Walking through the medieval streets of old town Florence feels like stepping directly into a Renaissance history book. After visiting multiple times with our family, it remains our quintessential cultural stop in Italy, though the crowds can be overwhelming without a solid plan. If you are looking for the most charming places to see in Florence, this practical self-guided walking tour with maps is based on our own time on the ground, leading you through 11 iconic highlights—from the towering Duomo to the panoramic views at Piazzale Michelangelo—all in a single, efficient day.
Florence (or Firenze in Italian) is the center of Renaissance art. The quantity and quality of art all around the city can be overwhelming. Everything you have learned in schoolbooks about the Renaissance is available right in front of your eyes just by walking through the streets of old Florence and seeing its art museums. Come on my favorite self-guided Florence walking tour itinerary which takes you to the best places to see in Florence, organized efficiently to save time.
Iconic Places to See in Florence: Old Town Route
The historic center contains the most iconic places to see in Florence, all packed within a walkable area. This route takes about 4 hours of actual walking time, but you should plan for a full day (even two) to account for museum visits and gelato stops.
Practical map of the best places to see in Florence north of the Arno River. Follow the red squares and blue path for the 11 iconic stops on my self-guided Florence walking route.
Stay in Florence. We stayed outside of the city center since we had a rental car and needed free parking. Plus, dealing with Florence traffic and finding parking in the old city center is really, really difficult. So, we stayed at the very reasonable Novotel Florence North. This hotel has a free shuttle that takes you straight to the Florence train station where you can start exploring. You can also find other budget hotels in Florence.
Since driving inside the old city center is prohibited, it is best to start our Florence walking tour at the train station.
1. Santa Maria Novella Church
Santa Maria Novella church is a great starting point for your Florence walking tour
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The easiest place to start our self-guided Florence walking tour itinerary is at the train station. Many local hotel shuttles will drop you off there, as cars are not allowed in old town Florence. Located right next to the train station with the same name, the church of Santa Maria Novella is a beautiful attraction. While smaller and less imposing, this 15th century Dominican church contains many pieces of Gothic and pre-Renaissance art.
From the Piazza di Santa Maria Novella, follow the main road leading out and work your way north east towards the large Basilica di San Lorenzo complex.
2. Basilica di San Lorenzo
Basilica San Lorenzo is one of the oldest churches in Florence
Photo by Sailko
After a short 10 minute walk, we come to our next stop on our Florence walking tour. The imposing Basilica di San Lorenzo (Basilica of St. Lawrence) complex is one of the largest churches of Florence, situated at the center of the city’s main market district. Loaded with local history, Basilica San Lorenzo is the burial place of all the principal members of the Medici family, from Cosimo il Vecchio to Cosimo III. The Medicis were one of the most powerful families in Italy and they maintained religious and political control of Florence for generations.
This is a large church building complex made up of several other buildings, so walk around a little bit and take your time. Visiting this large church, including the impressive library is one of the most popular places to see in Florence.
3. Sagrestia Vecchia
Interior of Sagrestia Vecchia
Photo by Sailko
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Sagrestia Vecchia (Old Sacristy) comes next on our self-guided Florence walking tour. The Old Sacristy, is located in the San Lorenzo church comples and was designed by Brunelleschi, with interior decoration and sculpture by Donatello and the Laurentian Library by Michelangelo. In the same area you can find the New Sacristy based on Michelangelo’s designs; and the Medici Chapels designed by Matteo Negretti.
The large building complex around San Lorenzo church takes some time to visit, but it’s well worth your effort. Now it’s time to head east to one of the most popular places to see in Florence.
4. Accademia
Michelangelo’s David on display at the Academy Gallery
CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons”
Walking a bit out of the way, for about 7 minutes, we find the Academy Museum entrance. The Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze , or “Gallery of the Academy of Florence”, is one of the largest art museums in Florence, Italy. It is best known as the home of Michelangelo’s sculpture David. It was founded by Pietro Leopoldo, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, in 1784 as a teaching facility for the Academy of Fine Arts students nearby.
Now, we continue straight south to get to the center of Florence Old Town.
5. Florence Cathedral: A Must-See Landmark
The imposing building of the Dome has a facade made of white, green, pink and red marble.
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Continuing our self-guided Florence walking tour itinerary, we arrive in about 7 minutes, at the center of the old town. This is what everyone gravitates towards: the imposing Florence Cathedral, or as the locals call it: Il Duomo di Firenze. The Dome in Florence is one of the most impressive places to see in Florence. This is a beautiful building that is well worth a visit, in spite of the crowds and the occasional line to get inside.
The dome was designed and built by the famous architect Brunelleschi after a heated competition with another designer, Lorenzo Ghiberti, for the rights to the project. The dome took almost twenty years to complete and it is the most significant feature of Florence’s skyline. The Dome is one of my
favorite churches of Florence of course.
6. Piazza Della Signoria
Piazza della Signoria is filled with tourists in the summer.
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We continue our walking tour of Florence, for about 5 minutes, by heading south and stopping in the large Piazza della Signoria. To one side you see the imposing Palazzo Vecchio with its crested towers, and in front of you you’ll find the Loggia dei Lanzi with its open-air museum.
Loggia dei Lanzi is a remarkable display of beautiful old sculptures as an open-air museum. While very crowded in the summer, it can provide some shade – a great place to sit and relax if you can find an open spot.
An open air gallery of sculptures at the Loggia dei Lanzi inside Piazza della Signoria
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Piazza Della Signoria is a great place to simply sit, relax and look at the hustle and bustle of tourists and locals mingling. Even though the restaurants here are expensive, they provide the best views of this busy place.
7. Ufizzi Gallery
Uffizi Gallery hallway. Florence, Italy.
Petar Milošević • CC BY-SA 4.0
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No walking tour of Florence is complete without a visit to the world famous Ufizzi Gallery. Located right next to Signoria, the Ufizzi Art Gallery contains countless recognizable Italian Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque paintings and sculptures. It is just unbelievable to visit. Our kids liked this art gallery even though it takes a while to go through and visit everything.
Buying tickets from the Ufizzi Gallery ticket office, while cheaper, will force you to wait a long time in line. In the summer, Ufizzi is very crowded and it took us 2 hours to be able to get inside. I highly recommend buying tickets to Ufizzi in advance and avoid most of the lines. Even when you buy a ticket in advance, you still have to wait in a separate line, but this line is much shorter. Uffizi is one of the best museums in Florence for sure.
8. Ponte Vecchio
Ponte Vecchio seen from the upper floor of the Uffizi Gallery.
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After visiting Uffizi, we continue our Florence walking tour to the right, by the Arno River. After a 5 minutes walk, All the crowds are leading us to our next stop which you must include on your list of iconic places to see in Florence. Taking a stroll on Ponte Vecchio takes you back to an old world with more time for detailed embroideries and jewelry.
Ponte Vecchio means Old Bridge, and it is the only old Florentine bridge that survived allied bombing during World War 2. Ponte Vecchio is lined with shops on both sides and has served as a model for several other bridges in Europe. A quick example is Pulteney Bridge in Bath, UK.
People walking and window shopping on Ponte Vecchio.
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Above the shops on Ponte Vecchio is a structure known as the Corridoio Vasariano, or Vasari Corridor, which connects to the Uffizi Museum. The Uffizi building was once used as the offices of the Medici family businesses – “uffizi” means “offices” in Italian.
Cosimo di Medici ordered construction of the corridor so the Medici family members could move freely between Palazzo Vecchio, the offices, and the Palazzo Pitti on the other side of the Arno River.
The shops on Ponte Vecchio were once a meat market, but the Medici replaced the meat shops with goldsmiths to get rid of the smell. Walking Ponte Vecchio should be part of your Florence walking tour itinerary.
9. Santa Croce Church
The church of Santa Croce has the same marble facade as the Dome.
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The Church of Santa Croce (Holy Cross) is our last stop north of the Arno River. After only 10 minutes walk we arrive in front of the imposing Santa Croce Church. While beautiful on the outside, the church of Santa Croce is most famous for its inside. Once you step inside, you will see the tombs of famous people like Galileo Galilei. It is definitely one of the somber places to see in Florence, but amazing to see nevertheless. You can buy skip-the-line tickets to Santa Croce and avoid the large crowds waiting to buy a ticket, especially in the summer.
Best Views of Florence: Across the Arno River
Map covering the most charming places to see in Florence south of the river, including the Oltrarno district and the best sunset views at Piazzale Michelangelo.
Red: See, Blue: Walk
Florence is a large city with lots of attraction across the Arno River to the south of the old Florence center.
You could also stay in the Oltrarno to the south of the Arno river to be among the artisan workshops, antique furniture galleries and next to the Pitti Palace and Boboli gardens.
10. Piazzale Michelangelo
Another replica of Michelangelo’s David in Piazzale Michelangelo.
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As we cross the Arno River on Ponte Alle Grazie Bridge, we continue our Florence walking tour itinerary. After a 15 minute walk from Santa Croce, we come to the steep stairs from Porta San Niccolo and after another 10 minutes we come to Piazzale Michelangelo, or Michelangelo Square. When it comes to beautiful views of Florence, no other spot comes close to Michelangelo Square.
Come here at sunset and take in the amazing panorama views of Florence. This is definitely one of the most romantic places to see in Florence.
11. Pitti Palace & Boboli Gardens
Beautiful view of Palazzo Pitti and Boboli Gardens.
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From Michelangelo Square, after about 20 minute walk, we come to the last stop on our walking tour of Florence and one of the important places to see in Florence. Palazzo Pitti is a large palace with beautiful art and the lush, manicured Boboli Gardens. It was the last sumptuous residence of the Medici family. Here you can see the royal apartments and a large number of Renaissance art in addition to the beautiful gardens.
Buying a guided tour of the Pitti Palace will allow you to skip the line and give you a great history lesson about the Medici family.
Allow for at least 2 hours to visit the Palace, Boboli gardens and stroll through the rest of the grounds. Once at Pitti Palace, if you walk to the top of the hilly gardens you can get some pretty views of Florence.
Beautiful panorama of Florence seen from Palazzo Pitti.
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Self-Guided Florence Walking Tour: Logistics
When planning a trip to Europe I always focus on maximizing my resources. So, I spend time researching my destination and pick things carefully so I can maximize my time and budget while traveling. Florence takes some planning in order to make it work with your expectations.
Stay in Florence. We stayed outside of the city center since we had a rental car and needed free parking. Plus, dealing with Florence traffic and finding parking in the old city center is really, really difficult. So, we stayed at the very reasonable Novotel Florence North. This hotel has a free shuttle that takes you straight to the Florence train station where you can start exploring. You can also find other budget hotels in Florence.
Rent a car in Italy. You need a rental car if you want to reach smaller places in the countryside. Get a cheap rental car for Italy by saving up to 30% by comparing the best companies to rent from in Europe.
Find parking near Florence center. This is not an easy proposition and I strongly recommend not bringing a car. However, if you have to drive into Florence I recommend parking near the train station.
Check out the Uffizi Gallery official site for schedule and current events.
Check out the Academy of Florence official site for current schedule and events.
Is Florence Worth Visiting?
Absolutely yes! Florence is the essential destination in Tuscany, Italy. With so many things to see, it is impossible to cover it all in one single day. I recommend you plan on spending at least two full days visiting this beautiful city.
More Italy Self-Guided Tours
Explore more beautiful Italian cities with my self‑guided walking tours, complete with maps and detailed routes.
- 7-Day Tuscany Itinerary
- Pisa Walking Tour
- Amazing Churches of Florence
- Siena Walking Tour
- San Gimignano Walking Tour
- Self-Guided Volterra Walking Tour
- Self-Guided Lucca Walking Tour
- Self-Guided Verona Walking Tour
- Is Cinque Terre Overrated?
Tour distance and approximate time to walk are important details that are missing. Please add them.
Thank you for the suggestion to add walking time. I will try adding some indication about how long it might take between attractions. However, it really depends on every person and how much they want to see and how fast/slow they walk.