a car. Tuscany is a hugely popular place to take a tour from Florence, and the huge competition has resulted in tour quality being better than most other places.

Here are some of the top rated day trip tours we would actually consider booking ourselves:

Tuscany with Pisa: Top rated and affordable full day guided tour stopping at Siena, San Gimignano, Pisa and lunch at a winery. This is the easiest way to see more places on the cheap.

Tuscany with Chianti: This top rated small group full day guided tour with Walks of Italy focuses on the core Tuscan areas of Siena, San Gimignano and Chianti.

Cinque Terre full day trip: Very highly rated and affordable full day guided tour with transport to the 5 colorful coastal villages. Hiking is totally optional, but we loved our hike between the villages.

Tuscany half day vespa: What a fun and very Italian way to see Tuscany! This unique guided tour takes you out into the hills on your own vespa with a meal at a Tuscan estate.

Florence Attractions Map

How to use this map: Click the map above to activate, then tap any icon to see more information. See a list of all attractions by clicking the arrow icon in the top left, or see a full version of the map by clicking the “view larger map” icon in the top right.

How to save this map: Click the small star next to the map title – this will add the map to your Google account. Open your Google Maps app, tap “saved”, then tap “maps” and open this map.

Next Steps

We hope our guide on the top things to do in Florence helps with planning your trip.

Remember, if you’d like more personalized help, we offer expert travel planning consultations where we answer any questions you have, help you avoid tourist traps and optimize your itinerary. Book a 1-on-1 call.

Still researching for your trip?

• Here’s our 3 day Florence itinerary.
• Here are the top rated hotels in Florence.
• Take a look at our 14 days Italy itinerary.
• These are the places you can’t miss in Italy.
• Read our action packed 4 days in Rome itinerary.
• Don’t miss these top attractions in Rome.
• These are Capri’s top attractions.
• Here’s our 10 day Amalfi Coast itinerary.

Finally, if you’ll be visiting more places on the same trip, we recommend reading our Italy travel guide for helpful tips and advice.

Happy Travels,

Mark and Kristen

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