How to See Florence in One Day

Three things absolutely require booking to avoid the long lines: the Accademia Gallery (for Michelangelo’s David), the Uffizi Gallery, and Brunelleschi’s Dome. Check the official website for each (look for .it domains to avoid third-party markups). You’ll need a time slot for the dome climb. Book a slot for early morning if you can.

Really early. An early start changes everything in Florence. Arrive at your first stop when it opens, and you’ll have that brief window when the art feels like it’s yours alone. By 10 AM, the city centre transforms into something else entirely.

Comfortable shoes for cobblestones, a small daypack, water, and sunscreen in summer. If you’re arriving by a high-speed train ride from Rome or major cities, you’ll find luggage storage at the main train station (Santa Maria Novella).

Arrive April to June or September to October, when Florence breathes a bit easier. Summer brings heat and crowds in equal measure. I once visited during August and I’m still not sure I’ve recovered from the crush. But regardless of when you arrive, this is a walking city. The city centre is compact enough that you can cover most major attractions on foot, and the distances between them rarely exceed a 15-minute walk.

Your day begins where Florence itself seems to begin: at the architectural heart that’s defined this city’s skyline for six centuries.

By now, you’ve conquered the city’s two most famous artistic achievements. What comes next shows you how Florence functions, not as a museum, but as a living city that happens to contain centuries of genius.

Walking south from the Accademia, you’ll pass through Piazza della Repubblica. This grand square, with its triumphal arch and vintage carousel, occupies the site of the old Roman forum.

During the Middle Ages, it served as the city’s market. Now it hosts elegant coffee shops like Caffè Gilli and Paszkowski, where tourists and locals pause for espresso.

Stand at the bar if you want to blend in. It’s faster, cheaper, and more Florentine. Or take a table and watch Florence pass by. Either works.

Piazza della Signoria is where the city’s political power has been concentrated for centuries.

Palazzo Vecchio anchors one end: medieval fortress, city hall, Medici family seat of power. Its tower rises 94 metres, offering arguably better views than the Duomo climb and attracting fewer crowds. The courtyard is free to explore.

Outside, marble and bronze figures, including Donatello’s Judith and Holofernes, populate the piazza. The replica David stands where the original once stood and Neptune rises from his fountain. Under the arched Loggia dei Lanzi, Cellini’s Perseus holds Medusa’s severed head aloft whilst Giambologna’s Rape of the Sabine Women spirals upward in marble.

By late morning, you’ve earned Tuscan fuel. Two approaches present themselves: quick and iconic, or sit-down and substantial.

All’Antico Vinaio appears on nearly every Florence guide, Instagram feed, and travel forum, which should make it overrated but somehow doesn’t.

This humble sandwich shop on Via dei Neri (a 5-minute walk from Piazza Signoria) has become such a perfect spot for locals and visitors that the shop has expanded internationally.

Their star is the schiacciata, a Tuscan flatbread split and stuffed with truffle cream, pecorino, prosciutto, spicy eggplant, and sun-dried tomatoes, which arrives as a flavour bomb wrapped in paper. Fresh bread, generous fillings, reasonable prices. Expect to wait 15-30 minutes during peak times.

If the line defeats you, try I’ Girone De’ Ghiotti or SandwiChic nearby.

Between lunch and your next stop, find gelato. Florence claims to have invented it in the 16th century. Whether that’s true matters less than finding the best gelato now.

Look for gelato stored in covered metal tins rather than piled into colourful mountains, as the latter signals artificial ingredients.

La Carraia (two locations, including one near Santo Spirito), Gelateria dei Neri (on Via dei Neri), or Perchè No! near Piazza della Repubblica, all qualify. Natural flavours, creamy texture, reasonable prices. Good luck choosing just one flavour.

This is where your day in Florence diverges based on what drew you here in the first place. Art museum devotees and outdoor wanderers need different things, and Florence accommodates both.

The Arno River divides Florence into two distinct personalities, and crossing from one to the other feels like stepping through a portal. The bridge that connects them happens to be the city’s most famous landmark.

Ponte Vecchio demands your attention not through size but through survival. This historic bridge dates to 1345, built as a medieval stone arch over the Arno River.

Initially lined with butcher shops, convenient for tossing offal into the water below, the bridge was transformed in 1593 when Duke Ferdinando de’ Medici evicted the butchers and installed goldsmiths and jewellers instead.

They remain today, tiny shops glittering with gold in shop fronts barely wider than doorways. Window-shop if you’re not buying. The mid-bridge terraces offer views up and down the river.

Above runs the Vasari Corridor, the Medici’s private elevated walkway connecting Palazzo Vecchio to Pitti Palace across the river. Designed by Giorgio Vasari in 1565, it let the family move unseen between residences and offices – medieval times meeting Renaissance privilege.

During World War II, retreating German troops destroyed every bridge in Florence except this one. Accounts differ on why but the result is you can still cross these medieval stones six centuries after their placement.

Oltrarno (“other side of the Arno”) feels more local. Artisan workshops cluster in narrow streets where you’ll find leather craftspeople, jewellers, and mosaic artists working in spaces barely large enough to turn around in.

As the afternoon slides toward evening, it’s time for the view that defines every Florence visit.

Piazzale Michelangelo sits on a hill across the Arno, offering what many consider the best views over Florence. Getting there requires either a 20–30-minute uphill walk from Ponte Vecchio or a short taxi ride. Bus routes 12 or 13 also climb the hill if you prefer public transport.

Whichever way you go, you’ll reach a large plaza, essentially a car park with a viewpoint, where a bronze David replica presides over the entire city spread below.

Brunelleschi’s Dome rises from terracotta rooftops. Palazzo Vecchio’s tower punctuates the skyline. The Arno River curves through it all, backed by Tuscan hills going purple in late afternoon light.

Yes, it’s crowded. Yes, there are souvenir vendors and tour buses. But I challenge you not to be moved, all the same.

Time your visit for late afternoon, regardless of the season. The sky turns gold, then pink, then that particular blue that makes you understand why Renaissance painters obsessed over light.

Evening dining in Florence ranges from rustic family trattorias to Michelin-starred elegance. Given you’ve spent a full day walking the historic centre, choose atmosphere and authenticity over novelty.

In Oltrarno, Trattoria 4 Leoni near Piazza della Passera is the perfect place to try the pear ravioli in taleggio cheese sauce that people recreate at home months later. Osteria del Cinghiale Bianco specialises in wild boar. Trattoria La Casalinga offers home-style cooking in a space that feels like someone’s dining room because essentially it is.

Back in the city centre, Buca Lapi occupies 16th-century cellars under Palazzo Antinori. Operating since 1880, it’s become one of the best places for bistecca alla Fiorentina.

Most one-day visitors arrive via day trip from Rome, Milan, or cruise ships docking at Livorno. High-speed trains and rental car services make Florence accessible from major cities in under two hours. If you’re staying overnight, choose accommodation in the city centre to maximise your time.

Here are some recommendations.

• Hotel Pendini occupies a 19th-century building on Piazza della Repubblica, literally in the heart of everything. Operating since 1879, it offers mid-range pricing, old-world atmosphere, and the kind of location where you step outside directly into Florence. Some rooms overlook the square.

• Rocco Forte Hotel Savoy delivers five-star service on Piazza della Repubblica. Rooms overlook the Duomo, with in-house dining overseen by Michelin chefs.

• Portrait Firenze, part of the Ferragamo family’s collection, offers all-suite accommodation with Ponte Vecchio views. The ultimate luxury option, priced accordingly.

Tip: avoid bringing a rental car into Florence’s centre. ZTL restricted zones mean fines for unauthorised vehicles. The main train station (Santa Maria Novella) is within walking distance of everything, making train tickets the smarter choice.

A few final considerations help maximise your limited time in Florence.

• Guided tours versus independent exploration depends on your preference. Tours offer context and skip-the-line benefits. Independence offers flexibility and pace control. Both work for first-time visitors if planned properly.
• If you return, and Florence tends to demand return visits, consider day trip options to Cinque Terre, San Gimignano, or Chianti wine country. Each deserves a day itself. Your next stop might be medieval hill towns or coastal villages, depending on which direction you travel.
• Safety remains straightforward. Watch for pickpockets in crowded areas, keep valuables secure, and use common sense. Florence is generally safe even after dark in tourist areas.
• What to skip without guilt. You can’t see everything. Accept this. The permission to pause matters more than ticking boxes. Listen to street musicians on Ponte Vecchio. Notice how leather-scented air fills the Oltrarno workshops. Watch the afternoon sun illuminate Santa Croce’s marble. These unplanned moments often lodge deepest in memory.

In 24 hours, you’ve covered Brunelleschi’s marvel of engineering and Michelangelo’s marble genius. You’ve walked medieval plazas where the Medici family consolidated power. You’ve seen Botticelli’s Venus and tasted Tuscany’s flavours. You’ve watched sunset turn the birthplace of the Renaissance golden from a hillside while Florence spread below like proof that human beings sometimes get things right.

And yet, this barely scratches the surface. Florence contains enough art, history, and culture for months of exploration. The Bargello, Medici Chapels, San Marco, countless churches and museums, and workshops you didn’t reach – they’ll wait.

But that’s Florence’s particular gift: it guarantees a next time. The city holds enough to reward repeated visits across a lifetime, whilst still offering something essential even to those who only have these few hours.

So here you are at day’s end. Evening lights twinkle across the city. Somewhere distant, a street violin plays. Brunelleschi’s Dome sits dark against a darkening sky, that impossible structure that shouldn’t stand but has stood for six centuries and will stand for centuries more.

Arrivederci, Firenze. You’ll probably be back.

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