A Perfect One Day Itinerary For Florence, Italy
Florence Italy will always hold a special place in my heart. I first visited this magical city on a High School trip. I loved it so much that I ended up studying abroad there for a semester during college. After college, I was a tour guide there for a year. And since then I try to go back and visit every other year or so. I never get sick of Florence and I always leave wanting more.
To me, Florence deserves at least 5 days to visit, but some don’t have that kind of time! If you only have one day to explore the city, check out this itinerary. I will say, it misses out on alot of the musuems and art from the city, so if those are important to you, I recommend making adjustments. However, be aware that most major tourist sites have very long lines and required advanced booking!
Lace up your walking shoes, because we are going to get some miles in today!
tl;dr - The Quick and Dirty
The Quick List
Mercato Centrale for Breakfast
San Lorenzo Leather Market
Basilica di San Lorenzo
Santa Croce
Wine @ Bottega del Vino
Panino @ Schiaterria Dei Neri
Gelato @ Gelateria Dei Neri
Piazza Della Signoria
Ponte Vecchio
Boboli Gardens
Wine @ Enoteca Fiaschetteria Vinaino
Gelato @ S’brino
Piazzale Michaelangelo for Sunet
Dinner @ I’Tuscani
Cocktails @ Manifattura
Cocktails @ Giacosa
Fontana del Porcellino
Piazza della Repubblica
Duomo
The Full Journey!
I am going to assume you’ll start your day at the Santa Maria Novella Train Station. From here, I’d walk over to Mercato Centrale for breakfast. You can grab an espresso and a cornetto, check out all the cool food stalls and maybe grab some samples! Make sure to check out the upstairs floor as well. The upstairs opened in 2014 and showcases some amazing food vendors. On the main floor, you’ll expereince a more traditional market, with meat, fish, vegetables, fruits and so much more!
As you exit, you’ll pass through the San Lorenzo Leather Market. It can get really hectic here, but if you are looking for some leather goods, this is a great spot. Be aware that most leather here isn’t real, but if you are looking for quality leather, visit my friend Massimo. His store has some amazing products, including the three leather jackets I’ve acquired over the years! Walk by the Basilica di San Lorenzo. This is one of the largest churches in Florence.
Next we will take a little bit of a walk to the Santa Croce. On the way you’ll pass by the duomo, but I wouldn’t stay here too long. It’s likely to be really crowded and pickpockets often happen during the prime of the day in this area. I have some more time carved out later in the evening to marvel at my favorite monument in Italy (and maybe the world!). The Santa Croce is a gorgeous church and one of my favorite areas in Florence. This is the area I always stay in when I visit Florence. If your interested in reading more about the neighborhoods and where to stay, check out my blog post here. If you have time and the lines aren’t too long, peak inside - its a beauty!
Across the street you’ll find Bottega del Vino, or a wine window! The wine windows have become very popular since covid, but they actually date back to the Renaissance. I’d grab a quick glass of wine so that you have energy to make it through the day. If you’re interested in learning more about the wine windows or where you can find them, check out my blog post here.
At this point your probably hungry, and maybe a little tipsy, so I’d grab a quick panino at Schiaterria Dei Neri. If they have the Perseo on the menu, just get it. Seriously, I dream about this sandwhich everyday. Make sure to save room for a gelato across the street at Gelateria Dei Neri.
After fueling up, Id walk down the street to Piazza Della Signoria, or the Piazza Fake David as me and my friends like to call it. Here you can see a copy of the David (this does not replace seeing the real David, but if your time crunched or aren’t interested in waiting in lines at a musuem, this will do!) and you can walk inside the Palazzo Vecchio, which is Florence’s town hall. The ground floor is really beautiful. Walk through the Piazzale Delgi Uffizi and marvel at the local artists who set up shop here.
From here, you should see the Ponte Vecchio, the only surviving bridge in Florence from World War II. Today its filled with high end jewelry shops and at night they usually have some live music here. Walk across the bridge, do some window shopping and if it’s nice out head over to the Boboli Gardens. The gardens are absolutely beautiful and you can easily explore them for hours. After the gardens, I’d probably need another glass of wine, so I’d go to the wine window at Enoteca Fiaschetteria Vinaino and I’d probably need another gelato, so I’d stop nearby at S’brino.
Next, I’d grab a bottle of wine (make sure its twist-off!) and I’d head up to Piazzale Michaelangelo to watch the sunset. At night there are usually performers here, so its a fun activitiy to sit on the steps, watch the sunset, listen to the performers and drink your wine!
Dinner is usually a late event in Florence, so after the sunset, I would head over to I’Tuscani for the best steak of my life. After, I’d grab a cocktail next door at Manifattura and Giacosa, two of my favorite cocktail bars in Florence (read more about all my favorite cocktail spots here).
After dinner and drinks, I’d find Fontana del Porcellino, a bronze fountain of a boar. It is rumored that if you rub his nose, you’ll have a guaranteed return to Florence (as someone who has done this on every trip and continues to return, I’d say its accurate)
I’d end my night wandering through Piazza della Repubblica - and depending on how many cocktails I’d had, maybe take a ride on the merry go round! The rest of my night would be spent marveling at the Duomo, all lit up, tourist free.
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