24 Hours in Florence

Start at the cathedral. Entry to Santa Maria del Fiore is free, with no ticket or booking, Monday to Saturday from 10:15 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. It is closed on Sundays and during religious celebrations, and you need covered shoulders and knees. The dome is a separate climb. The only ticket that includes it is the Brunelleschi Pass, $34 (£25; €30), which also covers the bell tower, the baptistery, the museum and Santa Reparata for three days. You choose a timed ascent slot when you buy it, the slot cannot be changed, and the pass is in your name, so bring ID.

After lunch at the Mercato Centrale, walk south to the Uffizi. It is open Tuesday to Sunday from 8:15 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and closed on Mondays, January 1 and December 25. A ticket bought before the day is $33 (£24; €29); on the day it is $28 (£21; €25), but you queue. The ticket office closes at 5:30 p.m.

Saturday is the awkward day for the dome: the climb then runs only until 4:30 p.m., and on Sundays from 12:45 p.m. If you arrive on a Monday, swap the Uffizi for a longer Oltrarno afternoon. If it rains, the Uffizi and the cathedral museum fill the afternoon and Piazzale Michelangelo can wait.

Stay inside the old walls. We priced the historic center on Kayak for one Friday night, two adults, 3-star or better, guest score 8 or higher, with taxes and fees in Kayak's stay total. We skipped B&Bs, single rooms and anything outside the walls that Kayak still files under the center:

• Via Nazionale, by Santa Maria Novella: the cheapest qualifying hotel on January 15, 2027 was $76 (£57), close to the tram stop and the Mercato Centrale.
• West of Santa Maria Novella: the cheapest hotel on June 11, 2027 was $160 (£120), still a short walk from the station.
• Santa Croce and the Oltrarno: quieter and nearer the evening part of this plan, usually for more.

The hotel adds Florence's tourist tax. The city's latest rate decision we could reach, from December 2024, kept it at $6.70 (£5; €6) per person per night in a 3-star hotel and $7.90 (£5.90; €7) in a 4-star.

The T2 tram is the fastest option. It runs from the airport to Piazza dell'Unità or the Via Alamanni side of Santa Maria Novella station in about 20 minutes. A 90-minute ticket is $2.20 (£1.70; €2), valid on buses and trams. You can also tap a contactless bank card on the validator. A ten-ride carnet is $20 (£15.10; €18).

Taxis have a fixed fare of $31 (£24; €28) from the airport to the historic center. Baggage, night and holiday supplements are added on top.

Arriving by train, you are already at Santa Maria Novella, a short walk from the cathedral. Pisa airport, the other Tuscan airport, has more low-cost flights from the UK, but you then need a train to Florence, so add time.

• Lampredotto, tripe in a bun with green sauce, or fresh pasta at the Mercato Centrale.
• Bistecca alla fiorentina, the thick T-bone sold by weight, shared at a trattoria near Borgo San Frediano.
• A schiacciata, flatbread stuffed with salumi, from All'Antico Vinaio on Via dei Neri.
• A glass of Chianti with an aperitivo plate on Piazza Santo Spirito.
• Ribollita, the thick bread and vegetable soup, if you come in winter.

For more food-led cities, see the best food cities for 24 hours.

Keep the dome and the Uffizi, and drop the Oltrarno evening. Book the earliest dome slot you can, eat at the Mercato Centrale, spend the afternoon in the Uffizi, and cross the Ponte Vecchio on the way back to the tram. Our guide to planning a 24-hour trip explains how we cut a route down.

Per person, two adults sharing a January room:

• Hotel, half a $76 (£57) double: $38 (£28)
• Tourist tax, one night at a 3-star: $6.70 (£5; €6)
• T2 tram both ways: $4.50 (£3.40; €4)
• Brunelleschi Pass: $34 (£25; €30)
• Uffizi, booked ahead: $33 (£24; €29)

That is about $115 (£86) before food and drink, or about $157 (£118) with a June room. There is no need for a day pass; the plan is on foot apart from the two tram rides.

None of the US hubs we track has a nonstop to Florence. Most US travelers connect through a European hub with a flight to Florence, such as Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Munich or Zurich, or fly to Rome and take the train. From the UK, British Airways flies to Florence from Heathrow and Stansted, and Vueling from Gatwick. Pisa adds flights from Manchester and Edinburgh. There is no practical train from London for one night.

US and UK passport holders need no visa for a short stay in Italy. The EU's Entry/Exit System has been running at all Schengen external borders since April 10, 2026, so expect fingerprints and a photo on your first entry. ETIAS is not yet running; the fee is set at $22 (£16.80; €20). See our entry and transit rules guide.

Spring and fall are the best months for walking and for the view from Piazzale Michelangelo. Summer brings the longest queues and, on our two dates, a hotel price more than double the January one. Winter is the cheapest and calmest time, and short opening hours matter less in a city this compact. For more couples' trips, see the best city breaks for couples.

Airport to center

20 min from Florence Airport, Peretola: T2 tram from the airport to Piazza dell'Unità / Santa Maria Novella station, $2.20 (£1.70; €2)

One night, Friday

$76 (£57) on January 15, 2027 · $160 (£120) on June 11, 2027 (Inside the old walls, between Santa Maria Novella and Piazza dell'Indipendenza)

Day ticket

none: the center is walked; single 90-minute bus and tram ticket: $2.20 (£1.70; €2)

24 hours, per person

$66 (£49): half the average room, the airport ride both ways and a day ticket (entries extra)

Nonstop from the US

None from our 10 US hub airports

Nonstop from the UK

LHR, LGW, STN

Hotel prices: Cheapest 3-star-or-better double in a hotel, 1 night (Friday), 2 adults, Kayak stay total including taxes and fees, guest rating 8+, Kayak neighborhood filter Centro Storico with each result's map position checked inside the old walls, checked 2026-10-21. Excluded: a listing outside the walls in northern Florence, a single room listed as an inn, and B&Bs and guest residences. January: Eden (3 stars, 8.2, Via Nazionale) $76; June: Jr Hotels Hermes Firenze (3 stars, 8.7, west of Santa Maria Novella) $160. Florence's tourist tax, $6.70 (£5; €6) per person per night at a 3-star, is charged by the hotel..

Best months for walking around by our weather score: April, September, October. Daytime highs and lows, rain days (1 mm or more) and sunshine hours are 2016–2025 averages for Florence (Open-Meteo historical weather archive).

Uffizi Gallery: Small Group Tour

Reservation fees are included. The Uffizi's own site sells a regular ticket for 29 euros in advance or 25 euros on the day (about $33 or $28), so the $84 price is mostly for the guide and the skip-the-line slot. The meeting point depends on the option you pick; no luggage or large bags.

1.5 to 2 hours

4.6★★★★★★★★★★(1,168 reviews)

Reserve

Rating as shown on GetYourGuide

Florence: Duomo Tour & Skip-the-line David at the Accademia

The Duomo ticket is included; the Accademia ticket, the North Terrace and the dome climb depend on the option you select, so check the option before paying. The same tour sells on Viator with about 2,000 reviews. The meeting point varies by option.

2.5 to 3.5 hours

4.7★★★★★★★★★★(496 reviews)

Reserve

Rating as shown on GetYourGuide

Florence Sunset Food Tour: Tuscan Specialties & Wine Tasting

It works as dinner, drinks and dessert on a one-night stay. Meet by the fountain in Piazza Santo Spirito 15 minutes early; extra drinks are not included.

3.5 hours

4.9★★★★★★★★★★(164 reviews)

Reserve

Rating as shown on GetYourGuide

Booking through these links supports this site at no cost to you. Prices move by date, so we do not print them here; the official prices we checked are in the page above.