Top things to do in Florence
Start at the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore — the Duomo — and look up: Brunelleschi's dome is still the largest brick dome ever built, and climbing it (or just the neighboring bell tower) hands you the best rooftop view in the city. From there it's a five-minute walk to Piazza della Signoria, an open-air sculpture gallery in front of the Palazzo Vecchio, where a full-size copy of Michelangelo's David still stands where the original once did.
Book ahead for the Uffizi Gallery, which holds Botticelli's Birth of Venus and enough Renaissance masterpieces to fill a full morning, then cross the river on the Ponte Vecchio, the only Florentine bridge the Nazis didn't blow up in 1944 and still lined with gold and jewelry workshops. Save the late afternoon for the climb to Piazzale Michelangelo, where the whole skyline lines up for the best sunset in Tuscany.
Neighborhoods and where to eat
The historic center packs the Duomo, Piazza della Signoria and the Uffizi into a walkable grid, while Santa Croce mixes a Gothic basilica full of Michelangelo's and Galileo's tombs with some of the city's best leather workshops. Cross the Ponte Vecchio into the Oltrarno — Florence's left bank — for a quieter, more residential feel: fewer tour groups, working artisan studios and the gardens of the Palazzo Pitti.
Eat the local way: a proper bistecca alla fiorentina is a thick, bone-in T-bone steak served rare and meant for two, best found in a trattoria in the Oltrarno or around Santa Croce. Pair it with a plate of pappardelle al cinghiale (wild boar), then finish with a gelato from an artisan shop — look for muted colors and covered metal tubs, the giveaway that it's made fresh rather than pumped full of air and dye.
Getting around and best time to visit
Florence's historic center is compact and largely pedestrian, so walking is by far the best way to see it — most sights sit within a twenty-minute stroll of the Duomo, and cars are restricted in the ZTL zone anyway. For day trips to Pisa, Siena or the Chianti hills, trains leave from Santa Maria Novella station, right in the center.
April–May and September–October are the sweet spots: mild temperatures, long daylight and noticeably shorter lines than the July–August peak, when the summer heat can be brutal and the Uffizi queues stretch for blocks. Winters are quiet and often surprisingly clear, ideal for seeing the David or climbing the dome without the crowds — just pack a coat, since stone churches hold the cold.
Is a free walking tour in Florence worth it?
Florence is one of the few cities whose historic centre you can cross on foot in twenty minutes, and that compactness is exactly the argument for taking a free tour: two hours covers nearly everything that matters, with someone explaining why Brunelleschi's dome was an unsolved engineering problem for more than a century.
Museums are not included, and in Florence that is half the trip. The Uffizi, the Accademia with the original David and the dome climb are all ticketed with timed entry, and they sell out days ahead in high season. The tour walks you to the doors and tells you what is behind them.
One honest detail that catches people out: the David standing in Piazza della Signoria is a copy, placed there in 1910. The original has been in the Accademia since 1873, and knowing that before you queue with your phone up saves a certain disappointment.
How booking and tipping work in Florence
Booking is free and the confirmation names the meeting point, usually Piazza dell'Unità Italiana a few minutes from Santa Maria Novella station, or Piazza di Santa Trinita. Groups are small and departures fill from April to October, so book a day or two ahead.
You decide the tip at the end, and 10 to 15 euros per person is the Florentine norm, in cash. Nothing is charged when you reserve. If your plans change, cancel, because in a city running small groups every place counts.
