A day in Florence

I only have one day in Florence, how should I spend it?

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TOURS FROM OUR TRUSTED PARTNERS that include Florence

Intrepid Travel 2011 Italy trips
• Best of Italy (15 days)
• Italy Experience (15 days)
• Classic Italy (21 days)
• Italy Family Adventure (14 days)
• Highlights of Italy (8 days)
• Tuscan Express (7 days)

G Adventures 2011 Italy trips
• Ultimate Italy (13 days)
• Italy Culture and History Explored (9 days)
• The Taste of Tuscany (8 days)
• Venice to Rome Adventure (8 days)
• Italy Family Adventure (10 days)

iExplore Italy trips 2011
• Italy Experience (9 days)
• Italy in Style (9 days)
• Magical Tuscany & Portofino Peninsula (10 days)
• Tuscan Delights (8 days)
• Splendors of Italy & Southern France (16 days)

Take a tour
If you prefer an expert guide for your sightseeing, here are some walking tours from our partners at Viator.com that cover many of the major sights in Florence:

All sights:
• Private Tour: Florence Sightseeing Tour

Most sights:
• Skip the Line: Accademia and Uffizi Tour
• Florence Half-Day or Full-Day Sightseeing Tour
• Skip The Line: Best of Florence Walking Tour, incl Accademia Gallery and Duomo

Accademia:
• Skip the Line: Accademia Gallery Tickets
• Skip the Line: Accademia Gallery Tour
• Skip the Line: Florence Renaissance Walking Tour with Accademia Gallery

Duomo:
• Skip The Line: Best of Florence Walking Tour including Accademia Gallery and Duomo
• Skip the Line: Florence Renaissance Walking Tour with Accademia Gallery
• Private Tour: Florence Walking Tour
• Florence Walking Tour

Uffizi:
• Skip the Line: Florence Uffizi Gallery Tickets
• Skip the Line: Florence Uffizi Gallery Tour
• Skip the Line: Uffizi Gallery and Vasari Corridor Walking Tour
• Skip the Line: Small Group Florence Uffizi Gallery Walking Tour
• Skip the Line: Florence Accademia and Uffizi Gallery Tour
If you want to see Florence in a single day, you'll have no time to pace yourself. It's art-on-the-run time—and it'll be key that you book ahead for tickets into the Uffizi and Accademia, so you don't waste hours in line (or book a tour that includes tickets and skip-the-line privileges).

Reserve the earliest tickets possible for the Accademia to see Michelangelo's David. Spend no more than 30 minutes here so you can be admiring Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise on the baptistery in front of the Duomo by 10am. Seeing the inside of the Duomo itself takes only 15 minutes, but you might want to give yourself another hour to make it up to the top of Brunelleschi's dome.

After lunch-on-the-go at I Fratellini wine bar, make your way to Santa Croce to pay your respects to the earthly remains of Michelangelo and Galileo and to see Giotto's frescoes. You might also want to pop into the famous leather school. Exit the piazza by the north (right) end. Take a right on Via Verdi and an immediate left onto Via dei Lavatoi, which will spill out onto Via Isola delle Stinche right above Vivoli ice cream parlor, with the best gelato in the city.

Next, make your way west to the Uffizi to peruse some of the greatest art Italy has to offer until they kick you out just before 7pm. In the twilight, wander amid the statues of Piazza della Signoria and get an eyeful of the Palazzo Vecchio.

Stroll across the Ponte Vecchio before dinner and wander back through the medieval heart of Florence between Piazza della Signoria and the Duomo after a gut-busting Tuscan feast at Il Latini lubricated by plenty of good wine.

1 day in FLORENCE | 2 days in FLORENCE | 3 days in FLORENCE

Tips

Consider daily tours: Prefer to leave some of the planning and information-providing to a professional? Consider signing up for a guided tour—doesn't have to be a standard bus tour; our partners at Viator.com offer loads of neighborhood and thematic walking tours, private guides, and other fun ways to explore the capital as well.
Consider a tour from Rome: With just one day, you might consider booking a Florence tour from Rome with our partners at Viator.com.
Make your vacation your own: These are merely blueprints; you really should spend your time on whatever catches your own interest. Some people would rather get a root canal than visit one more museum filled with Renaissance paintings, but for others a day amongst the Old Masters would rank as the highlight of their trip. Same goes for shopping: heaven for some, hell on earth for others. For some less-famous sights to visit, check out Reid's List: Florence.
Watch out for Sundays and Mondays: Keep in mind that you may have to adjust these itineraries in case one of the days you're in town happens to fall on a Monday (when most museums are closed) or a Sunday (when many things are closed, and those that remain open tend to operate on shorter hours).

Florence itineraries: How to see Florence in 1 day, 2 days, or 3 days
Florence map
Getting around in Florence: by foot, by bus, by car, by taxi, by bike, by scooter
The sights of Florence
Florence FAQ
Florence homepage

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This material was last updated January 2011. All information was accurate at the time.

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A day in Florence

I only have one day in Florence, how should I spend it?

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