The main reason to visit the market is to rub the snout of the porcellino — a bronze fountain of a boar — for good luck. Legend says that you need to touch the statue to ensure a safe journey back to Florence again one day. The large square is somewhat of a free open-air gallery, with numerous statues and sculptures in every direction you look.
The gallery is just to the south of Piazza della Signoria. The world-famous Uffizi Gallery has an unparalleled collection of Renaissance and European art.
The entrance can be booked in 15 minute time slots until 5pm each day. We like taking guided tours of places like the Louvre in Paris and the Vatican in Rome , because the expert guides are able to give you so much context and color that is lost on us when we walk through the museums on our own.
The unusual-looking bridge is the oldest in Florence and was the only one to survive the bombings of World War II.
By the evening, most of the shops will be closed. However, taking a slow stroll across the bridge with all of the wooden shutters down, stopping to marvel at the sunset views along the Arno river, is one of the most romantic things to do in Florence in our opinion. End your day with a relaxing dinner followed by a slow evening walk along the Arno. Florence may be the main city of the Tuscany region, but its neighbor Pisa is just as famous and worth a visit in its own right.
Other than the tower, you can also check out Pisa Cathedral and its impressive marble exterior and the ornate dome of Pisa Baptistery. The hilltop city of Siena is one of the most magical places to visit in Tuscany and makes for a great day trip from Florence.
Especially when paired with wine tasting in the beautiful surrounding Chianti wine region. If your priority is exploring the city of Siena then the train is the easiest option. Alternatively, you could rent a car from Florence. This is the better method if you want to explore more of the Tuscan countryside and Chianti vineyards around Siena. No trip to Siena is complete with a visit to its main square, Piazza del Campo, with its historic buildings and the racetrack of the famous Palio di Siena horse race.
If you find yourself with more time in Florence, below are a few other attractions in the city worth adding to your itinerary.
Before you get to these, consider spending more time exploring the Uffizi, Accademia Gallery and Pitti Palace first. Only have a day or two in Florence? With just one day in Florence, spend the morning on a walking tour to get to see as much of the city as possible in a few hours. In the afternoon, fit in a visit to the Duomo to climb the dome then on to Piazza della Signoria and the Uffizi Gallery. End your day by walking over Ponte Vecchio and climbing up to Piazzale Michelangelo for sunset.
With two days in the city, just follow days 1 and 2 of this Florence itinerary. You can always come back again to explore more of the Tuscany region. However, the height of summer is when the largest crowds descend upon the city. So this is the time to avoid unless you want to spend your entire trip waiting in line for attractions in the grueling summer heat. The shoulder months of April, May, September and October are the best time to visit Florence, with pleasantly warm weather and fewer other tourists to share the city with.
Many European and internal flights arrive at this airport. The other two major stations on the outer edges of the city are Firenze Campo di Marte and Firenze Rifredi.
If you want to go into the Uffizi Gallery, we recommend you buy Uffizi tickets online ahead of time as there is often a long line outside. Plan to spend at least 2 hours inside the museum or better yet, visit with a guided tour to make sure you don't miss the top masterpieces. The bridge has connected the river banks exactly at this point since the 12th century!
Crossing Ponte Vecchio while admiring the spectacular goldsmith shops , you reach the Oltrarno area where the Pitti Palace stands magnificently, home today to several splendid museums such as the Palatine Gallery and the Modern Art Gallery , with the impressive Boboli Gardens as its backyard. While the museums take time to visit, if your time is limited and the day is shining, we recommend you visit the gardens. Built by Brunelleschi , the church stands tall over the square with its simple and yellow facade but hides many artistic treasures inside.
There are several restaurants and cafes around the square and in the streets nearby that offer excellent Tuscan dishes and wines for you to enjoy at the end of your long first day in Florence!
Starting back on the Arno's northern riverbank, start your second day in Piazza Santa Maria Novella where you can admire the recently renovated square with its beautiful Santa Maria Novella Church.
The church's facade in white and green marble was designed by Leon Battista Alberti while the stunning Tornabuoni Chapel inside has frescoes by Ghirlandaio - a must see! In Piazza San Lorenzo , you can either do a quick visit into the San Lorenzo Church , the church with its unfinished facade where the Medici family worshipped, or into the quite majestic Medici Chapels , final resting place for the Medici dynasty where you'll find beautiful marble statues by Michelangelo in the New Sacristy.
Often also on everyone's list, the Accademia Gallery houses Michelangelo's original marble statue called David, standing tall at its center. You'll have seen a copy of it in front of Palazzo Vecchio by now but seeing the original is a whole different ballgame.
If you have at least an hour to spare, I would suggest visiting inside pre-book tickets ahead of time. Pass by the Duomo as you head to Piazza Santa Croce where you should visit the impressive Santa Croce Church where many great Florentines and Tuscans have their final resting place, including Michelangelo and Galileo.
If you don't have time, at least admire the facade and the grand statue of Dante on the front left corner. To end your second day, I recommend heading to Piazzale Michelangelo , a square overlooking the city from the first hill in the Oltrarno where you can enjoy a marvelous view of the city at sunset!
You'll enjoy viewing and identifying all of the places you've visited all over Florence in the last 48 hours! Remember, I said all of the above places can be "visited" in 2 days if you walk around and admire then from the outside. If you have an extra day or two, you can take more time and visit the inside of the churches and museums I've listed above as the main sights to see in Florence. There is so much to see in Florence and no matter how limited your time is, I hope this 48 hour itinerary in Florence helps guide you during your time in Florence.
I'm from California but have called Florence my home for over a decade. I love to explore Italy; it is a lot of fun to try to see everything like I'm seeing it for the first time, keeping you, our readers, always in mind.
I enjoy sharing what I know and helping others as they make their travel plans for Tuscany through our Forum. If instead you do not have all this time available you can always think of coming back another time and deepen the knowledge. If yours is a return, you can think about visiting secondary places and museums, going deeper in a topic, artist or historical period that fascinates you, or taking a trip to the countryside. They often reserve wonderful surprises of art, history and architecture.
Every time you come back to Florence , even the third, the tenth or the hundredth, you will find something new. A detail that you did not notice before, a temporary exhibition, a museum that has just opened and you will want to visit, a new restaurant to try. As the treasures to be discovered are almost endless.
Check my itinerary for a week in Tuscany! If you want to maximize your travel time , I suggest you take a tour guide. A professional who accompanies you on visits to the main museums will be able to select the most important works of art for you, and tell you their meaning in a few hours. The same is true for a private walking tour: in two or three hours you will be able to see the most important monuments and get to know its history.
Without having to worry about selecting them, finding and visiting them, and without wasting time.
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