Things To Do
Free walking tour
We highly recommend taking a free walking tour on one of your first days in the city to familiarize yourself with the city. It’s a great way to get tips for places to see and eat. Tour itself is free with recommendation to tip at the end (we usually tip around $15-20 per person).
Museums
Ufitizi Gallery - home of the “Birth of Venus”. Book tickets in advance. Recommend doing skip the line or going very early. Piti Palace - renaissance palace Palazzo Vecchio - palace with tower that has the best views of Florence. Better than going up the Duomo because this overlooks the Duomo and the line is much shorter.
Sight seeing
The Duomo We recommend taking in the duomo from the outside. You can go inside, but there are very long lines and we have been told the inside is underwhelming by design. Boboli Gardens Ponte Vecchio Walk around Santo Spirito - cute local artisan shops Leather School The leather school is an active artisanal school for leatherworkers. During the week you can watch them work and there is a shop on site for higher quality, albeit pricier leather goods. Leather Markets You will see leather market pop-up stands throughout the city, along with a range of leather shops. Quality will vary greatly across shops and most of the cheaper products are imported and of lower quality. You can haggle with these sellers to get a better deal. We've found that walking away is a quick way to see the price drop from $50 to $15 in a matter of seconds. We have used these shops as an opportunity to try different sizes / styles of bags at a reasonable price to see if it's worth investing more later.
Day Trips from Florence
Florence is very centrally located, which makes it a great hub for day trips. We recommend booking train tickets in advance when possible for best pricing. Rome 1.5hr train from Florence. Bologna 35min train from Florence. Venice 2.5hr train from Florence. Siena 1hr train from Florence Cinque Terre 2.5 hr bus ride, typically booked as a tour leaving from the train station. This is an all day trip as you will be on the same schedule as the bus tour. We went in 2025 and were underwhelmed but it is beautiful and there is a nice (but serious) hiking trail between the towns. Tuscany Wine Tasting You can book full day or half day bus tours to visit wineries in Tuscany. You can also hire private drivers / tours if you have a specific itinerary in mind.
Food Recommendations
Casual Bites - Al Antico : known for their sandwiches, can have very long lines during peak lunch hours - La Proscuittaria : there are three locations, they each have similar but different menus - great for sandwiches and charcuterie Dinner recommendations - Matto Matto; casual and super affordable, good and affordable Florentine steak Drinks - Mayday Club: really unique cocktails, interesting atmosphere Gelato - Gelateria la Carraia Florentine Steak Florence is known for their Florentine steak. This is a minimum 1kg steak that is normally split between 2+ people. The traditional cook on the steak is rare to blue rare over an open flame. Some restaurants will ask you for your preferred doneness but others will just serve it the traditional way. Italian beef is much leaner than US beef so the rare cook keeps the meat more tender and less chewy. You can get a good steak for $50-60/kg, you don't need to spend $100+ at an expensive steakhouse for the experience (see Matto Matto)
