Florence Highlights Self Guided Walking Tour with an App

Explore Florence on foot with easy GPS navigation, offline audio, and the freedom to move at your own pace. This self-guided tour covers 28 stops across the historic centre and the Oltrarno hillside, taking around 6–8 hours or two relaxed days. See Michelangelo’s David, San Lorenzo, Mercato Centrale, the Medici Chapels, Brunelleschi’s dome, the Ponte Vecchio, Uffizi, and Piazza della Signoria while uncovering the stories that shaped the Renaissance. Finish with a scenic climb to Piazzale Michelangelo and the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte for unforgettable views over Florence. Download the tour before you start, book key sites in advance, wear comfortable shoes, and carry water for the hillside climb.

1. 1

   Piazza Della Santissima Annunziata

   5 min

   Florence begins here. A perfectly balanced Renaissance square, Europe's first orphanage, and a church where brides still leave bouquets. Quietly extraordinary and almost always overlooked.

2. 2

   Galleria dell'Accademia

   Pass by

   One plain building. One seventeen-foot giant carved from abandoned marble. The Accademia doesn't try to impress from the outside, which makes what's waiting inside all the more extraordinary.

3. 3

   Stop 3

   5 min

   Leather, noise, and the smell of street food give way to a Victorian iron and glass market hall where Florence eats, argues, and comes alive. Ground floor tradition, upper floor delicious chaos.

4. 4

   Cappelle Medicee

   Pass by

   Modest stone outside. Gem-encrusted walls within. The Medici Chapels hold centuries of ambition, Michelangelo's most haunting sculptures, and a secret chamber where genius once hid for his life.

5. 5

   Piazza Del Duomo

   10 min

   Florence at full volume. Marble, mosaics, bronze doors, and a dome that shouldn't exist but does. This square is where the Renaissance stopped being a movement and became a masterpiece.

6. 6

   Piazza Della Repubblica

   10 min

   A grand square built on erasure. Ancient Roman crossroads, a demolished medieval neighbourhood, and a triumphal arch that calls it restoration. Florence rewriting itself, right under your feet.

7. 7

   Stop 7

   5 min

   A Renaissance silk and gold trading floor turned leather market. The arches haven't changed. The deals have. And somewhere in here, the word bankruptcy was born.

8. 8

   Fontana del Porcellino

   5 min

   A shiny bronze nose, a coin, a grate, and a legend. Rub it right and Florence promises to bring you back. Millions have tried. The boar keeps its own counsel.

9. 9

   Ponte Vecchio

   10 min

   A bridge that doesn't look like one. Jewellers, golden light, the Arno below, and a private Medici corridor running silently overhead. One of Europe's oldest bridges, and still the most theatrical.

10. 10

    Piazza della Signoria

    10 min

    No walls, no ticket, no barriers. This open air museum is where Florence announced power, burned its enemies, and carved its identity into stone. You're not entering it. You're already inside.

11. 11

    Museo Nazionale del Bargello

    Pass by

    A prison turned into a palace of masterpieces. Florence's oldest public building now holds Donatello's David, early Michelangelo, and the finest Renaissance sculpture collection in Italy.

12. 12

    Piazza di Santa Croce

    15 min

    Florence's Pantheon of Italian Glories. Michelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli all lie here, while Dante stands outside in marble, honoured by the city that once banished him forever.

13. 13

    Stop 13

    5 min

    The crowds thin, the Arno opens up, and Florence finally exhales. A riverside promenade where the city slows down, the views stretch south, and the hill ahead begins to pull you upward.

14. 14

    Porta San Miniato

    5 min

    The only medieval gate in Florence without a tower, and the one with the most surprising wartime secret. Pass through it and the city begins its ascent toward something extraordinary.

15. 15

    Piazzale Michelangelo

    5 min

    A vast hilltop terrace where the entire city spreads out in one breathtaking sweep. Bronze David watches over it all, the dome anchors the skyline, and Florence finally shows you everything at once.

16. 16

    Stop 16

    15 min

    Florence's most beautiful secret, perched at the very top of the hill. A thousand year old Romanesque basilica with a marble façade, a golden mosaic, and views that make the climb completely unforgettable.

• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.