Florence Travel Guide
Custom travel experiences with Florence travel guide
How to Get to Florence by Train, Car, Plane or Bus
Florence is well-connected to the rest of the world and is easy to reach by both land and air.
Airport of Florence Peretola The Amerigo Vespucci Airport in Florence (Airport IATA code. FLR; call center 055 30615; www.aeroporto.firenze.it) is located 4 km from the city center and connects the Tuscan capital with all major national and Europe.
VolaInBus (800 37 37 60; www.fsbusitalia.it; round trip €6/10; travel time 30 min; frequency every 30 min from 5 to 8 pm and every hour from 10 pm to 24) This is the bus service that connects the airport with the station of Santa Maria Novella.
Taxi To reach the city center and the main hotels there is a fixed weekday fare of €22, to which is added a surcharge of €1 for each piece of luggage
carried. The journey takes about 15 minutes. For other destinations the costs vary depending on the distance.
Pisa Airport The Airport ‘Galileo Galilei’ of Pisa (Code IATA airport PSA; call center 050 84 93 00; www.pisa-airport.com) is located 80 km from Florence and guarantees the connections domestic and European connections operated by low-cost airlines and intercontinental ones.
Terravision (www.terravision.eu; one-way/ round trip adults €4.99/9.98, children €4/8; travel time 70 min;
frequency varies from 30 to 60 min from 8:50 a.m. to 0:20 a.m.)
It is one of the companies that connects the airport of Pisa with Santa Maria
Novella and with the airport of Florence Peretola.
Tickets can be purchased online or at the time of boarding the bus.
Autostradale (02 3008 90 00; www.autostradale.it; roundtrip adults €7.5/13.50; children €4.75; travel time 70 min; variable frequency
30 to 75 min from 8:45 a.m. to00.20) Runs service direct from the airport to Santa Maria Novella.
In case you are interested, be aware that all buses departing from the Pisa airport also reach Siena
(round tripadults €15/28).
Taxi (Radio Taxi 050 54 16 00; fares from €6.30) If you are allergic to buses, you might unfortunate to consider consider the idea of reaching Florence from Pisa airport by cab: be aware, however that the cost of the single ride is around to €140 and that the timetravel time is not too different from that
taken by buses.
Alternatively, one can reach the station in Pisa and from there take a train to the capital city.
Stazione di Santa Maria Novella
La Stazione di Santa Maria Novella (Piazza della Stazione) è il principale scalo ferroviario di Firenze, nel quale arrivano tutti i Frecciarossa e
i treni regionali e interregionali di Trenitalia (89 20 21; www.trenitalia.com), oltre ai convogli di Italo (www.italotreno.it).
Per raggiungere il Duomo dovrete usare l’autobus ATAF della Linea 22 (frequenza ogni 15 min, fermata in Piazza della Stazione).
Per San Marco e Santa Croce le linee utili sono la 14, 22 e 23 (frequenza ogni 12 min, fermata in Piazza della Stazione).
Per arrivare in Oltrarno prendete le linee 6, 11 or 23 (frequency every 10 min, stop at the Station).
Other stations railways
At the station of Firenze Rifredi arrive and depart the trains that operate on regional lines to Prato, Bologna, Pisa, Livorno, Lucca, La Spezia, Siena and Grosseto, as well as Intercity trains to Rome Termini, Milan, Naples and Trieste
Lonely Planet’s Florence & Tuscany is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Travel the roads of Val d’Orcia, sample Chianti and explore the Uffizi’s collections; all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Florence & Tuscany and begin your journey now!
Walking Tour in Florence
First day in Florence
Start the day with a walk downtown.
After standing with your nose in the air in front of the facade of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore and Giotto’s Campanile, slip into the Baptistery before heading to Palazzo Vecchio, the city’s longtime political heart, to browse the Medici’s public and private rooms.
At lunch, tantalize yourself with a classy sandwich at ‘Ino.
After a quick, scenic coffee at Rivoire and a detour to the Loggia dei Lanzi, enter the Uffizi Museum for a few hours’ tour of the absolute masterpieces of art history.
On the way out, head to the haute couture boutiques on Via de’ Tornabuoni for daydreaming and then wait at Ponte Vecchio for the sun to slip and disappear into the Arno.
For a fancy aperitif head to Procacci, where for a few euros you’ll be a grand gentleman with a glass of excellent wine and a truffle paninetto.
Then you’ll be ready for a very stylish dinner at Amblé . If you’re still strong, you can end the evening by dancing until dawn at or head back toward the hotel, losing yourself in the city’s medieval alleys.
Day two in Florence
Wake up early in the morning and head to the Library of the Oblate for a cappuccino on the terrace overlooking Brunelleschi’s dome.
After wandering the corridors of the Ospedale di Santa Maria Nuova , rich in works of art, push on to the Synagogue, whose refined Moorish decorations will make you think of the Thousand and One Nights.
A few steps away, the sober Church of Sant’Ambrogio will be just the right appetizer before a succulent lampredotto at the Tripperia Pollini kiosk.
To work off those lunch calories, walk to the Basilica of Santa Croce, which holds the remains of the most illustrious Florentines, from Petrarch to Galileo. Then take a short detour to the Bargello Museum;
and if you are a romantic don’t miss the Badia Fiorentina, where Dante fell madly in love with Beatrice.
After sunset, the Literary Café at the Murate transforms into one of the most interesting haunts in the neighborhood for an aperitivo with live music, while the best Neapolitan pizza in Florence awaits you at Santarpia’s for dinner.
Close out the day with a scenic stroll along the Lungarno
Day three in Florence
Comfortable shoes and an energetic breakfast will help youto tackle the third day.
The Basilica of Santa Maria Novella and the Museo Novecento will take you quite aamount of time, so you will have to go at a brisk pace if you also want to visit the Basilica of San Lorenzo with theMedici Chapels and the BibliotecaMedicea Laurenziana designedby Michelangelo.
Lunch is a must at the second floor of the Mercato Centrale. In case for dessert you want to delight in Michelangelo’s ‘real’ David, you will have to make your way to the Galleria dell’Accademia, which will be by the way an excellent intermediate stop before the Museo di San Marco, where in the shadow of the frescoes by Beato Angelico also lived that reactionary Savonarola, who ended up being burned in the piazza.
The cultural aperitif of the day will be on the roof of the Spedale degli Innocenti, Italy’s first orphanage and Florence’s most impressive belvedere.
In the evening choose between a dinner Berlin-style at La Ménagère and a dip in the unchanging andtraditional dishes at Cafaggi.
The Caribbean atmospheres and rums at Sabor Cubano will give you a well-deserved good night
Fourth day in Florence
Devote your last Florentine day entirely to the Oltrarno. Borgo San Frediano, with the beautiful Basilica of Santa Maria del Carmine, deserves a quick visit that will serve as an introduction to the solemnity of the Basilica of Santo Spirito.
From there, after having a sandwich prepared in one of the district’s many stores, head to the Pitti Palace and have a picnic lunch on the immense lawns of the Boboli Gardens.
In the afternoon, explore the workshops of the artisans who still populate this area and visit Specola, an amazing natural museum that adults and children alike will enjoy.
Then, climb up to the Basilica of San Miniato al Monte, a Romanesque masterpiece steeped in charm and spirituality.
If time is on your side, then seek a front-row seat at Piazzale Michelangelo to watch the striking sunset among hundreds of stunned eyes.
A drink at Spiaggettais ideal after the day’s exertions, but if you’re looking for something more lively, you can head back toward Volume.
After dinner, end on a high note at the wonderful SESTO ON ARNO.
Uffizi Gallery
The Uffizi Gallery is the oldest Art Gallery in the world. This is a unique experience for those of you who want to immerse yourself in Florence’s artistic background and history.
The Renaissance with its painting and the antiquity with its statues are the protagonists of this world famous gallery. You will recognise original famous paintings you have seen in books, magazines such as Cimabue, Giotto, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raffaello, Tiziano and much more.
Personalise your museum experience. There is no need to rush off the end of the tour. You may stay inside the museum until the closing time!
Florence Travel Guide Valentina Fodde & Elisa Gurau
Accademia Gallery
The Accademia Gallery is one of the best known museum in the world today.
During your vacation in Florence don’t miss out on meeting one of the most famous and eclectic artist in the world: Michelangelo!
Enjoy his most famous work, the statue of David, but also I Prigioni, San Matteo and the Pietà of Palestrina. The young Michelangelo carved the statue of David in 3 years, starting from a huge block of rough marble. The result was an absolutely beautiful, imposing sculpture, the real icon of the Renaissance ideal.
It really is a once-in-a-lifetime experience to stand in front of the David.
At the end of the tour you will have the possibility to stay inside the museum as long as you like.
Florence Travel Guide Valentina Fodde & Elisa Gurau
Bargello Museum
The splendid fortified Bargello palace was the first public building of the city (1255).
It has a beautiful and austere court yard and a high embattled tower.
It owes its name to Bargello that means “master of the guards” who had their seat here in the 16th century.
You will have the chance to admire masterpieces as the David by Donatello, the Bacchus and the Tondo Pitti by Michelangelo, Mercury by Gianbologna, besides the magnificent glazed terra cotta by Giovanni & Andrea della Robbia.
At the end of the guided tour you can stay inside the museum as long as you wish…don’t miss the important collection of Islamic Art as neither the Room of the Ivories or the Armoury.
Florence Travel Guide Elisa Gurau & Valentina Fodde
Palazzo Vecchio
From the time the cornerstone was laid through today, the Palazzo Vecchio has been the seat of city power and the heart of Florence, and even now it serves as city hall.
Its history gos back to 1299, when works started, after a design by Arnolfo di Cambio.
It enjoyed a fabulous “Golden Age” when the Medici family transferred its residence there from Palazzo Medici.
The building, designed to house the florentine offices and magistracies, had to be adapted to new principles and functions: everything was aimed at celebrating the enlightened Medici rulers, the unification of Tuscany and the action of Duke Cosimo I, who was able to turn “the will of many…to one alone, his own” (G. Vasari-Ragionamenti).
You will explore a series of splendid works of art…the marble group of the Genius of Victory by Michelangelo in the Hall of the 500, the bronze group of Judith and Olopherne by Donatello, the Putto with Dolphin by Verrocchio, the frescoes of Agnolo Bronzino in the Chapel of Eleonora; also, take a close look at the frescoes and at Dante’s mask that inspired Dan Brown in his novel “Inferno”!
Florence Travel Guide Elisa Gurau & Valentina Fodde
No Distance Is too Far
Walking Tours
A special walk in Florence
This tour is dedicated to those who want to know all the facts and secrets of two thousand years of Florentine history from the city’s Roman origins to the 15th century architecture, from Ponte Vecchio to the wanders of Brunelleschi’s Dome.
In only 3 hours you vill have the opportunity to visit all “The best of Florence”: the Duomo, Republic square, Signoria square and much more…
