Destination
Type of Activity
Editors Pick
Read MoreBargello National Museum
Sculpture fans should definitely make time to see this museum, which has works by Michelangelo and Donatello. Visit midday to enjoy the world’s best sculpture when fewer visitors are present.
Read MoreBoboli Gardens
These mid-sixteenth-century terraced gardens, behind the Palazzo Pitti, are a nice escape from the crowds in the centro storico. The gardens contain lots of sculptures, fountains and grand allées, making them a fun place to take kids. (Make a list...
Read MoreBrancacci Chapel
This chapel in the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, in the Oltrarno, is sometimes called the Sistine Chapel of the early Renaissance. Its magnificent fresco cycle was painted in stages by Masolino, Masaccio and Filippino Lippi, but it is...
Read MoreDesinare Cooking School
Riccardo Barthel's interior design shop in Florence was already a must-visit with a spectacular collection of antiques (mostly from the region) and custom pieces from entire kitchens to mosaic floors. Now the design guru has opened a terrific cooking school...
Read MoreDuomo (Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiori)
Brunelleschi’s famous cupola is touristy and not for anyone with vertigo, but the view from this Florence icon gives a first-time visitor a wonderful introduction to the city’s skyline. The steep stairs take you first to a narrow balcony, from...
Palazzo Pucci. Photo by Melissa Biggs BradleyRead MoreEmilio Pucci Heritage Hub
The new Emilio Pucci Heritage Hub, located in the Palazzo Pucci in Florence, combines the fashion brand’s archives with an innovative incubator program for special fashion projects. Our Trip Designers can arrange visits to the family archives and fashion hub...
Read MoreGabrio Staff Olimpo
Gabrio Staff Olimpo, a small spa and wellness spot on Via Tornabuoni, offers a menu of massages, manicure/pedicures, as well as detox and anti-aging treatments. It's in walking distance to many of the central hotels.
Read MoreGalleria degli Uffizi
The Uffizzi can be maddening, what with outdated galleries, uninspired audio guides, disgruntled staff, dimly lit halls and an insane timed-ticket system that puts you on a line no matter how savvy your planning. And who thought that the array...
Read MoreGalleria dell’Accademia
Before visiting the gallery, read Irving Stone’s excellent historical novel The Agony and the Ecstasy, first published in 1961, which is a vivid account of the life of Michelangelo and the Renaissance art world. Besides the original of Michelangelo’s David,...
Read MoreIndagare Tours: Art Tours
Explore the best of Florence and the Uffizi with your own art historian including the Basilica di Santa Croce, known for its Florentine artwork and tombs of Michelangelo, Machiavelli and Galileo. Continue on to the artisan neighborhoods to see ironworkers,...
Read MoreIndagare Tours: Cooking Classes
Tuscan cuisine is not only fun to eat but it is a pleasure to cook. Classes in the area range from week-long courses in private villas with professional chefs to half-day classes in grand professional kitchens or casual outings where...
Read MoreIndagare Tours: Day Trips
For a field trip, families can enjoy an excursion to the Chianti region to immerse themselves in the tastes of Tuscany. Families will enjoy a full day in the countryside on the grounds of a family-owned, medieval wine estate. Parents...
Read MoreIndagare Tours: Florence for Families
Florence is full of symbols in plain sight - from the town flower to the Pazzi's dolphins and Strozzi's moons. Families will embark on a hunt to spot recognizable symbols throughout the city center as an orientation tour to the...
Read MoreIndagare Tours: Florence Workshops
Dive into the artisan nature of the city by working with the craftsmen and learning one of a number of crafts such as paper making, fresco making, woodworking or painting. And if you would rather eat your handiwork, we can...
Read MoreIndagare Tours: Historical Tours
During this in-depth tour, look closely into the complex history of the Medici family and their impact on the social, religious and political history of Florence over 400 years. You will accompany an art historian to trace the influence of...
Read MoreIndagare Tours: Shopping Experiences
Florence remains one of the shopping capitals of the world where many of the most famous Italians started their crafts: Depending on your interests we can organize a private visit to the Gucci Museum and its exclusive shop or walks...
Read MoreIndagare Tours: Unique Experiences
Celebrate romance with a candlelit dinner in a Florentine Museum that has been kept open exclusively for your use. Enjoy the surrounding masterpieces accompanied by a private live concert. Possible venues include: Galleria dell'Accademia, Orsanmichele, Palazzo Vecchio and Palazzo Pitti....
Read MoreIndagare Tours: Wine Trips
For wine and food wine lovers we can tailor a day trip to the Chianti region to immerse visitors in the tastes of Tuscany. You can visit prestigious, family-owned wine estates for a guided wine. Enjoy a field trip to...
Read MoreLa Specola
Founded in 1771, this little-known museum near the Pitti Palace houses one of Florence’s most bizarre collections. It was originally conceived to display natural-science curiosities gathered by generations of Medicis. Today, visitors can still view some of these royal collections...
Read MoreMercato Centrale di Firenze
One of Florence’s most beautiful and beloved covered food markets recently became even more of an attraction with the addition of restaurants, shops, a cooking school, library and artisanal vendors. Among the goodies in the iconic Renaissance building: local salami...
Read MoreMuseo del Opera del Duomo
It's a mystery why this museum, in the shadow of the Duomo, is somewhat ignored. Well-organized and compact, it must feature more masterpieces per square inch than any other in the city. In the first room, you’ll find original marble...
Read MoreMuseo Horne
Dark terracotta floors, leaded glass windows and coffered ceilings set the scene at this museum in the Santa Croce neighborhood. A visit to this collection is akin to stepping back in time and being invited into the home of a...
Read MoreMuseo Salvatore Ferragamo
City Secrets is a series of innovative guidebooks whose contributors, from art historians and professors to novelists and architects, choose their personal “city secrets” to share. The following is a pick from City Secrets: Florence & Venice by Judith DiMaio, an architect.
Read MorePalazzo Davanzati
Before the Palazzo Davanzati was renovated in 2022, we often recommended this museum for families, but it should now be high on the list of anyone interested in the decorative arts as well. Yes, it is still a great choice,...
Read MorePalazzo Medici Riccardi
The cold stone façade of this palazzo gives no hint of the treasures within. Skip the grand Medici rooms, and go straight to the tiny Cappella dei Magi, adorned with a fresco cycle painted between 1459 and 1461 by Benozzo...
Read MorePalazzo Pitti
This massive palazzo (assumed to have been designed by Brunelleschi but also attributed to his student Fancelli) is surrounded by the sprawling Boboli Gardens and is the largest museum complex in Florence. The offerings include the Galleria Palatina, which contains...
Read MorePalazzo Strozzi
This palace, begun in the fifteenth century by a rival of the Medici clan, hosts a wide variety of international exhibitions. Shows have included ControModa: Masterpieces from the Permanent Collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art as well...
Read MoreSan Miniato al Monte
Just uphill from Piazzale Michelangelo, with its belvedere affording sweeping city views, is San Miniato. Unlike its larger, noisier city sisters, Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce, this lovely church maintains a hushed, serious ambiance. Its interiors are not lit,...
Read MoreSotterraneo
City Secrets is a series of innovative guidebooks whose contributors, from art historians and professors to novelists and architects, choose their personal “city secrets” to share. The following is a pick from City Secrets: Florence & Venice by Fred Wessel, an artist.
Read MoreSoulspace
Florence is not a spa destination, and even the luxury hotels generally don’t offer comprehensive treatments (the Four Seasons is a glowing exception). When the Kurdish-European doctor Zelal Elbistan opened Soulspace in 2007, it quickly became a favorite with locals...
Stefano Bardini showroom. Photo by Melissa Biggs BradleyRead MoreStefano Bardini Museum
One of the world’s great antiques dealers, Stefano Bardini, who died in 1922, donated his former showroom and home to the city of Florence as a museum. The building and the treasures within it are some of Florence’s lesser-known cultural...
Read MoreVilla Medici
City Secrets is a series of innovative guidebooks whose contributors, from art historians and professors to novelists and architects, choose their personal “city secrets” to share. The following is a pick from City Secrets: Florence & Venice by John L. Wong, a...
