How many days do you need in Florence?

Florence is not a large city, with about 360,000 residents, though it has an enormous amount of tourist attractions inside and around it. There’s obviously no right answer for how many days you should spend in Florence, though we’ll try to show you what you can see in a given amount of time. Hopefully this will help you with your planning. Before we start, just a few tips to save time:

Plan your itinerary in advance if you have little time in Florence – you will save a lot of time by cutting out the aimless circling
Also plan your lunches and dinners – it is best to book a table somewhere you think you will be at a certain time of day. You will be hard pressed to find good Florentine cuisine from 3pm to 8pm due to siesta
Consider purchasing the Firenze Card – you’ll save some money and time in queues by booking time slots at museums

What can you see in one day in Florence?

1 day in Florence

Naturally, you won’t have enough time to see most of Florence’s attractions. Still, we can create a route around the old town and the new centre to see as much as possible. Florence is not that large of a city, after all, so you can still see much of it in one speedy walk. Here’s what we’d include in such a route:

Firenze Santa Maria Novella (Start)
Florence Cathedral
Piazza della Signoria
Uffizi Gallery
Santa Croce
Piazzale Michelangelo
Ponte Vecchio
return to Santa Maria Novella

The walk itself, without entering any of these sites or stopping for a moment, will take you about 90 minutes. You can use the remaining time for entering the places that you most want to visit. We obviously recommend the Florence Cathedral, though that’s an extra 90 min to 2 hours. If you want to add the Gallery of the Academy, that’s also an extra 2 hours. The Uffizi Gallery can take up to 3 hours, so, honestly, do temper your expectations when it comes to one day. You’ll see most of these places, just from a distance.

Remember to plan your lunch for noon to 2pm, as there’s a siesta till about 8pm. Otherwise, you’ll either have to survive on fast foods or on some restaurants not of your choosing.

What can you see in Florence in two days?

2 days in Florence

If you have the extra day, we’d say that you can stick to the same itinerary as for the one day plan and simply explore whichever of these sites you want. You can take the Uffizi Gallery, for instance, and add a couple of museums. You can spend more time in the Cathedral this way and visit other things without the frantic rush.

You may also spend some time just strolling around the city, including walking to Piazzale Michelangelo at sunset or visiting the equally picturesque Palazzo Vecchio tower. You know, actually catch your breath for a moment.

What can you see in Florence in three days?

Florence in 3 days

Three days already offers us a lot more. You can have complete flexibility when it comes to the main attractions of the city and a lot more time to just stroll along the city and take it all in. We recommend you pay a visit to the Basilica of the Holy Cross and see the tombs of famous Italian notables and personalities, including Galileo and Michelangelo. You can also commit more time to visiting the various nice cafes.

What can you see in Florence in a week?

Florence in 7 days

You can visit all the aforementioned attractions with ease and drive up to one or two towns near Florence, like Siena or San Gimignano. You can also find one or two days for nothing but relaxation in the city or in Tuscany. After grinding monuments and art for a few days, your brain is going to thank you for a little bit of nothing at all (we felt this especially strongly after the Uffizi Gallery 🙂 ).