Florence 7 Days Travel Guide
Florence invented the Renaissance. Every church has a Michelangelo. Every museum has a Botticelli. The city is beautiful, overwhelming, crowded beyond belief in summer, and absolutely essential. Most people do three days and leave exhausted. A week lets you see the famous stuff without losing your mind and explore Tuscany around it.
This guide balances art overload with Tuscan countryside, wine, and admitting that yes, the Uffizi line is brutal but also completely worth it.
Best Time to Visit Florence
Spring (Apr-May): 15-22°C, perfect weather, busy but manageable. Summer (Jun-Aug): 28-35°C, brutal heat, maximum crowds, expensive. Autumn (Sep-Oct): 20-26°C, ideal temperatures, harvest season, excellent. Winter (Nov-Mar): 8-15°C, rain possible, fewer tourists, cheaper.
Day 1: The Duomo and Historic Center
Start with the Duomo (Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore). The exterior is green, white, and pink marble—overwhelming and beautiful. Entry to the cathedral is free. Climbing the dome (€20), bell tower (€20), or baptistery (€8) requires separate tickets. Book online days ahead.
Climbing Brunelleschi’s Dome: 463 steps, no elevator, claustrophobic at points, spectacular views. You walk between the inner and outer dome shells, seeing frescoes up close, then emerge on top with panoramic Florence views. Go early morning (8am) to avoid heat and crowds.
The Baptistery’s bronze doors (Gates of Paradise by Ghiberti) are masterpieces. The ones you see outside are copies—originals are in the Duomo Museum.
Walk to Piazza della Signoria, Florence’s main square. The Palazzo Vecchio (city hall) dominates—medieval fortress-palace you can tour (€12.50). The Loggia dei Lanzi has outdoor Renaissance sculptures including Cellini’s Perseus.
Lunch: Avoid restaurants right on the piazza (tourist traps). Walk to side streets. All’Antico Vinaio makes enormous sandwiches for €8. Or sit down at Trattoria Mario for traditional Tuscan food.
Afternoon: Get lost in the old city. Cross Ponte Vecchio (medieval bridge lined with jewelry shops), wander through Oltrarno neighborhood (the other side of the Arno River). It’s less touristy, more artisan workshops.
Day 2: Uffizi Gallery and Art Overload
The Uffizi is one of the world’s greatest art museums. Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, Leonardo’s Annunciation, Michelangelo, Raphael, Caravaggio—room after room of Renaissance masterpieces.
Book tickets online (€20) weeks ahead with a specific entry time. Without reservation, you’ll wait 2-4 hours in line. The museum is massive—plan 3-4 hours minimum.
Highlights: Botticelli room (Birth of Venus, Primavera), Leonardo room, Michelangelo’s Doni Tondo, Caravaggio’s Medusa. But honestly, every room has something remarkable.
By the end, you’ll have art fatigue. That’s normal. Take breaks. The terrace cafe has views over the Arno.
Lunch: After the museum, you need simple food and wine. Cantinetta dei Verrazzano serves sandwiches and wine. Or Il Santo Bevitore in Oltrarno.
Afternoon: Lighter activities. Walk along the Arno, sit in Boboli Gardens (€10), or just find a cafe and recover.
Evening: Piazzale Michelangelo at sunset. Climb the hill (or take bus 12) for views over Florence—the Duomo, the river, the hills. It’s crowded, touristy, absolutely worth it.
Day 3: Accademia and San Lorenzo
Galleria dell’Accademia houses Michelangelo’s David. It’s smaller than the Uffizi, focused on Florentine Renaissance. Entry €12, book ahead.
David is at the end of a hallway—you see him from a distance, then up close. He’s enormous (5.17 meters), perfect, and yes, worth the hype. The detail, the proportions, the face—it’s Michelangelo’s masterpiece carved from a single marble block.
The Prisoners (unfinished sculptures) nearby show Michelangelo’s process—figures emerging from stone.
Walk to San Lorenzo Market—covered market with food stalls, leather goods, tourist junk. The ground floor has produce, cheese, meat. Upstairs, lunch counters serve simple Tuscan food. Nerbone has been there since 1872—order the lampredotto (tripe sandwich, don’t think, just try it).
Medici Chapels adjoin San Lorenzo church—Michelangelo-designed tombs, beautiful and less crowded than other sites. €9 entry.
Afternoon: Santa Croce church (€8)—Franciscan basilica with tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli. The Pazzi Chapel in the cloister is Renaissance perfection.
Day 4: Day Trip to Siena
Train or bus to Siena (90 minutes). Siena is Florence’s medieval rival—smaller, more intact medieval center, less overwhelming.
Piazza del Campo is one of Europe’s most beautiful squares—shell-shaped, sloping, surrounded by medieval buildings. The Palio horse race happens here twice a year (July and August)—bareback racing around the piazza, insane and traditional.
Climb the Torre del Mangia (€10, 400 steps) for views over the city and Tuscan hills.
Siena Cathedral is stunning—black and white marble stripes, inlaid marble floor, Piccolomini Library with Pinturicchio frescoes. Entry €9 (or €15 with all chapels and library).
Walk the streets—steep, medieval, less touristy than Florence. Siena feels like it stopped in the 1300s.
Lunch: Try pici (thick hand-rolled pasta) with wild boar ragù. Osteria Le Logge or Trattoria Papei.
Return to Florence evening. Or if you want more time, stay overnight in Siena.
Day 5: Chianti Wine Region
Rent a car or take a wine tour. Chianti is the region between Florence and Siena—rolling hills, vineyards, olive groves, medieval castles, exactly what Tuscany looks like in photos.
The SR222 (Chiantigiana road) runs through the heart of it. Drive it, stopping at towns and wineries.
Greve in Chianti is the main town—triangular piazza, wine shops, butchers selling local salami. The Saturday market is good.
Wineries: Many offer tastings and tours. Castello di Verrazzano, Castello di Volpaia, or smaller family wineries. Call ahead or book through wine tour companies (€80-150 for full day tours).
Chianti Classico DOCG is the protected wine—look for the black rooster symbol. It’s Sangiovese-based, pairs perfectly with Tuscan food.
Lunch: Pack a picnic with cheese, salami, bread, wine. Or eat at a winery restaurant. The food is rustic, simple, perfect.
Drive back through sunset—the light over the hills is magical.
Day 6: Pisa and Lucca
Train to Pisa (60 minutes). The Leaning Tower is genuinely leaning. It’s also overrun with tourists doing forced perspective photos. Climb it (€20, book ahead) or just see it from outside.
The tower sits in the Campo dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles) with the cathedral and baptistery—all beautiful Romanesque buildings worth seeing. Entry to cathedral is free. Baptistery €8.
Pisa beyond the tower is pleasant—medieval center, river walk, university town. Most tourists ignore it.
Take the train to Lucca (30 minutes). Lucca is a perfect Tuscan town—intact Renaissance walls you can walk/bike on top of, beautiful churches, zero tourist chaos.
Rent bikes (€4/hour) and ride the 4.2km circuit on top of the walls. It’s flat, shaded, lovely. Stop at cafes on the walls.
The town center has cobblestone streets, San Martino Cathedral, Torre Guinigi (tower with trees growing on top—climb it for views).
Lunch in Lucca: Buccellato (sweet bread), tordelli (stuffed pasta), or just pizza. Lucca is underrated for food.
Return to Florence evening.
Day 7: Pitti Palace and Final Wandering
Pitti Palace was the Medici grand ducal palace—enormous Renaissance palace now housing multiple museums. The Palatine Gallery has Raphael and Titian paintings. The Royal Apartments show how the Medici lived. €16 for combined ticket.
Boboli Gardens behind the palace are Florence’s most famous gardens—sculptures, fountains, grottoes, views over the city. Combined palace/gardens ticket €22.
You can easily spend half a day here.
Afternoon: Final shopping. San Lorenzo Market for leather (negotiate prices). Ponte Vecchio for jewelry (expensive). Via de’ Tornabuoni for designer brands.
Or revisit favorite spots, find a final cafe, sit in a piazza.
Final dinner: Splurge at Enoteca Pinchiorri (three Michelin stars) or keep it traditional at Trattoria Sostanza (butter chicken, Tuscan classic).
Florentine Food
Tuscan cuisine: Simple ingredients, excellent quality. Bistecca alla fiorentina (massive T-bone steak), ribollita (bread soup), pappa al pomodoro (tomato bread soup), crostini, wild boar ragù, pecorino cheese.
Gelato: Florentines are snobby about gelato. Vivoli, Gelateria dei Neri, or La Carraia. Avoid places with huge colorful mounds (artificial colors).
Money Reality
Florence is expensive. Museums €8-20 each. Lunch €12-18, dinner €25-40 at decent places. Wine by the glass €5-8. Chianti bottle at restaurants €25-50.
Tourist area restaurants are overpriced. Walk 5 minutes away and prices drop 30%.
Nearby Destinations from Florence
Combine your Florence trip with:
Final Thoughts
Florence is crowded, expensive, hot in summer, and full of tourists doing the exact same circuit you’re doing. Lines are brutal. Restaurants near the Duomo are overpriced.
And you’ll still stand in front of David thinking holy shit, see Birth of Venus and understand why it changed art, climb Brunelleschi’s dome and feel the engineering genius, drink wine in hills that have made it for 800 years.
Florence earned its reputation. The art concentration is unmatched. Just book tickets ahead, avoid summer if possible, and remember that the city outside the Duomo-Uffizi-Accademia triangle is actually pleasant.