Things to do in Florence: what to see, tickets and itineraries

Things to do in Florence is not an endless list of “hidden gems”: it is a compact centre where three titles — Uffizi, David, Cupola — absorb half the time budget. This page is the hub: what to see, official prices, 1/2/3-day itineraries, Monday closures, free Sunday and rain alternatives. Museum-by-museum detail lives on dedicated pages; here you build the day without blowing slots.

Things to do in Florence: the core (what to see)

What to see beyond the podium: Bargello (sculpture, €12), Medici Chapels, Santa Croce, San Marco (Fra Angelico frescoes), Mercato Centrale (food hall 9:00–23:00 upstairs), artisan Oltrarno. Hop-on hop-off: useful for hills/Fiesole, not for the pedestrian ZTL rectangle.

1-day itinerary

Typical Plan A entry budget: Accademia €24 + Uffizi €29 ≈ €53, plus optional Giotto/Ghiberti if you skip Cupola. Do not add Palazzo Vecchio the same day if you hate rushing.

2-day itinerary

With two days the official 5-day PassePartout Uffizi+Pitti+Boboli at €40 beats scattered pieces if you visit all three. Firenze Card (€85 / 72 h) only makes sense if days 2–3 add 2–3 more “major” museums beyond Uffizi+Accademia.

3-day itinerary

Day 3 family alternative: Leonardo Museum + Mercato Centrale + gelato, without a third museum queue. Day 3 wine/Chianti: organised half day (typical €45–55) and free evening — see wine tours and tuscany day trips.

Tickets, passes and when to pay more

• Official Uffizi: tickets.uffizi.it — named, non-refundable; 5-day PassePartout €40.
• Accademia: B-Ticket / Firenze Musei (+39 055 294883) — typical €24 online.
• Duomo: tickets.duomo.firenze.it — Brunelleschi €30, Giotto €20, Ghiberti €15; zero “magic” skip-the-line outside authorised resellers.
• Firenze Card: €85, 72 h, 60 museums; Duomo not included; transport not included; booking still mandatory Uffizi/Accademia.
• Florence Pass Tiqets: pack of separate tickets (not a timed card); compare Cupola inclusions across SKUs.

Paying €7–15 more on an OTA only makes sense for scarce slots, included audioguide or cancellation (rare on base museum tickets: many are non-refundable). For operator comparisons: operators hub.

Free Sunday, Monday closures, families, rain

First Sunday of the month: state museums free (#domenicalmuseo). At Uffizi no priority: arrive at opening or pick another paid day with a band. Monday: Uffizi and Accademia closed — use Monday for Duomo (nave/Cupola by calendar), Oltrarno, Market, Piazzale, or a Pisa trip (€9.80 regional).

Children: EU under 18 free at state museums; Palazzo Vecchio 0–17 free; Cupola hard (463 steps); Arnolfo Tower no under 6 and closed in rain. Rain: indoor museums, Santa Croce, Galileo, Strozzi shows; postpone Boboli and Arnolfo.

Luggage: luggage storage at SMN before Accademia (no cloakroom). Train: trains from Rome/Venice/Bologna.

The pedestrian Duomo–Signoria–Ponte Vecchio rectangle crosses in fifteen minutes without running: real time is eaten by security, cloakrooms and Uffizi rooms, not the map. That is why itineraries above always separate museum slots and walking: mixing them in the same quarter-hour is the fastest way to burn a non-refundable advance. Walk between entries; do not invent shuttles that do not exist in the ZTL.

Beyond the museum: food, tours, music

Mercato Centrale upstairs 9:00–23:00; Sant’Ambrogio Mon–Sat morning. Lampredotto sandwich around €5; bistecca alla fiorentina typically ~€50/kg. Cooking classes in the €50–140 band. Free walking tour: expected tip (often €10–20); ask for guide badge (regulated profession). Church aria concerts ≠ Maggio Musicale opera: different prices and duration — opera page.

Hop-on from €29/24 h: makes sense for Piazzale/Fiesole, not as Uffizi–Duomo shuttle. Walking city tours and golf cart: city tours.

How to use this hub (and the CTAs)

1. Pick 1/2/3-day horizon from the table.
2. Lock Cupola and Uffizi first (strictest slots).
3. Fit Accademia on a day without consecutive Uffizi morning+afternoon if you hate fatigue.
4. Calculate passes only after summing singles.
5. Check when to visit for climate and crowds.

Product cards under the hero and Tiqets widgets show live availability; “from” prices move by date. Doubts on combos already seen on page: travel@alltours.florence.it (alltoursflorence campaign).

Mistakes to avoid between things to do and what to see

• Booking Uffizi and Accademia the same Monday (they are closed).
• Buying unauthorised “Cupola skip the line” at +100% on Brunelleschi €30.
• Doing free Sunday Uffizi expecting empty rooms.
• Bringing a trolley to Accademia.
• Using hop-on as if it entered the ZTL up to the David.

What to see beyond the podium (without scattering)

After Uffizi, David and Cupola, quality stays high but queues drop. The Bargello (€12) explains sculpture better than many audioguides: two Donatello Davids and Michelangelo’s Bacchus in a former barracks. Medici Chapels link the Medici myth to San Lorenzo that many only photograph from outside. Santa Croce (frescoes, tombs of Michelangelo/Galileo/Machiavelli) needs a dedicated ticket — not in the Brunelleschi Pass. San Marco is the contemplative pause: Fra Angelico cells, fewer selfies, more silence.

Palazzo Vecchio (€18+€1) works well Thursday morning (closes at 14:00: so do not leave it for afternoon). Arnolfo Tower (€20) is 418 steps: banned under 6 and closed in rain — do not tie it to an unstable day. Pitti and Boboli: if Uffizi is already on the agenda, the official 5-day PassePartout at €40 is the rational move; if you hate walking in sun, limit to Palatina and skip the garden.

Outside museums but inside “things to do in Florence”: Mercato Centrale upstairs until 23:00, Piazzale Michelangelo at sunset, Oltrarno stroll between Via Maggio and Santo Spirito, optional short Arno cruise in the evening. Do not fill day one with all of this: day one is for not failing named slots.

Honest adult budget (72 hours)

Add €2 bus for the Piazzale, €6–10 luggage storage if needed, €5 lampredotto, and keep the Chianti tour (€45–55) as an optional day — not as filler between two museum bands.

Morning vs evening: where to put slots

Uffizi: 8:15–10:00 bands cost more in wake-up but cut cognitive fatigue; from 16:00 the official price drops (€16/€20) and room light changes. Accademia: 1–1.5 h is enough if you go straight to David and the Prisoners room — no “full day” needed. Cupola: the slot is rigid and non-movable; put it when legs are fresh and the backpack already stored at 38/r. Piazzale: evening, always — morning only if the rest of the day is indoor museum for rain.

Monday: build Duomo + Oltrarno + market + optional Pisa trip (€9.80). Tuesday: Accademia + Uffizi if you really want both (tiring). Sunday: Duomo nave closed to visitors; state museums free only the first of the month.

Guided tours vs DIY

A 1.5–2 h walking tour at €12–28 orients arrivals without a mental map; it does not replace entries. Free tours live on tips (€10–20 typical per Civitatis guides): ask for the badge. Accademia+Uffizi tours from €80–140 include tickets and earphones — useful if you hate managing three vouchers; expensive if you are organised. Semi-private max 6 (LivTours-style) start over €100 per person on Uffizi alone: makes sense for families or people who want questions, not to “see more things.”

Official audioguides or apps: at Uffizi the OTA partner audio is not the museum’s official one — fine for orientation, but do not sell it as institutional voice.

Practical links between experiences

Arrival: trains and luggage storage. Season and climate: when to visit. Passes: Florence Pass. Who sells what: operators. Hop-on and panorama: hop-on hop-off, Piazzale. Food: Mercato Centrale.

Booking sequence (order that reduces damage)

1. Cupola (Brunelleschi Pass) — fixed slots, often sold out 2–3 weeks ahead in summer; max 10 passes per order on the Opera site.
2. Uffizi — named on tickets.uffizi.it; open the calendar as soon as dates are set (gradual release, no fixed published window).
3. Accademia — B-ticket or phone 055 294883; do not leave “to the last” on October weekends.
4. Civic (Vecchio, Brancacci) — mandatory booking where stated; Thursday Vecchio morning only.
5. Tour / food / Chianti — last: cancel more easily (often 24 h) than non-refundable museums.

Travelling with EU under 18: at state museums the ticket is already free — you pay at most booking fees or audio. Firenze Card “minor free” mainly saves that advance fee, not a full ticket you never owed.

Rain, heat, queues: three ready plan Bs

Heavy rain: Uffizi or Accademia (if open), Museo Galileo, Palazzo Strozzi, Santa Croce, Medici Chapels. No Arnolfo, no Cupola gamble in a storm. Heatwave: Uffizi bands from 16:00 at €16, gelato, shaded Oltrarno, Boboli only at opening. Free-Sunday queues: change museum or pay next day’s band — saving €29 is not worth three hours in Piazzale degli Uffizi without priority.

With one day and everything sold out: Duomo nave (free on allowed days), Ponte Vecchio, Piazzale, Mercato Centrale, San Miniato. Not the full podium, but real Florence — and no voucher needed. Doubts on combos already seen in product cards: travel@alltours.florence.it (alltoursflorence campaign).

Closing: things to do in Florence, tickets and hours

Things to do in Florence reduces to clear choices: Uffizi, David, Cupola, then the rest. What to see in 24 hours is that podium plus a panorama; in 72 hours add Pitti/Boboli and a civic museum. Check tickets, prices and hours, free Sunday and Monday closures, then book the slots — the centre walks; the museums do not, if you arrive without a band.