— GUIDED TOURS · FLORENCE
10 unmissable guided tours in Florence (free)
Ten self-guided walks through Florence without paying for a guide: the historic centre, Oltrarno, the hills, the markets and the Renaissance facades. Each entry spells out what is free to see and what still costs money, so you can walk with a clear head.
Helen Marsden, Tuscany specialist · September 7, 2026 · 9 min read
Florence is easy to see without a ticket: its squares, bridges, facades and most of its churches are open to anyone on foot. We picked ten routes that don't overlap: one for the essentials, one for the vanished Roman town, one for working-class Oltrarno, one for the hilltop views, one for the sacred sites, a park, two markets, open-air art and a sunset walk.
Each tour gives a precise starting point, four to six stops in walking order, a realistic duration including stops, and a practical tip picked up along the way. Do them one after another over several days, or pick a single one to suit the time you have. If you'd rather walk without constantly checking a map, the CityGuide app offers a paid audio guide that starts automatically as you approach each place, once Florence is downloaded.
10 tours · ranked from the most unmissable
No booking · no tipping
#1
Joseph Quam · Unsplash
1. Florence's historic heart on foot
The Duomo, Piazza della Signoria and Ponte Vecchio in one loop
- 1h40
- 2 km · Easy
- 6 stops
- Optional audio: EN · FR · ES · DE
This loop joins up the images you already carry in your head: Brunelleschi's red dome, the octagonal baptistery clad in white and green marble, the square where Michelangelo's David once stood before it moved to the Accademia, and the medieval bridge lined with goldsmiths' shopfronts since the 16th century. A good way to get your bearings before venturing further.
- Route :
- Florence Cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore (the Duomo) → The Baptistery of San Giovanni → Giotto's Bell Tower → Via dei Calzaiuoli → Piazza della Signoria and the Palazzo Vecchio → Ponte Vecchio
- Start :
- Piazza del Duomo, in front of the cathedral facade
- Access :
- The Duomo's nave and the squares are free. The dome, bell tower, baptistery and Opera del Duomo museum charge admission and require booking.
- Tip :
- Arrive before nine to have Piazza del Duomo almost to yourself, when the low light suits the marble best.
Free
self-guided, at your own pace
#2
2. Florentia, the city's Roman foundations
The ancient colony, before the Medici and the Renaissance
- 1h15
- 1.6 km · Easy
- 5 stops
- Optional audio: EN · FR · ES · DE
Florence began as a Roman military colony in the 1st century BC, laid out on a grid centred on today's Piazza della Repubblica, a plan still readable in the street pattern. This walk follows that grid east to Piazza dei Peruzzi, where the curved line of the facades still traces the Roman amphitheatre buried beneath the medieval buildings that replaced it.
- Route :
- Piazza della Repubblica, on the forum of Roman Florentia → The Column of San Zanobi, near the Duomo → The Florentine Abbey (Badia Fiorentina) → Bargello Palace → The Roman amphitheatre, Piazza dei Peruzzi
- Start :
- Piazza della Repubblica
- Access :
- Squares and streets are free all day. Bargello Palace is a museum with paid admission.
- Tip :
- Look closely at the curved facades around Piazza dei Peruzzi: their bend follows the exact wall of the vanished Roman amphitheatre.
Free
self-guided, at your own pace
#3
Ahu Çiçek · Pexels
3. Oltrarno, Florence's artisan side
The far bank of the Arno, between workshops and palaces
- 1h35
- 2.1 km · Easy
- 5 stops
- Optional audio: EN · FR · ES · DE
Quieter than the centre, Oltrarno still holds gilders' and bookbinders' workshops, plain facades and a real neighbourhood feel. Piazza Santo Spirito comes alive in the morning around a small market; Via Maggio has lined its windows with antiques for generations, leading to the massive, rough-hewn walls of Palazzo Pitti, once home to the Medici and later Italy's kings.
- Route :
- Piazza Santo Spirito → The Basilica of Santa Maria del Santo Spirito → Via Maggio and its antique dealers → Palazzo Pitti (exterior) → The Church of Santa Felicita
- Start :
- Piazza Santo Spirito
- Access :
- Squares, streets and facades are free. Palazzo Pitti, the Boboli Gardens and the Bardini Garden charge admission, separate from this walk.
- Tip :
- Go on a weekday morning, when the square is still quiet and the workshops open their doors onto the street.
Free
self-guided, at your own pace
These 10 tours, narrated in audio
The CityGuide Florence audio guide starts by itself in front of each place. You walk, it tells the story.
Full audio guide
$21.90 $39.90
★ 4.8/5 · 15 reviews
30-day money-back guarantee
#4
Samual lim · Pexels
4. Florence from above, for free
Piazzale Michelangelo and San Miniato al Monte
- 1h30
- 2.3 km · Challenging
- 4 stops
- Optional audio: EN · FR · ES · DE
The climb from the Arno up to the San Miniato hill takes some effort, but every landing widens the view over the tiled rooftops and the Duomo's dome a little more. The quiet, free Giardino delle Rose offers a shaded pause before the final stretch to the striped Romanesque facade of the basilica, one of the oldest in the city.
- Route :
- The Church of San Salvatore al Monte → Piazzale Michelangelo → The Giardino delle Rose (Rose Garden) → The Basilica of San Miniato al Monte
- Start :
- Porta San Niccolò, on the banks of the Arno
- Access :
- The piazzale, rose garden, steps and terrace of San Miniato are entirely free and open at any hour.
- Tip :
- Climb the steps from Porta San Niccolò rather than taking the bus: it's shorter, and the view unfolds in stages.
Free
self-guided, at your own pace
#5
Nesshi Oliveira · Pexels
5. Basilicas and bell towers of Florence
A walk through the city's great sacred sites
- 1h40
- 2.4 km · Easy
- 5 stops
- Optional audio: EN · FR · ES · DE
Florence holds dozens of churches, many of them free to enter outside ticketed visiting hours. This route links four very different styles: the Franciscan Gothic of Santa Croce, the carved tabernacle of Orsanmichele, once a grain market turned church, the unfinished facade of San Lorenzo, and the geometric marble front of Santa Maria Novella, a masterpiece by the architect Alberti.
- Route :
- The Basilica of Santa Croce → The Church of Orsanmichele → The Loggia del Bigallo → The Basilica of San Lorenzo → The Basilica of Santa Maria Novella
- Start :
- Piazza Santa Croce
- Access :
- Squares and facades are always free. The interiors of Santa Croce, San Lorenzo and Santa Maria Novella charge admission; Orsanmichele is often free.
- Tip :
- Mass times take priority over visiting hours: check them before setting off so you don't find the door closed.
Free
self-guided, at your own pace
#6
Matheus Costa · Pexels
6. Parco delle Cascine, along the Arno
A free nature walk just outside the centre
- 1h25
- 3 km · Moderate
- 4 stops
- Optional audio: EN · FR · ES · DE
Once the Medici's hunting reserve and a public park since the 19th century, this long green ribbon runs along the Arno for several kilometres, shaded by plane trees planted two centuries ago. You'll pass joggers, families, and, on Tuesday mornings, a large weekly market. The neoclassical icehouse pyramid, once used to store ice, and the former royal pavilion recall its princely past before it opened to everyone.
- Route :
- The main avenue of Parco delle Cascine → The Cascine Icehouse (the Pyramid) → The former Royal Pavilion of the Cascine → The Prato del Quercione meadow
- Start :
- Piazza Vittorio Veneto, at the park entrance
- Access :
- The park is entirely public and free, open from sunrise to sunset, with no paid admission anywhere.
- Tip :
- On Tuesday mornings a large market sets up on the Cascine side: clothes and household goods, with no obligation to buy.
Free
self-guided, at your own pace
#7
Raylarında Şehrin · Pexels
7. Florence's markets, San Lorenzo and Sant'Ambrogio
A food-focused walk between stalls and covered halls
- 1h25
- 2 km · Easy
- 4 stops
- Optional audio: EN · FR · ES · DE
San Lorenzo Market spreads its leather stalls and souvenirs outdoors, while the 19th-century iron-framed hall of Mercato Centrale holds deli, cheese and produce stalls on the ground floor, and a food court upstairs. Further east, Piazza Sant'Ambrogio keeps a working-class, neighbourhood feel, well away from the tourist flow of the centre.
- Route :
- San Lorenzo Market → Mercato Centrale → Piazza della Santissima Annunziata → The market and square of Sant'Ambrogio
- Start :
- Piazza di San Lorenzo
- Access :
- Free movement through both markets and squares. There's no charge to look at the stalls.
- Tip :
- Browsing the markets costs nothing; only tastings and purchases are on you, as at any market.
Free
self-guided, at your own pace
These 10 tours, narrated in audio
The CityGuide Florence audio guide starts by itself in front of each place. You walk, it tells the story.
Full audio guide
$21.90 $39.90
★ 4.8/5 · 15 reviews
30-day money-back guarantee
#8
antonio filigno · Pexels
8. Open-air Florence, sculpture and facades
An outdoor museum between the Signoria and Tornabuoni
- 1h05
- 1 km · Easy
- 5 stops
- Optional audio: EN · FR · ES · DE
Piazza della Signoria works as an open-air sculpture gallery, open day and night. Under the Loggia dei Lanzi stand Renaissance and Mannerist works, including Cellini's Perseus; a little further on, the Loggia del Mercato Nuovo shelters the famous bronze boar rubbed for good luck, before the stern palazzi of Via de' Tornabuoni.
- Route :
- The Loggia dei Lanzi → The Fountain of Neptune → Hercules and Cacus → The Loggia del Mercato Nuovo (the Porcellino) → Via de' Tornabuoni
- Start :
- Piazza della Signoria
- Access :
- Sculptures, loggias and facades are all visible for free, open access at any hour.
- Tip :
- Rub the Porcellino's snout: local legend promises a return to Florence to anyone who does.
Free
self-guided, at your own pace
#9
Ilse Orsel · Unsplash
9. Florence at sunset
From the bridges over the Arno to Piazza della Repubblica
- 1h15
- 1.9 km · Easy
- 4 stops
- Optional audio: EN · FR · ES · DE
Late in the day, the light rakes across the ochre facades and turns the Arno gold. Ponte Santa Trinita gives the best view of Ponte Vecchio's silhouette against the light, a view rebuilt exactly as it was after the bridge's destruction in 1944. The lights then take over on Piazza della Signoria and at the cafe terraces of Piazza della Repubblica.
- Route :
- Ponte Vecchio → Ponte Santa Trinita → Piazza della Signoria, lit up → Piazza della Repubblica
- Start :
- Ponte Vecchio, in the late afternoon
- Access :
- Bridges and squares are open access at any hour, day or night, with no restrictions.
- Tip :
- Settle on Ponte Santa Trinita about twenty minutes before sunset, the city's most photographed hour, and let the crowd thin before crossing.
Free
self-guided, at your own pace
#10
wai sing · Pexels
10. Santa Croce and San Niccolò, off the beaten path
A quiet district between the synagogue and the far bank
- 1h35
- 2.6 km · Moderate
- 5 stops
- Optional audio: EN · FR · ES · DE
East of Santa Croce, the Synagogue's green dome and Moorish detailing stand apart from the rest of the city. The walk then passes the house Michelangelo owned but never lived in, crosses the Arno on a bridge quieter than its neighbours, and reaches San Niccolò Oltrarno, a local parish district largely untouched by tour groups.
- Route :
- The Synagogue of Florence → Casa Buonarroti → Via dei Benci → Ponte alle Grazie → The Church of San Niccolò Oltrarno
- Start :
- Piazza dei Ciompi, near the Synagogue
- Access :
- Streets, bridges and squares are free. The Synagogue and Casa Buonarroti are museums with paid admission.
- Tip :
- This route crosses few pedestrian-only zones, so stay alert to traffic along Via dei Benci and near the bridge approaches.
Free
self-guided, at your own pace
How to do these tours for free (without missing anything)
1. Allow extra time and start early
Each route gives a duration at an easy pace, stops included. Add 15 to 20 minutes if you stop often to take photos or read plaques. Morning remains the best time in Florence: fewer people on Piazza del Duomo, softer light on the marble, and the San Lorenzo and Sant'Ambrogio markets at their busiest.
2. Separate what's free from what costs money
Each tour's "access" field spells out what you can see without a ticket and what charges admission inside. Nothing stops you adding an optional entry, such as the Duomo's dome, the Uffizi, the Accademia or Palazzo Pitti: these are separate visits, best booked online in advance to skip the queue, especially between April and September.
3. Let yourself be guided while you walk, if you like
If you'd rather not juggle a map and your phone at every corner, the CityGuide app can trigger spoken commentary automatically as you approach each place, once Florence's content is downloaded. It's a paid option built for walking with your eyes up rather than on a screen, and it keeps working offline, with no data plan needed once you're on the ground.
— Frequently asked questions
Free guided tours in Florence: your questions
Yes: they are walking routes through streets, squares and exteriors that are open access, with no guide to pay, no tip expected and nothing to book. Some places along the way offer an optional paid entry, such as the Duomo, the Uffizi or Palazzo Pitti: it's always flagged in each tour's "access" field.
A "free" guided tour is led by a guide who lives on the tip collected at the end: the price isn't shown, but it exists. Here there's nobody to pay and nobody to wait for. You leave when you like, stop where you like, and can cut a route short if your legs give out sooner than planned.
Two well-chosen tours make for a comfortable day in Florence, leaving time for lunch or an optional paid entry. Expect 65 to 100 minutes of walking per route depending on stops. Stringing together more than three in one day gets tiring, especially in high summer.
No, this page is enough to walk them alone, with the stops and descriptions given in order. CityGuide is a paid app that adds automatic audio commentary as you walk, so you don't have to read a text along the way. It's an added comfort, not a requirement.
Spring and autumn bring pleasant temperatures for several hours of walking at a stretch. In July and August the heat can make exposed squares tough going at midday: favour morning tours, or shaded ones such as Oltrarno or Parco delle Cascine, and save the hilltop climb for early morning or evening.
— Go further
Want an audio guide so you can just walk?
These ten tours work perfectly well on your own, with this page in hand. If you'd rather walk with your eyes up, the CityGuide app narrates each place in audio, automatically, as you approach it, once Florence's content is downloaded.
Explore the Florence audio guide
