Florence is a city to walk: the historic centre fits in a square a couple of kilometres across, and almost everything that matters is within a twenty-minute walk. The difficulty is not getting there, it is choosing. This is the order we recommend, designed so that you never walk the same street twice and have a free moment every evening.
Day 1 · The centre, from the Duomo to Ponte Vecchio
Start early at the Duomo. The cathedral is free to visit, but the queue grows quickly: it is best to be in the square before nine. The climb to Brunelleschi’s dome (463 steps, narrow in places) must be booked with a time slot: from the top you finally understand how the city is laid out.
The experience we recommend
Opposite the Duomo is the Baptistery, with Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise. The ones on the door are copies: the originals are in the Opera del Duomo Museum, a little further on, and are worth the visit.
From there, Via dei Calzaiuoli leads straight to Piazza della Signoria: Palazzo Vecchio, the Loggia dei Lanzi with Cellini’s Perseus. In the afternoon, the Uffizi, with your ticket already booked. Two hours is the minimum; with a guide you avoid getting lost among the rooms and reach Botticelli with energy to spare.
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You come out on the riverside and cross Ponte Vecchio, with the goldsmiths’ workshops and, above, the Vasari Corridor. For sunset, climb to Piazzale Michelangelo; if your legs are still willing, carry on to San Miniato al Monte, ten minutes further up, where there are far fewer people and the same view.
Day 2 · The Oltrarno
The second day is spent on the other side of the river. The morning at Palazzo Pitti and in the Boboli Gardens, which are huge: bring comfortable shoes and water. Coming down you reach Santo Spirito, Brunelleschi’s basilica with its bare façade and the square that fills with Florentines in the evening.
The afternoon is for wandering between Santo Spirito and San Frediano: workshops of artisans, restorers, frame-makers. It is the part of Florence that most resembles how it used to be. In the evening, have dinner on this side of the river: the trattorias of the Oltrarno are among the most honest in the city.
Day 3 · The David, the market and the hills
The morning at the Galleria dell’Accademia for Michelangelo’s David: here too you book, and go in early. A few steps away is San Lorenzo, with the Medici Chapels, and the Mercato Centrale: stalls of meat, cheese and vegetables on the ground floor, places to eat on the first floor. If you want to try lampredotto, you will find it here or at one of the street kiosks.
In the afternoon, leave the city. Two options: Fiesole, on the hill to the north, reached by bus from the centre, with a Roman theatre and a view over all of Florence; or Chianti, for half a day among vineyards and wineries.
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Where to stay
For three days like these it is best to stay in the centre or just outside, near a tram stop. Our Loft di Via della Scala is a six-minute walk from the Duomo, in the street of the historic Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella; Rifredi House is on the tram line, eleven minutes from the centre.
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A few practical tips
- Book anything with a timed entry: dome, Uffizi, Accademia. Without a booking you lose half a day in the queue.
- The ZTL: the centre is closed to traffic. If you arrive by car, leave it outside the walls.
- The first day is the longest: if you arrive in the afternoon, swap it with the second.