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Florence is a city full of amazing architecture from churches and bridges to outdoor statues and incredible European skyline views. It is also a very walkable city, making it easy to see so much just on foot.
When we first visited Florence, we didn’t book tickets for any museums or really have a solid plan on what we wanted to do. Blame that on being a bit of an inexperienced traveler! With that said, it’s easy to explore some of the best sights Florence has to offer without heaps of planning.
Luckily for us, our hotel gave us a handy map of the city so we could easily see where all the main sights were without having to be glued to our phones. Being our first time in Florence, we definitely wanted to see as much as we could. So with that, we headed out to explore!
Cathedrale Santa Maria del Fiore / The Duomo
The Duomo is pretty much the focal point in the iconic view of the Florence skyline. The beautiful red dome sticks out from the middle of the city in all her glory. The cathedral is probably one of the most impressive structures I have ever seen to this day. It took 140 years to build from start to finish, and it’s easy to see why.
The detail that went into building the cathedral does not go unnoticed, and the beautiful pink, green, and while marbles used the decorate the entire outside walls of the church are just gorgeous.
All I can say is wow. You have to be there and see it for yourself and stand in awe.
Entry into the cathedral is free! However, if you want to explore more areas of the cathedral in depth, you can purchase a pass.
Once inside the cathedral, you’ll find numerous statues and my favorite part of the interior – the frescoes of Vasari and Zuccari’s Last Judgement painted inside of the dome. If you’re planning on going up to the top of the Duomo, it’s a climb up 463 stairs to the top to admire the frescoes up close so wear comfy shoes!
Note that “church attire” is required to enter the cathedral (no bare shoulders/legs, and no backpacks or large bags).
Ponte Vecchio
Another completely free activity in Florence is to venture over to the Ponte Vecchio (literally translated to “Old Bridge”), the oldest bridge in Florence. The bridge is lined with vendors of jewelry and souvenirs and it can get a little crowded!
If you aren’t interested in purchasing jewelry, you can walk right on through just to say crossed the Ponte Vecchio. I will say, the jewelry is very sparkly and while I’m not a huge fan of jewelry, I couldn’t help but walk at a slow pace to admire all the goods.
Piazzale Michelangelo
If you want to see the best skyline views of Florence, head up to the Piazzale Michelangelo! Getting up to Piazzale Michelangelo is a little bit of a hike, but the view is 100% worth it! If you really want that shot of the Florence skyline, this is the place to come for it. Oh, and did I mention this is another free activity?! Florence sure is a good place to be on a budget.
Next time we are here, I plan on getting up here for the sunset. Can you imagine how beautiful it would be to see the sun setting on this city?
Church of San Miniato
If you are up at Piazzale Michelangelo, be sure to also check out the Church of San Miniato. I loved admiring the churches all over Europe because the beautiful craftsmanship it took to build them is entirely evident. Each one is so unique.
Piazza della Signoria / Palazzo Vecchio
Visiting Piazza della Signoria is pretty much like visiting a free outdoor art gallery. I think we saw the largest collection of statues here (at least of the places we went to, other than Boboli Gardens)! Palazzo Vecchio (the city’s town hall) is also located here, and you can tour the Palazzo Vecchio Museum as well (which just happens to be right next to the Uffizi).
Full price tickets start at €10, depending on the entry and tours you want to take. You can find more info on tickets here.
In the Piazza, you can find statues such as the Fountain of Nettuno (Neptune) and Perseus with the head of Medusa, among many others. There certainly is no lack of nude statues around here either! The human body is pretty celebrated in Europe.
Uffizi Gallery
We didn’t have enough time to check out the Uffizi inside, but I can imagine how amazing all that Renaissance era art is inside. It looks pretty massive from the outside!
Regular entry tickets to the Uffizi now start at €26, and if there are special exhibits during your visit, there can be an extra fee. Reservations to the museum are recommended, and reservation fees start at €4, depending on how you go about reserving them. You can visit this site here to purchase tickets.
Galleria dell’Accademia
If seeing the Statue of David is on your Florence agenda, you’ll want to visit the Galleria dell’Accademia. You’ll know you are in the right place when you see the long line out the door. David is very popular!
Similar to the Uffizi, tickets to the Academia start at €13, and if there are special exhibits during your visit, there will be an extra fee. You can purchase tickets in advance here (do note there are extra fees for purchasing tickets online and reserving a time slot).
Alternatively, you can head up to the Piazzale Michelangelo for a great view of Florence AND to view a replica Statue of David in bronze cast. That was a close as we came to David!
Giardino Boboli (Boboli Gardens)
We spent a half day wandering through the expansive Boboli Gardens and it was such a peaceful activity to do when visiting Florence. Not only is it a great place to get your steps in, there are so many different statues and beautiful scenery to admire on your stroll.
Because of the sheer size of this place, I would definitely recommend devoting a half day to a full day for Boboli, as your ticket can also get you entry to other parts of Palazzo Pitti, the Porcelain museum, and the costume museum. We paid €10 at the entrance for access to the gardens, the Porcelain museum, and the costume gallery (though we didn’t end up making it to the costume gallery).
- Read More: Boboli Gardens Photo Tour
Firenze Card
If you’re interested in exploring one of the many museums in Florence, you can purchase the Firenze Card. The Firenze Card is valid for 72 hours and gets you access to all the museums on their list, along with priority entry. Skipping long lines? Heck yes!
The price for the Firenze card is a little steep at €85, so you better make sure you are going to get your money’s worth and dash like mad to each of the museums. I can see how this would be super helpful in the high season; however, if you are visiting in the low season, it might not make much sense to get the card. When we were in Florence in November, the only long line we saw was for the Galleria dell’Accademia and it really wasn’t that long at the time. You’ll have to decide for yourself if it’s a worthy investment!
If you are interested in learning more about the Firenze Card, visit their official website here.
This is really a small sampling of the many things you can do on foot when visiting Florence. I hope to be able to explore so much more next time we are there! If you are interested in more ideas for exploring Florence, check out the Visit Florence website.
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