Florence
Florence is the capital and most populous city of the Italian region of Tuscany, and, as of 2026, with a population of 361,625, the 8th most populous city in the country.
It is also the capital of the eponymous metropolitan province, which counts 988,494 inhabitants, while Eurostat estimates that 696,767 people live in the urban area of Florence. The Metropolitan Area of Florence, Prato and Pistoia, constituted in 2000 over an area of roughly 4,800 square kilometres (1,850 sq mi), is home to 1.5 million people.
Getting to Florence
The airport of Florence is Amerigo Vespucci International Airport (FLR IATA) (4 km northwest of the center), locally known as "Peretola", to which there are flights from major destinations in Western Europe. There is only one runway covered by hills, and therefore the flights that land there are relatively infrequent and expensive.
Worth seeing
Learn from Stendahl and don't try to see too much. Most tourists rush to do the Uffizi, the Duomo and the Bargello. These are indeed splendid, but you may wait hours to get in, and be jostled by tour groups. Pre-book if you know you want to see them; otherwise spread out and see stuff that is equally fine but less touristy.
- 01Santa Maria del Fiore
- 02Giotto's Tower
Almost 85 m (279 ft) tall, with 414 steps to climb, this richly decorated tower is topped by an open terrace with a panorama of the Duomo, city and surrounds.
- 03Baptistery
Octagonal plan, with a pyramidal roof covering its dome.
- 04Museo dell'Opera del Duomo
- 05Galleria degli Uffizi
Outstanding fine art museum with Renaissance paintings and sculptures from classical antiquity.
- 06Bargello
Things to do
Great places to walk include along the Arno and across any of its bridges; through narrow, medieval back streets in the Santa Croce area; and in the Oltr'Arno, on the south side of the river, which is in many ways like Rome's Trastevere or Paris's Left Bank, but far, far smaller.
- 01Firenze Rafting
Arno riverbank in front of the Torre San Niccolò (Meeting point on the Arno riverbank by Torre San Niccolò, about 5 minutes on foot downstream from Ponte Vecchio), info@firenzerafting.it.
Where to eat
Restaurants have separate prices for food that is taken away or is eaten standing up versus sit down; don't try to sit at a table after paying for food or coffee from the restaurant's take away booth. Also ask always beforehand for the price if you want to sit at a table. Otherwise you might be uncomfortably surprised. Cappuccino al banco i.e. standing up might cost €1-3, but at a table €4.
- 01Trattoria Mario
Via Rosina 2/R (near Piazza Mercato Centrale),.
- 02Trattoria Le Mossacce
Via Del Proconsolo, 55R (Corner of Via del Corso),.
- 03Self-Service Ristorante Leonardo
Via de' Pecori 11 (Corner of Via de' Vecchietti),.
- 04Tiona Asian Restaurant
Not that you'd admit to wanting a break from Italian food, but this small friendly Sri Lankan restaurant makes a refreshing change.
Getting around Florence the local way
- Go nextAttractive day trips include Pisa, Lucca, San Gimignano, Arezzo, Pistoia, Fiesole, Lucignano, Siena, and of course the wine zone of Chianti.
From Wikivoyage: Florence, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Giorgio Galeotti (CC BY 4.0), Wikimedia Commons.
