Florence Itinerary: One to Three Days in the City

Michelangelo’s David and Botticelli’s Birth of Venus deserve separate mornings, not a hurried dash between galleries. Three full days let you add Pitti Palace, Boboli Gardens and an evening above the Arno. With two, keep the first two art-led days, while one day calls for a choice between them.

How many days and which tickets?

One day

Choose David or Uffizi painting, then walk the centre

Two days

Accademia and Duomo; Uffizi and Arno

Three days

Add Pitti, Boboli, Brancacci and the hill

Best sequence

Thursday–Saturday; major galleries closed Monday

Starting area

Santa Maria Novella or historic centre

First bookings

Dome ascent and Uffizi time; optional Accademia reservation

Thursday to Saturday keeps the planned interiors workable: Accademia, Uffizi and Pitti close on Mondays, and Palazzo Medici Riccardi closes on Wednesdays, San Lorenzo to visitors on Sundays and the Opera del Duomo Museum on the first Tuesday of each month. Boboli closes on the first and last Monday of the month, and Brancacci on Tuesdays. Exchange whole days if a closure interrupts your stay. Three days are not too much if you want time for painting and the Oltrarno, while two cover the main galleries, dome and river.

From Firenze Santa Maria Novella station, reach the Accademia via Piazza San Lorenzo and Via Ricasoli, around 1.5 km or roughly 20 minutes on foot. A base near the station or in the historic centre puts the Duomo, Piazza della Signoria, Ponte Vecchio and Uffizi within walking reach. Book the dome slot first, then fix the Uffizi morning. The Accademia offers optional timed reservations if an entrance queue would disrupt the day.

Admission	Adult basis	Entry
Accademia	€20; timed booking €4	Reservation optional
Brunelleschi Pass	€30	Dome time required
Uffizi	€25 same day; €29 advance	Morning time
Pitti Palace	€16 same day; €19 advance	Single entry
Boboli Gardens	€10 same day; €13 advance	Single entry
Three separate tickets	€51 same day; €61 advance	Uffizi + Pitti + Boboli
Passepartout 5 Days	€40	Uffizi first; timed
San Lorenzo basilica	€9	Basilica complex
Palazzo Medici Riccardi	€15 1 March–1 November; €10 2 November–28 February	Palace ticket
Palazzo Vecchio museum	€18; €1 pre-sale if reserved	Museum ticket
Brancacci Chapel	From €10	Groups reserve

The Brunelleschi Pass covers the dome, Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Baptistery, Opera del Duomo Museum and Santa Reparata over three calendar days. Choose the combined ticket over separate Uffizi, Pitti and Boboli admissions if you can visit the Uffizi first within its five consecutive days. Select its Uffizi entry time when buying. Neither pass covers the Accademia or civic museums. For an informal sit-down meal in central Florence, expect around €15–€30 per person: a simple dish tends towards the lower end, while drinks, extra courses and tables near the Duomo cost more. Lunch commonly falls around 12:30–14:30, and dinner around 20:00–21:00.

Day 1: Accademia and the Duomo

Michelangelo’s David, the Duomo’s painted vault and Ghiberti’s doors lead into Medici rooms and streets. This is an art-heavy day that ends with outdoor sculpture and dinner near Santa Croce. Start at the Accademia at 09:00 on Thursday. The Accademia closes on Monday. Sunday’s dome ascent opens only in the afternoon and San Lorenzo is closed to visitors, while on Wednesday the Medici palace closes.

At the Accademia Gallery, the unfinished Prisoners lead towards David beneath the Tribune skylight. A reserved entry helps protect the onward dome slot.

Brunelleschi’s Dome offers close views of the frescoed vault and the cathedral roofs. The ascent has 463 steps and no lift. Leave backpacks and larger bags at the designated storage, bring identification and arrive for your booked time. Enclosed stairs are unsuitable for anyone troubled by vertigo or claustrophobia.

Florence Cathedral’s optional interior adds its Gothic nave and patterned floor. Entry is free Monday–Saturday, 10:15–15:45, except during worship. Cover shoulders and legs above the knee. If the queue threatens lunch, skip this interior.

The Opera del Duomo Museum houses the original Gates of Paradise from the Baptistery and carved singing galleries by Donatello and Luca della Robbia. It closes on the first Tuesday of each month.

After lunch beside Piazza di San Lorenzo, the Basilica of San Lorenzo rewards a stop for Brunelleschi’s Old Sacristy and Donatello’s bronze pulpits. Last admission is 16:30, so do not let a long lunch consume its visiting window.

Palazzo Medici Riccardi wraps Benozzo Gozzoli’s Magi procession around its small chapel, while the Gallery of Mirrors shows a later, lavishly decorated interior. Its ticket office closes an hour before the museum.

After a rest at your accommodation, Piazza della Signoria brings the art outdoors: Cellini’s Perseus and Giambologna’s Rape of the Sabine Women stand in the Loggia dei Lanzi. Carry on to the Santa Croce area for dinner.

Day 2: Uffizi and the Arno

From the previous evening near Santa Croce, start afresh at the Uffizi: Botticelli’s Primavera, Giotto’s frescoes at Santa Croce and the Arno’s shop-lined Ponte Vecchio make a painting-led day that winds towards Santo Spirito and dinner on Via dei Serragli. Start at 09:00 on Friday. The Uffizi closes on Mondays; on Sundays Santa Croce’s visitor access begins at 14:00, so skip its planned pre-lunch interior then. On Thursdays Palazzo Vecchio shuts before the planned afternoon visit, so move that museum visit to another day.

At the Uffizi Gallery, seek out Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Primavera, then choose Leonardo’s Annunciation, Michelangelo’s Doni Tondo and Raphael’s Madonna of the Goldfinch rather than attempting every room. Secure a morning slot ahead in busy periods. The Uffizi’s last admission is 17:30.

Orsanmichele is an optional short stop for the patron-saint statues in its outer niches and the elaborate Gothic tabernacle within. The church opens Tuesday–Sunday, 08:30–18:30, with last entry 40 minutes before closing.

Inside Santa Croce basilica, Giotto’s Bardi and Peruzzi frescoes reward a short detour, alongside Michelangelo’s and Galileo’s tombs. Visitor hours are Monday–Saturday 09:30–17:30 and Sunday and religious holidays 14:00–17:30, with last admission at 17:00. The pre-lunch stop is therefore only possible Monday–Saturday. Worship can restrict access.

Following lunch in Piazza di Santa Croce, Palazzo Vecchio’s Salone dei Cinquecento shows Florence’s civic ambitions at monumental scale, while the Studiolo of Francesco I offers a smaller, richly worked contrast. The Thursday early closing makes the planned afternoon visit impossible that day.

Piazza dei Giudici opens a view onto the Arno and back towards the Uffizi before the riverside stretch.

Lungarno delle Grazie puts you beside the exposed riverbank. In summer sun, carry water and seek shade away from the embankment. In rain, shorten the river pause and keep moving towards the bridge.

Ponte Vecchio differs from Florence’s other Arno crossings in its continuous line of shops, traditionally goldsmiths and jewellers.

After resting at your accommodation, spend the evening in Piazza Santo Spirito on the south bank, then find dinner along Via dei Serragli. The broad square sits beside the basilica you can visit on day three.

Day 3: Pitti, Boboli and the hill

Return to the Oltrarno from last night’s Santo Spirito evening: Raphael’s paintings at Pitti, Boboli’s terraces and Masaccio’s Brancacci frescoes lead to San Miniato’s mosaic and an uphill panorama before dinner in San Niccolò. Start at Pitti at 08:30 on Saturday. Pitti closes Mondays. Brancacci closes Tuesdays, Santo Spirito basilica closes Wednesdays, and on Sundays the Brancacci visitor window only begins at 13:00. Boboli also closes on the first and last Monday of each month.

Pitti Palace’s Palatine Gallery brings Raphael, Titian and Rubens into densely hung palace rooms. Choose this collection rather than trying to cover every gallery. The Royal Apartments require a separate reservation.

Behind Pitti, Boboli Gardens stretch uphill past an amphitheatre, the Neptune Fountain and formal terraces. Expect steep slopes and uneven gravel, not level park paths, so wear sturdy shoes. The gardens may close in dangerous weather. Closing and last admission are 16:30 and 15:30 in November–February, 17:30 and 16:30 in March and October on standard time, 18:30 and 17:30 in April, May and September and on summer time in March and October, and 19:10 and 18:10 in June–August.

Piazza della Passera is an optional small-square pause between the gardens and lunch at Piazza Santo Spirito, with cafés around its edges.

After lunch, the Brancacci Chapel rewards close attention to Masaccio’s Tribute Money and Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, alongside Masolino and Filippino Lippi. Last entry is 16:15. Groups must reserve, while individual visitors are not required to book ahead.

The optional Santo Spirito basilica interior houses a wooden crucifix attributed to the young Michelangelo. Saturday’s visiting windows are 10:00–13:00 and 15:00–18:00, while on Sundays and religious holidays they are 11:30–13:30 and 15:00–18:00. Worship takes priority.

After resting at your accommodation, climb to San Miniato al Monte for its geometric marble pavement, apse mosaic and column-filled Romanesque crypt. The uphill approach is sustained and some paths include steps. Visitor access pauses during worship and the basilica closes at 19:00.

Piazzale Michelangelo looks across the Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, the Arno and Ponte Vecchio. In the longer days, late-day light picks out the city’s roofs, but the planned 19:10 arrival is after dark in winter, so see the skyline by day on another occasion if the view matters most. Descend towards Piazza Giuseppe Poggi for dinner in San Niccolò.

If you have one or two days

With two full days, keep the Accademia and Uffizi days and drop Pitti, Boboli and Brancacci. If a hilltop panorama matters more to you than an evening in Santo Spirito, replace the second evening with Piazzale Michelangelo, but do not try to fit the third day’s whole uphill route into it.

For one day, choose the Accademia if seeing David matters most, or the Uffizi if Renaissance painting does. Follow that booked visit with the cathedral exterior, Piazza della Signoria and Ponte Vecchio. A late arrival forfeits the first morning’s booking window, and an early departure costs you an evening, so keep the timed museum visit that actually fits instead of squeezing three days together. With four days in Florence, spread the Oltrarno visits across an extra city day rather than assuming you need an excursion.

Sources & fact-checking

Checks against the sources below cover: opening hours, fares and charges, closures, and services. Route times and distances were calculated from geolocated stops.

• Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze e Musei del Bargello (GAMB) — opening hours
• Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze e Musei del Bargello — fares and charges
• FAQ — What are the opening hours of the monuments?
• Organizza la tua visita
• Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore — closures
• Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore — fares and charges
• Opera Medicea Laurenziana — opening hours
• Città Metropolitana di Firenze — opening hours
• Palazzo Medici Riccardi — closures
• MUS.E — fares and charges
• Opera per Santa Maria Novella — opening hours
• Brunelleschi Pass | Opera Duomo, Florence | Official Site
• Tickets | Uffizi Galleries
• Musei del Bargello — opening hours
• Opera di Santa Croce — opening hours
• Comune di Firenze – Musei Civici Fiorentini — opening hours
• Comune di Firenze — Musei Civici Fiorentini — fares and charges
• Comune di Firenze — opening hours
• Uffizi Galleries — opening hours
• Uffizi Galleries — closures
• Gallerie degli Uffizi — fares and charges
• Augustinian Community of Florence — opening hours
• Abbazia di San Miniato al Monte — opening hours
• Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze — closures
• Plan your visit
• Passepartout 5 days. The Combined ticket, valid for 5 consecutive days for all the museums