Obviously… you could spend WAY longer than 1 day in Florence. I know, I know! It’s the crowning jewel and birthplace of the Italian Renaissance! There are art museums and sculptures for dayssss. However, many travelers have responsibilities waiting at home and don’t have 2-3 full weeks to spend covering Italy. So if you are like us, and want to experience some of Florence – even in a short time – you are in the right place!
To make the most of your day in Florence, the most important thing you can do is to PREPARE before you even arrive in Italy. Weeks or months in advance, think through what are the most important sights for you to see. Many of the top sights have official timed tickets you can reserve or purchase, or third party vendors that do the same. PLAN AHEAD! (Many thanks to my SIL & husbands’ family for doing lots of this leg work for our group!)
Before You Go: Buy/Reserve Any Tickets!
For us, that meant booking tickets ahead of time for TWO things:
- the Duomo (the main Cathedral of Florence & the connected sites)
- the David by Michelangelo (at the Accademia Gallery in Florence)
Figuring out which tix you want for the Duomo is kind of complicated- SEE FULL POST on how to see the Duomo, including ticket tutorials and other (free) options.
However, tickets for the David at the Accademia Gallery are much more straightforward. Just select what time you want to tour (we did around 3 pm to give us time at the Duomo in the AM) and then pay!
The official website to buy a reserved timed ticket for this gallery HERE.
OKAY Now you have the necessary reservations ready to go!
1 Day in Florence: Start to Finish
I’ll try to simultaneously walk through what our day looked like, and what I would recommend to others to make the most of just ONE full day in Florence!
For what it’s worth:
We did arrive around 9 pm the night before so we could hit the ground running that next day. However, this information would still apply if you were landing at the airport or taking an early AM train into the city from another Italian city.
Start your day with Breakfast
The first decision you’ll need to make is whether or not you’ll do a quick breakfast on-the-go, or a sit-down restaurant.
Quick breakfast:
We decided to grab a few hazelnut (read: nutella) and pistachio filled croissants at a local bakery with good Google reviews: Vecchio Forno. Ours looked very similar to the ones pictured below on their official instagram account.
The croissants fit the bill for our quick breakfast — we were short on time and wanted to maximize sleep after 2 very busy days in Rome.
Sit-down Breakfast:
If you have something a little more elegant and relaxing in mind, you could also stop at La Menagere for a sit-down breakfast in a beautiful setting. This restaurant is famous for its decor and charm.
Depending which direction you’re coming from, a third option would be to grab something at the beloved Mercato Centrale!
First Up: The Duomo (Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore)
The first place we went to after breakfast was the Piazza del Duomo. We knew we wanted to spend most of the morning exploring the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (aka the Duomo) and the surrounding monuments.
I wrote a whole post about how to see the Duomo – there are several different strategies you can take, and they vary quite a bit in both price and what they include.
In summary, the exterior of the cathedral is incredibly intricate and something you should spend some time marveling at. The inside is unexpectedly austere, but the fresco painted on the inside of the Dome is unique and very worth seeing in person, in my opinion.
Surrounding Monuments
While you are here, do all that your particular pass offers to you! The baptistry was unfortunately under renovations during our trip (Sept. 2024) but otherwise you’d want to prioritize that!
The nearby museum was fascinating, with several floors worth of statues and the (quite historically significant) original doors to the baptistry!
The Santa Reparta is full of artifacts and gives you a glimpse of what the original cathedral included.
I’d recommend including either the Bell Tower or the Dome climb in your package to give you an aerial view of the unique landscape of Florence!
Lunch with a View
I’m not saying that the restaurants surrounding the Duomo are going to be the most authentic ones in Florence. But I am saying that you can enjoy a magnificent ambience and save your exhausted feet a bit by staying put and enjoying lunch in the center of all the action.
We ate at Mister Pizza and the location was perfection. The pizza was delicious and reasonably priced, too (given the incredible surroundings). It’s an Italian pizza chain with 3 locations.
The Accademia Gallery (the David)
Our next priority for our day in Florence was to see THE DAVID. Michelangelo’s famous statue of the biblical underdog that fought against (and beat) Goliath.
Although there is a replica of the David you can see at the Piazza della Signoria, the original one lives at The Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze (the Academic Gallery of Florence).
We reserved tickets ahead of time, as these can sell out several weeks (or more) in advance. We got our tickets at the official website for 16 euros each. I’m grateful they require tickets because even with a system in place, the gallery was pretty packed.
We listened to the Rick Steve’s audio tour (download ahead of time!) and loved having some background information about both The David and other pieces of artwork in the gallery.
I wish we’d had more energy to explore even more of this museum- it really was an incredible collection of Renaissance artwork.
Afternoon Gelato
What better way to take a break than with some refreshing gelato on the steps outside of an Italian cathedral?
We ate at La Gelatiera near the Basilica di San Lorenzo because that’s where we found ourselves at that point in the afternoon. It had excellent Google reviews– I would completely agree. I ordered some variation on orange citrus (clementine? tangerine?) and it was honestly so flavorful and bright. I didn’t snap a good picture of mine, but here is a link to their instagram account!
Wherever you find yourself in the city at this point in the day, there is bound to be some great gelato.
If you’re still over closer to The David, Carabe Firenze may be a good gelato option for you!
More Sites: Choose Your Adventure
This late afternoon time slot gives you an hour or two to select another site of your choosing! Some of the attractions you might consider are:
- Palazzo Vecchio
- the Uffizi Gallery
- Medici Chapels
- Boboli Gardens (which I believe are adjacent to the Uffizi Galleries)
We ended up touring the Medici Chapels with my SIL & BIL, and that was very cool. The architectural style inside was extremely ornate and over-the-top. It felt very in line with the Medici’s penchant for flaunting wealth and power!
I left wanting to watch a good documentary or read a good book on this powerhouse family– Any recommendations??
Shopping & Markets
Near the Medici chapels you’ll find the San Lorenzo Market which specializes in leather goods if you want a purse, leather bag, or are just in the mood to be hassled! (Kind of kidding.)
There was a lot of other shopping available in this area, too. I loved a cute kitchen accessories shop nearby. A few of the men in our group bought great silk ties here!
If you head down towards the Ponte Vecchio you will find the more easily recognized global stores to shop at.
Via dei Calzaiuoli is the name of the street that holds some of these major shopping destinations, and you can learn more about it HERE on TripAdvisor.
Many were luxury shops that were way out of my price range– and even further out of my interest range (Gucci, Prada, etc.). However, we did enjoy a quick stop at the LEGO store to get our boys some LEGO Vespa souvenirs while there!
Dinner in Florence
Top choice would be this street food walking tour! It was just barely sold out when we went to book it, but it looks so fun and very reasonable priced. When time is limited, having an experienced guide to point out the highlights is fabulous. Combining that with food stops, too? Perfection.
If you want to stay near the shops & the Palazzo Vecchio neighborhood – Trattoria Nella on our list as one with good reviews!
Sunset at Ponte Vecchio
We ended our action-packed day in Florence seeing the sunset by the Ponte Vecchio – a famous bridge by the Arno River. It was very scenic and I’m really glad we made the trek out to see that view right at dusk! I highly recommend this as the end to your beautiful day in Florence!
One Final Stop: Piazza della Signoria
Depending on where you are headed next, try to walk through Piazza della Signoria on your way there! There are several very famous statues you don’t want to miss, such as: a replica of the David, Neptune, Perseus with the head of Medusa, and many more.
We only had a chance to peek through very briefly and I wish we’d spent longer! This was a major hub for people in power back in the Middle Ages … and a significant outdoor gallery & Florentine gathering place today.
Goodnight, Florence! Buona Notte!
Whew! What a busy day.
What would you add to this 1 day itinerary of Florence?? Other than 23 more days 😉 of course.
Would love to hear what food stops & sights were your favorite from Florence if you’ve been. If not, what you would love to do someday there?
Let me know in the comments below!
You may want to check out my other Italy posts, too!
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