Florence Art and History Tours

As an open air museum, Florence has so much to offer. The following list offers options for just a few sites. I also do many personalized tours of sites in and around Florence that are not on this list. Please let me know if you have different ideas of places you would like to visit or things you would like to do. I can modify any itinerary or create an individualized itinerary to fit perfectly with your interests and needs. The following tours are each half day tours that run between 2.5 to 3 hours.

City Walking Tour combined with a visit to Michelangelo’s David in the Accademia Gallery. 

A walking tour is the best way to experience the history of the city while seeing the Cathedral complex, Piazza Della Repubblica, Ponte Vecchio, Piazza della Signoria, and the Uffizi. We’ll see all monuments from the outside. You will also have the option to head across the river and visit the Oltrarno area to see the Pitti Palace and walk through the quintessential Florentine streets of this artisan neighborhood. I like to take the opportunity to show you my favorite pockets of Florence and give you a bit more of a “local’s experience” including pointing out my favorite artisan shops, bars, restaurants, gelaterias, etc. It is by no means an intensive walk; we will take our time strolling around the city and will plan ample time for a coffee break. The tour finishes with a visit to the Accademia Gallery to see Michelangelo’s marble sculpture of David up close and personal.

Other options to add onto a Walking Tour instead of Michelangelo’s David include a visit inside the Baptistery or a tour of the medieval city hall and ducal residence, Palazzo Vecchio. All of these options would add on about an hour to the walking tour giving you the option to do the tour in 3 or 4 hours.

Cathedral Complex: including Baptistery, Cathedral, and Cathedral Museum. 

A visit to Florence is never complete without a visit to the monumental Cathedral Complex. The Duomo, the city’s cathedral dedicated to Santa Maria del Fiore, with Brunelleschi’s soaring dome rising above, is still the symbol of Florence today. The earliest building on the complex is the 11th century baptistery that contains breathtaking 13th century ceiling mosaics and once held the famous golden Gates of Paradise. The Museo dell’Opera del Duomo (Cathedral Museum), recently renovated, houses the original Gates of Paradise of the Baptistery along with works by Donatello, Michelangelo, and many more. Entrance into the Cathedral depends on the entrance line wait times (up to a 2 hour wait in the summer season). If we do not enter the Duomo in person we will see a great view of the interior in the Cathedral museum.

Uffizi Gallery.

Originally built as the government offices for the first Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo I de’ Medici, the Uffizi Gallery now holds the world’s top collection of Renaissance Paintings. Arranged in chronological order, the artworks tell the story of the evolution of Renaissance painting styles from the 13th to 17th century. On this tour we will see the most famous masterpieces like Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, Michelangelo’s Doni Tondo, and Leonardo da Vinci’s newly restored Adoration of the Magi, as well as some of my personal favorites that aren’t on the usual tour itinerary. Rather than focus on the details of the physical paintings we will instead focus on the stories behind the paintings. By considering each work of art as a product of its society we will weave together the story of the Renaissance as told through the paintings of the Uffizi Gallery.

Michelangelo Tour. 

A Florentine by birth, Michelangelo spent the first part of his life in Florence. This is where he trained to be an artist and where many of his early works still remain today. On this tour we will explore the biography of Michelangelo, the ultimate Renaissance artist, through his many works spread throughout the city of Florence. This tour will start off at the Casa Buonarroti, built by Michelangelo’s nephew and heir, where we will see his earliest known works.  We will then enter the Bargello museum to view Michelangelo’s Bacchus, as well as sculptures by Donatello that had a great impact on Michelangelo, before continuing on to see Michelangelo’s David at the Accademia Gallery and Michelangelo’s sculptures in the New Sacristy in the Medici Chapels of San Lorenzo.

The Rise Of the Mendicant Orders: Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella. 

One of my personal favorites, on this tour we will step back in time to the late medieval period when the population and economy of Florence underwent a major boom in the late 13th century. Unlike the more modern museums in the city, these churches allow you to experience the artworks still in their original context. Santa Croce was built by the Franciscan Order to serve the city’s poor while Santa Maria Novella was built by the Dominican Order on the opposite side of the city. Although built at the same time, the churches reflect the diverse needs of the two very different mendicant (or begging) religious orders.

Magnificence, Money, and Murder: The Medici Family Tour

The Medici family was the premier ruling family in Florence, first as behind the scenes rulers of the 15th century, then as the official rulers as the Dukes of Florence and Tuscany starting in the 16th century. On this tour you will learn about the family’s rise to power through the banking industry and see first hand the family’s contributions to the artistic and architectural growth of Renaissance Florence. You’ll learn about the politics of the day, including the exiles and assassinations. The tour combines a visit to the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, the Museum of San Marco, the Church of San Lorenzo, and the Medici Chapels.

Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Garden

Explore the Medici Family’s regal ducal Palace, the Pitti Palace. The Medici family ruled as the Dukes of Florence and Tuscany from the 1530’s to the 1730’s. On this tour we will explore their princely collections, including the Medici treasures in the Silverworks Museum and the overwhelming display of paintings in the Palatina Gallery. Enjoy a walk through the galleries gazing at the ceilings covered in frescoes and gilded stucco work. The palace itself is a work of art. We will end the tour with a short loop through the Boboli Gardens, the massive 110 acres land that rises behind the Palazzo Pitti, to enjoy the outdoor space just as the Duke and Duchesses of Tuscany did for many years.

Oltrarno: Artistic Traditions from the 15th Century to Today

This tour takes us into the southern side of the city to the “other side” of the Arno river. Today the Oltrarno is known for its artisan traditions and workshops. Walking around the area, you will notice it gives off the feeling of being transported back to an earlier time. The tour combines visits to 15^th century monuments, like the Brancacci Chapel and Santo Spirito, with visits to local artisan workshops. The workshops visited on the tour are catered to your interests and depend on opening times.