Tours in Florence

Since the beginning Florence has shown its brilliance in the arts and crafts.

This city represents the symbol of the Renaissance that spread all around Europe after the so-called dark centuries of the medieval period.

It is also thanks to its location, the mild hills of the Apennines, that Florence has the perfect condition to welcome the visitors.

Half-Day Walking Tour

Discover the art, architecture and the history of Florence with this tour.

The tour starts from Santa Maria del Fiore, an example of the great work that the religious orders, in this case the Franciscan, operated in the city.

Then the harmonious "Duomo" by Brunelleschi one of the best examples of Renaissance Art, the Giotto' s Bell Tower and the Romanesque Baptistery with the bronze doors, believed to have been built between the 5th and 11th century on the site of a Roman temple.

After the great urbanistic growth of the XIII century Florence was reorganized and important places such as "Piazza Signoria" and the "Palazzo Vecchio", the traditional seat of the Florentine government, were built. Palazzo Vecchio was the ducal palace of the Medici family before they moved to Pitti Palace.

A few steps from Piazza Signoria, is Ponte Vecchio, famous 14th century bridge lined with gold and silversmith shops, which originally housed butchers.

End of the tour at "Chiesa Santa Croce" started in 1294 and completed in the second half of the 14th. The vast interior hosts the celebrated tombs of Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo, Rossini, etc. etc.

Treasure of the Uffizi Gallery

The Uffizi Gallery collects incomparable amounts of masterpieces spacing from the medieval period to the Renaissance.

This tour will guide you through the works of world famous artists such as Michelangelo, Botticelli or Leonardo da Vinci giving you a full knowledge of the social and cultural context in which those geniuses operated or letting you discover their revolutionary techniques.

Michelangelo Tour (Academy of fine arts & Medici Chapel)

Michelangelo Buonarroti is one of the most complete artists of the artistic panoramic of the Renaissance. His polyhedral activity covered disciplines such as poetry, painting, architecture and sculpture. His works ennobled each of them. This tour will let you admire some of the most famous masterpieces of this artist.

Start the visit with the Academy of Fine Arts housing the most famous statue in the world, the David by Michelangelo, symbol of youthful but well-mastered force and a perfect example of the sculptor's humanism. See also the "Four prisoners", originally made for the tomb of Pope Julius II in Rome and other paintings of the Florentine school of 13th-16th century.

Then visit the San Lorenzo Complex and Medici Chapels. See the Princes' Chapel, sumptuously decorated with precious marble and semi-precious stones, which was the principal burial place of the Medici grand dukes.

Unusual Florence: full day "Oltrarno" tour

Enjoy one of the most beautiful and typical parts of Florence, ancient quarter of the city and located "on the other side of the river Arno": Oltrarno.

See Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, begun in 1268, but now in Baroque style after some rebuilding due to fire. Inside the church, visit the Brancacci Chapel whose patrons from the middle of the 1300's to 1780 were the Brancacci family. The Brancacci Chapel is one of the greatest treasures of Florence, recently restored and is worth a journey by itself. Enter the Chapel through an exquisite cloister, go up a flight of stairs and find yourself face to face with Masaccio's masterpieces.

Walk to Church of Santo Spirito, Augustan church begun by Brunelleschi in 1444 and completed about 30 years later. The church, hosts a number of important works of art, including a Virgin Enthroned with Saints by Filippo Lippi.

Proceed to Palazzo Pitti 15th century Renaissance building that was built to the plans of Brunelleschi for the Pitti family, the rivals of the Medici. Visit the Palatine Gallery, part of the Pitti Palace, which contains an outstanding collection of paintings by masters such as Raphael, Titian, and Peter Paul Rubens. The statue at the centre is Venus Italica (1804-1812) by Italian sculptor Antonio Canova.

Enter the Boboli Gardens that extends from the hill behind the Pitti Palace as far as Porta Romana. It reached its current extension and appearance, as one of the largest and most elegant Italian style gardens, through several stages of enlargement and restructuring work carried out at different times.

End the tour at the Coffee House on the top of the garden enjoying a wonderful close view over Florence.

Jewish Florence: full day Oltrarno tour

Start the visit with the Synagogue, also called the Major Temple. It was built between 1874 and 1882 according to a project of Marco Treves and thanks to the testament legacy of David Levi in order to grant Florence with a place of worship for the Jewish community. The building suffered much from the damages of the Nazi occupation, who at first used the Temple as a garage for military vehicles and mined it just before they escaped from the city.

Exiting the Temple, on the right there is the entrance to the Museum of Jewish History and Art, which can be reached through a staircase along which you can admire the splendid exemplary of plaques and candelabrums. The Museum, placed in an environment divided into two parts, intends to narrate the Jewish community from the historical point of view.

Proceed by car to Piazza Santa Croce and see the 19th century façade showing the Star of David. Walk to the Academy of Fine Arts housing the most famous statue in the world, the David by Michelangelo, symbol of youthful but well-mastered force and perfect example of the sculptor's humanism. See also the four prisoners, originally made for the tomb of Pope Julius II in Rome and other paintings of the Florentine school of 13th-16th century.

Full day walking tour.

Guided tour discovering the most famous and interesting sites of Florence. See Santa Maria del Fiore, the harmonious Dome, and the Giotto's Bell Tower next to the Cathedral, the Romanesque Baptistery.

Walk to Santa Maria Novella Church, Dominican church with white and green marble façade designed in the 15th century. Then stop at the famous Pharmacy of Santa Maria Novella, one of the oldest pharmacies in the world established by the Dominican fathers shortly after 1221. Here we can find essences, perfumes, pomades, spirits, balms, waters, liqueurs, etc. etc. Go on to Piazza Signoria and admire the Palazzo Vecchio. Then to Ponte Vecchio and terminate the tour at Santa Croce Church.

Possibilities of shopping in via Tornabuoni area where the most famous designers' fashion shops (Gucci, Armani, Cavalli, Max Mara, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, etc. etc.) are located.

Shopping Tour

Florence is the cradle of the most refined artisans who carry on ancient traditions inherited from their ancestors, in some cases furnishers of the Medici Family!

Woodcarvers, jewellers, painters or masters of the leather will open their workshop, proud to show their works.