Florence

Florence has two museums that dominate every itinerary — the Uffizi and the Accademia — and both punish visitors who don’t book. The city itself is small enough to cross on foot in twenty minutes, which makes the queues feel even more absurd when you’re standing in them.

This page compares live ticket prices and availability for Florence attractions across our booking partners.

When to visit Florence

April, May, September and October are ideal. Warm, clear, and the surrounding Tuscan countryside is at its best if you’re taking day trips.

June to August is hot — often above 32°C — and Florence sits in a valley that holds the heat. The museums are air-conditioned; the queues outside are not.

November to March is cool and quieter. This is when you can walk into the Uffizi with a same-week booking and have room to look at things.

The Uffizi

Timed entry is required and slots book out weeks ahead from spring through autumn.

The gallery is long and linear, running the length of two corridors. A full visit takes three hours; a focused one takes two.

The first Sunday of the month is free, which sounds appealing and means enormous queues with no booking possible.

There is a combined ticket covering the Uffizi, Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens valid over several days. It’s worth it only if you genuinely plan to do all three.

Closed Mondays.

The Accademia and the David

People book the Accademia expecting a large museum. It is not — the main reason to go is Michelangelo’s David, and most visits take under an hour.

Timed entry required, and it sells out as reliably as the Uffizi.

There is a copy of the David in Piazza della Signoria, outdoors and free, standing where the original stood until 1873. It’s a legitimate alternative if you can’t get a slot, though the original is a different experience entirely.

Closed Mondays.

The Duomo complex

The cathedral itself is free to enter, and the queue moves reasonably.

Everything else in the complex — the dome climb, the bell tower, the baptistery, the crypt and the museum — is covered by a single combined pass valid for several days. You cannot buy them separately.

The dome climb requires a separate timed reservation on top of the pass, and these go first. It’s 463 steps, no lift, narrow passages, and not suitable if you’re claustrophobic.

Giotto’s bell tower is 414 steps, no reservation needed, and gives you a view that includes the dome itself — which the dome climb obviously cannot.

Booking ahead vs walking up

Day trips into Tuscany

Florence is the base for most Tuscan touring.

Siena, San Gimignano and Chianti combine into a standard full-day tour and it’s a reasonable way to see them without a car.

Pisa is an hour by train and the leaning tower requires its own timed ticket with limited numbers. Half a day is enough.

Cinque Terre is further — around two and a half hours each way — and makes for a very long day. Better as an overnight if you can.

Getting around

The historic centre is compact and closed to most traffic. Walking is the only sensible way around it — the Duomo to the Ponte Vecchio is five minutes.

The train station, Santa Maria Novella, is a ten-minute walk from the centre and connects to Pisa, Siena, Rome and Venice.

Cobblestones and narrow pavements throughout. Comfortable shoes are not optional.

A first-timer’s three days

Day one — the Duomo and the centre. Cathedral early, bell tower for the view, Piazza della Signoria, then the Ponte Vecchio at sunset.

Day two — the museums. Accademia first thing, lunch, Uffizi in the afternoon. Evening across the river in Oltrarno.

Day three — Tuscany or Pitti. Full-day tour to Siena and Chianti, or stay in the city for Pitti Palace, the Boboli Gardens and Piazzale Michelangelo at sunset.