The ultimate guide to Florence, Italy

Posted on by Marta

Ah, Florence… the place when many genius artists and scientists were born. This city has so much history, and even if many forget, had a massive impact on our world and culture. Being the birthplace of the renaissance provides countless ways of making you feel close to bits of this time, either in museums or just in the streets.

Florence is the capital of the Tuscany region of Italy. Its historic centre was declared, in 1982 a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, and Forbes acknowledged the city as one of the most beautiful cities in the world also because of its incredible history. In this blog post, you’ll learn everything about traveling to Florence, all the tips, the places to sleep, to eat and to see. Besides that you’l also find a little bit more about this masterpiece of the Renaissance.

Overview

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A bit of History

Florence is an old city, founded in the 1st century as a Roman military colony and in the 19th century has even been the capital of Italy. Before that, during the renaissance, in the 14th to 16th century, the city was extremely prominent in several areas such as finance, education, commerce and especially arts.

During this time, the city was mostly ruled by the Medici family (even though, during some time, it was sort of a democracy). This family was influential and wealthy. They supported artists and skilled individuals. This changed made the city grow and become an incredible cultural Metropole, home to many genii such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Dante, Machiavelli or Galileo.

The city was incredibly influential in Italy and Europe. Its language, Florentine vernacular, became the Italian language and its coin became a world monetary standard.

Best time to go to Florence

You can go to Florence at any point in the year, and you’ll love your trip. However, each season has its advantages and disadvantages.

You should remember that the higher the season, the bigger the lines.

I went to Florence in February and no matter the time of the day I didn’t have to wait much time anywhere. This happened because February is the lower season in Florence. After all, it’s cold and unpredictable. In low season you may also find that some places are closed or under maintenance. On other hand, in the summer you have hot and more predictable weather, but the lines are bigger and the prices are higher, so you need to have this in the count when you choose your dates.

Getting to Florence

Florence has an airport just 4 km from the city, the Aeroporto di Firenze-Peretola. From this airport, you can easily get to the city centre by train, car or bus. The train line was extended to the T1 terminal of the airport so the train is the easiest and less expensive way to get to the city.

However, the Tuscany busiest airport is Pisa’s. This happens because the biggest European low-cost airlines, such as Easyjet and Ryanair, don’t fly to Florence’s airport, but they do fly to Pisa’s. Many people that land in Pisa wish to go to Florence so you have many bus shuttles that go to Florence from the airport. Another way to get to Florence from Pisa’s airport is following the “Pisa mover” signal. The Pisa mover is a cute little train commanded by artificial intelligence that connects the airport to the central station. From there you can get a train that will take you to Florence’s city centre in less than 1h.

These are the easier ways to get to Florence, but you can also try to land in different airports that I’m sure will have great connections to the city. You can also enjoy a few hours in those other cities.

Getting around Florence

Florence is a very walkable city. You’ll notice that all the biggest attractions are quite close and without much effort, you can get to each of them quickly. Also, most of the traffic doesn’t get to the historic centre (ZTL -Zona a Traffico Limitato or Limited Traffic Zone). This means that there aren’t public transports in that zone, but also means that you can walk more or less freely in there. Just remember to wear comfortable shoes so you can enjoy most of the city.

There are buses and trams available, but, in most cases, you won’t really need to use them. If you chose to use them, remember that the front and back doors of the buses are used to enter it and the middle to go out of it, and don’t forget to validate your ticket in the nearest ticket validating machine. You should buy the ticket before you hop on the bus. You can buy tickets from the driver (for a higher price) but he may not always have tickets to sell and if you travel without a ticket you can get in trouble.

How much time you need in Florence

In my opinion, the time you will need to spend in Florence depends on your interests. You need to ask yourself what interests are you the most. Florence is a beautiful city to walk around, but, if you only want to walk around and not go inside any of the many many museums in the city, you only need a couple of days. However, if you want to go inside the monuments, especially in the high season, you will need more time.

Where to stay in Florence

Florence has many choices for accommodation and different zones that will provide you with different experiences.

If you really want to appreciate what the city centre has to offer you, you should find someplace in the city centre so that you’ll be able to easily and quickly walk around it. The most popular zone and also the more expensive are the ones nearer the cathedral and the river.

However, you can pick different zones in Florence that will most likely be less than 10 minutes walking from the Duomo. You can choose places near the Piazza Santa Maria Novella, which is also a quite good choice because it’s near the train station. You can also pick the surroundings of Piazza della Santissima Annunziata that is really close to Accademia, and you can watch the art students working in the piazza. Near Santa Croce Piazza is another near the attractions place where you can stay.

If you are doing, for example, an Italy or Tuscany road trip you may consider booking a place a bit further away from the city centre because its easier to park, because of the ZTL in the city centre as said above. This option, despite being a bit harder to get to the attractions, will show you the “real” Florence. The Florence of the people that work and live there every day, and not just the ideal view of the medieval city, packed with tourists.

Another option that you may want to consider is staying in the countryside, in the hills near Florence. There you will be surrounded by hills and the nature that Tuscany has to offer. This option is easier if you have a car that you can use to get to the city.

Where to eat in Florence

You can find places to eat pretty much everywhere you are. You have a restaurant (also known as osteria in Florence) in almost every street, and even if there isn’t one in the exact place where you are, you can easily find one just by walking a few meters. Also, most of the places where you’ll eat will probably be delicious, especially if you appreciate Italian cuisine.

If you like pizza, one of the better experiences in Florence is the famous heart-shaped pizza in GustaPizza, a restaurant near Palazzo Pitti. Just be careful because there are 2 Gustapizza restaurants nearby, and only one of them has the heart-shaped pizza, which can be a little confusing, especially if you came from Piazza Santo Spirito.

You can pick any of their pizzas as a heart, but you’ll need to ask them to make it in that shape when you order. You can take it away or eat it in the restaurant. You can also take disposable knives and forks to help you eat outside if you wish, but it’s not that necessary.

As for the amazing pasta, my favourite was anyone that had the name “al ragú”. It is a sort of really tasting Bolognese. Italians cook various types of pasta. The one I found more different was maltagliati pasta at SGrano, where lasagna is their speciality, but I preferred that pasta.

You can also enjoy a awesome cooking class to learn to cook delicious italian food such as pasta and Tiramisu.

Things to do in Florence

The city of Florence is extremely beautiful and has a lot of things to do. You can explore gardens, museums, religious sites or you can just wander in the streets and squares and enjoy the beautiful architecture, the palaces and the historic buildings. Some of the most popular sites to enjoy are briefly described below. If you want to get to know more about what to do in Florence, you can check my blog post about the best 23 things to do in Florence.

DUOMO complex

The most famous place in Florence is the Santa Maria del Fiori Cathedral. This incredible church is full of history and is located in Duomo Square, alongside many other famous buildings such as Giotto’s Campanile and the Baptistery of St. John. You can spend here easily half a day, especially if you want to climb Brunelleschi’s Cupola and to Giotto’s Campanile. To get to know everything about the climb to Brunelleschi’s Cupola you can read this blog post.

You don’t have to do this but the views of the city and the surrounding buildings are incredible from the top of the Duomo. You can spend a long time in this square, because of the beauty and the details of the building that you may want to enjoy and photograph.

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Religious Sites

You can also explore countless religious sites in the city such as the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella, Basilica di Santa Croce, Medici Chapel and Basilica di Santo Spirito and Abbazia di San Miniato al Monte. These places are scattered all around the city and are usually accompanied by a square with the same name.

Basilica di Santa Maria Novella, Basilica di Santa Croce and Abbazia di San Miniato al Monte

These churches have gothic-renascence architecture with beautiful marble stone in their facade, just like the Santa Maria del Fiori Cathedral.

The Basilica di Santa Maria Novella is located really closed to the train station so it may be the first place where you go if you get to Florence by train.

On the other side of the city, the east side, on the other side of the river from Piazza Michelangelo, you can find the Basilica of Santa Croce.

After crossing the river and climbing all the stairs until you reach the Piazzale Michelangelo, you’ll be able to see the Abbazia di San Miniato al Monte. What is special about this church is that it is located in one of the highest points of Florence. As a result, the view from this place is incredible.

Medici Chapel

This chapel is the final resting place for many generations of members of the Medici family. The chapel is made of 2 structures, the Basilica of San Lorenzo and the Capella dei Principi (Chapel of the princes). The walls of the Capella dei Principi are covered in beautiful marble and semi-precious stones. In the Capella, you find some empty sarcophagi, since the remains of the Medici are in the crypt below.

Basilica di Santo Spirito

This basilica is located in the Oltrano quarter. Even though its facade is not as impressive as many others chapels around the city, it has 38 chapels with several artworks from famous artists.

Ponte Vecchio

Side by side with the Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio is the other famous landmark of Florence. This is a very characteristic bridge with houses on both sides. These houses are mostly gold shops. When you walk in this bridge you don’t even feel like it’s a bridge because you don’t see the river. This is the oldest bridge in the city and the only one that survived WWII.

Piazzale Michelangelo

This is the most well-known panoramic view of the city and usually, people go there to see the beautiful sunset above the city. Another famous feature of this square is that you have there a replica of Michelangelo’s David. Because of the popularity of the place at sunset you probably will find many tourists there.

San Lorenzo Market

The San Lorenzo Market, also known as the Mercato Centrale, is a big market where you can find flowers, fruits, fish. You can also find restaurants on the top floor.

This market is located very close to the Medici Chapel and, outside, you can usually find a leader and souvenirs market.

Uffizi Galleries/Galleria dell’Accademia

Because of the super-rich florentine history, it is natural to find many places that feature artworks. The most famous museums in the city are the Uffizi Galleries and the Galleria dell’Academia.

The Uffizi Galleries is located in the centre of the city, right by the Piazza della Signoria. Before you get to the museum, you can see many sculptures of famous Florentine artists such as Donatello, da Vinci, Dante. Inside, the most well-known artwork is Sandro Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus.

The Galleria dell’Accademia is located in the Piazza della Santissima Annunziata, near the College of Arts of Florence. The original sculpture of Michelangelo’s David can be found in this art museum even though you can see replicas around the city (in the Piazza Della Signoria and the Piazzale Michelangelo).

Piazza della Signoria and Loggia de’ Lanzi

This is one of the most famous Piazzas in Florence and is home to the Palazzo Vecchio. This palace was very important in Florence’s history because it was the centre of power for many years. This palace is located at the end of the Vasari Corridor that was used to connect Pallazzo Pitti to Palazzo Vecchio.

The square is like an open-air museum, and because of its fame, can be packed with tourists all year round. In the Loggia de’Lanzi you can also see sculptures that belong to the Uffizi Galleries (some of them are replicas).

Day trips from Florence

The best ways to travel in the region is either by car, train or bus. Your choice depends on the type of trip that you are planing. If you are doing a road trip you will probably use a car but otherwise, the trains and buses in Italy are quite reliable and are definitely a good choice. My advice regarding how to buy the tickets is to use Trainline, I used this website/app when I was in Italy and I have no complaints. The advantage of this website is that you have all the buses and trains options in the same place. Another option is using the official website of the trains and buses companies such as Italo, Trenitalia and Flixbus or Busitalia.

Pisa

Pisa is one of the most famous cities in Tuscany. Its most famous landmark is, as you probably know, the Leaning Tower of Pisa. From Florence, you can get to Pisa by car in 1h30, and you can find parking lots close by to the Piazza del Duomo in Pisa where you can see the leaning Tower of Pisa.

By train, you can get there also in between 1h and 1h30, through a Trenitalia train. These trains are very frequent, and you can purchase them for 9€. You get to the train in Santa Maria Novella train station and get to Pisa Centrale train station. This train station is 2km away from the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but you can appreciate the city between the two places or take a city bus. You can also be a part of an organized day trip.

If you prefer to go by bus, the trip takes slightly less than 1h30 and, usually, you have to go at 17h30, which isn’t the best timetable. The buses depart from Villa Costanza, which is quite far away from the city centre and get to Pietrasantina car park in Pisa, also 2km away from the Leaning Tower of Pisa. However, this car park is on the opposite side of Pisa Centrale and of the city. You can purchase your ticket for 12€.

Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre is a part of La Spezia Region near the sea, where you can find many colourful cliffside towns and villages. The Cinque Terre National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is comprised of five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. One of the most famous towns in Cinque Terre is Manarola. You can get there in 2 to 3 hours by train with tickets starting at 17€. Some of these trains include changes of the train in La Spezia Centrale or Pisa Centrale so keep that in mind. By car, you can get there in 2h30.

You can also get to any of the other seaside villages. They are quite close to each other so the times and prices don’t vary too much. You can also be a part of a day trip from Florence to this beautiful region.

Siena

Siena was another one of the very influential cities of the 13th and 14th centuries. Siena is a beautiful Medieval city that spreads for three hills. The most famous landmark is probably the central piazza known as  Piazza del Campo. This city is located 80km away from Florence. By car, if you rented one, you can get there in 1h to 2h while by train you can get there in 1h, paying 8€. You can go to this city in an organized day trip that also goes through Pisa.

Lucca

Lucca is nicknamed the town of a hundred churches because of the many churches that can be found in the town. Close by to Lucca, you can find many beautiful gardens and villas in the region. To get to Lucca from Florence, by car (rent a car here) you need to drive for 1h20 to 2h. By train, you get there in 2 hours, paying 8€.

Bologna

Bologna is more than 100 km away from Florence. This is the biggest city and capital of the Emilia-Romagna Region in Northern Italy. In Bologna, you can explore one of the oldest universities in Europe and the world, the University of Bologna, founded in 1088. Bologna is also a UNESCO city of music since 2006 and is an amazing place to try the famous bolognese sauce.

To get there from Florence, you can drive (rent a car here) for around 2 hours or take a train that can get you there in half an hour. These super-fast trains are more expensive, and the tickets cost you 30€. However, you can take a slower train that will get you to Bologna in 1h30 and costs 10€.

Arezzo

Arezzo is one of those typical Tuscan towns located on the top of a hill. The most famous landmark is its Piazza that once was the main marketplace of the city. Another important landmark is the city walls built in the 16th century ordered by Cosimo I to reinforce the Florentine dominance in the city.

From Florence, you can get there by car (rent a car here) in 1h to 1h30 and by train in 35min or 1h30. Once again the fastest trains are more expensive, the tickets for the 35 min train cost 20€ while the ones for the 1h30 trains only cost 9€.

If you wish to know a lot more about the region where Florence is located, Tuscany, you can also do a road trip around the region. If you want to see an epic itinerary around Tuscany, you can head to my two-week round trip in Tuscany blog post. This itinerary goes around Tuscany, starting and finishing in Florence and going through beautiful natural beauties and historic villages and towns along the way.

In case you are wondering, all these pictures were taking with the following equipment:

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