Radio headphones (depends on party size)
Hotel pick-up (centrally located hotels only)
IMPORTANT NOTE ON GROUPS: as per the rules of the Uffizi Gallery, every guide cannot have more than 14 people. If you’re trying to book for a larger group, you will have to make two (or more) bookings each for 14 people or fewer. Don’t hesitate to contact us for more info on this.
Florence in a day is a comprehensive tour that will show you all the main attractions of the city in few hours, giving you all the needed info about the history of Florence and the Renaissance. It’s perfect for newcomers, or for people who have been in Florence before but didn’t have time to properly appreciate the heritage of this incredible place.
The tour starts in Piazza Santa Croce: you will see the church from outside, hearing stories about this ancient Franciscan convent, but also about the many important people whose graves are inside the church. The square is frequently used for events, including the famous Calcio Storico (Historical Football).
From Piazza Santa Croce, you will walk through Borgo Dei Greci, a Medieval alley built on the place where, 19 centuries ago, Roman gladiators fought for their lives and early Christians were tortured. The layout of the buildings in this area still resembles the shape of the ancient Roman amphitheater. Reaching Piazza San Firenze, you will see examples of Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque architecture and also the place where Leonardo Da Vinci executed a portrait to the wife of a rich merchant that later would become the most famous painting ever: the Monna Lisa.
Few steps away is Piazza della Signoria: an open-air museum of Renaissance sculpture, but also the place from where the city hall towers on Florence since 1299. Your expert local guide will show you the magnificent statues in the square and the decoration of the main courtyard of Palazzo Vecchio, explaining the different functions of this palace in history, but also telling you about the people who were imprisoned in the tower, as a consequence of the political intrigues of the Renaissance, when the powerful House of Medici ruled the town.
Next is a comprehensive visit of the most important and most visited Italian museum: the Uffizi Gallery. With around 1500 paintings on display, the Uffizi Gallery has the largest collection of Renaissance works in the world. For your convenience, the guide will reserve your entrance, in order to skip the long lines. Among the artists represented in the Uffizi Gallery are all the protagonists of the Renaissance: Giotto, Piero Della Francesca, Botticelli, Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio and many more.
After being overwhelmed by the beauty of the works inside the Uffizi, you need a break. The local guide will suggest you some good places to have lunch, there are plenty in the Uffizi area. One hour later, the guide will reach you wherever you decided to have your meal to continue the tour.
The afternoon starts with Ponte Vecchio, the old bridge on the river Arno that survived to World War II (unlike any other bridge in Florence), for a romantic view on the river. Then you’ll head north, walking through a district which has been rebuilt after the devastation of the war, and another one that has been “renovated” in the 1860s when Florence, for a short while, became the capital of Italy. Along the way, you will stop to see the Loggia Del Porcellino, where tourists use to toss coins in the mouth of a wild boar statue, the Orsanmichele church, which once was a granary, and Piazza Della Repubblica.
You will finally reach the most amazing place in Florence: Piazza del Duomo, where stands the ancient Baptistery of San Giovanni with the amazing Gates of Paradise, but also one of the largest Cathedrals in the world, highlighted by the greatest achievement of Renaissance architecture: Brunelleschi’s Dome.
Finally, you will take a quick look from outside to the Medici Palace, the place from where the powerful bankers became the godfathers of the Renaissance, before reaching the Accademia Gallery. The guide will collect your skip-the-line tickets, reserved in advance, and you will get inside to see the most famous statue in the world: Michelangelo’s David.
After about six hours of tour, the guide will leave you and you will have a chance to continue exploring the Accademia Gallery on your own or follow the guide outside. If you’re tired, the guide will call a taxi for you to reach your hotel (at your expense).
This tour has a duration of six hours, plus a 1-hour break for lunch, for a total of 7 hours. Here is the itinerary of the tour:
- Santa Croce (outside)
- Piazza della Signoria
- Uffizi Gallery
- Ponte Vecchio
- Loggia del Porcellino
- Church of Orsanmichele
- — Lunch break —
- Piazza della Repubblica
- Baptistery (outside)
- Duomo (outside)
- Medici Palace (outside)
- Accademia Gallery
Meeting point: Piazza Santa Croce 9, in front of J&S Leather Factory
Hotel pick-up: available for selected hotels, you must contact the guide after booking the tour
Drop-off: Accademia Gallery

The itinerary is indicative and can be changed in case some monument is inaccessible for restoration; furthermore, the itinerary can be changed if hotel pick-up is requested, based on the location of your hotel; in particular, the Basilica di Santa Croce can be replaced with the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella, and the order of the attractions can be changed to better suit the different starting point.
Even with skip-the-line tickets, expect to wait some minutes to enter the Uffizi and Accademia Galleries, especially during high season, because of the metal detector checks that slow down the flow of visitors. In particular, entrance at the Accademia during peak time can be delayed by up to 30 minutes.
Your jackets and bags will be scanned by a metal detector at both the Uffizi and Accademia Galleries. Knifes, cutters, multipurpose tools and any sharp object that might represent a danger for the works of art will be seized at the sole discretion of the museum personnel.
Large backpacks and long umbrellas will have to be left at the entrance and be collected at the exit (this service is free of charge).
Entrance to religious places is subject to restrictions: your clothing must be appropriate and cover your shoulders and knees.
- 6-hour private tour with an expert licensed tour guide of Florence
- skip-the-line tickets for Uffizi and Accademia Galleries
- radio headphones (depends on group size)
- hotel pick-up (on request and free of charge: available only for hotels in central Florence)
Exclusions:
- lunch
- gratuities
- any other personal expense
Here are some important things to know in order to ensure you have the best possible experience with your tour:
- having a camera with you is your choice. Someone prefers to immerse in beauty not being distracted by taking pictures/making videos, someone else prefers to build printable memories of his trip. It’s really up to you. Inside the museums included in this tour, pictures and videos are allowed, but the use of a flash or selfie-sticks is prohibited
Your entrance tickets for this tour are bought immediately to avoid availability issues, and they are not refundable. If you cancel this tour at least 8 days in advance, there is a cancellation fee of € 80/person. There is no refund in case of late cancellations (in the final 7 days).
Maria –
We understood it would be a memorable day after five minutes with Siro, our guide. We came downstairs after having breakfast at our hotel and he was there, waiting for us with a big smile. He’s serious but funny at the same time, and knows every corner of the city. Great experience. We recommend Siro and Guidaly for any private tour in Florence!
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Jerome I. Mosley –
Guidaly organized a day in Florence for my family of 4, and all was great from the start. We were picked up at our hotel and were introduced to this beautiful city. The guide was full of attentions for us and we had many chances to sit down and have some rest. We avoided the lines. Half-way, we had a lunch break with our guide in a nice restaurant in the heart of Florence, serving typical dishes – as a plus, he gave us a detailed lesson about the history of the Italian cuisine. Amazing tour and amazing guide!
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John Parker –
Best tour to see all the highlights of Florence in one day!
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Angela –
This tour was perfect. I told Andrea, the tour planner, that my husband had walking limitations and he created a personalized itinerary to minimize the walking distance. The guide picked us up at the hotel lobby and was very nice and patient, speaking a perfect English. Places are amazing!
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Valerie Brown –
The Florence in a day tour is the perfect one to see the best highlights all at once; my favorite highlight was Michelangelo’s David!
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Jimmy Stern –
We had a trip to Rome and made an excursion to Florence opting for this tour, which was, by far, our best day in Italy.
The guide was waiting for us at the train track with a clearly visible sign, and we started going through the city being told many historical details. After visiting the Uffizi Gallery, we had a break for lunch at Ganino, a very nice small typical restaurant in the heart of the city. We then continued the tour with the Duomo and finally went to see the amazing Michelangelo’s David. After the tour, our guide called a taxi to get us back to the train station.
Our only regret is not having planned to stay one night or two in Florence because there is a lot more to see and it’s much easier and less stressful than Rome.
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Patricia –
our Florence in a day tour was perfect. We went on Dec 17th, during the low season, and there were no lines at the museum. The tour includes all the highlights of the city. Our guide not only was very professional throughout the tour, but also gave us great suggestions on where to have dinner (Central Market, recommended).
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Margareth Grant –
This tour was super. It was great to be there in person to see things I only had seen in books.
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Joe Pierce –
It was an amazing day, thanks!
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Ashley –
I booked this tour for September 27th, 2015. I had been to Venice for one day and had joined a group tour, but my friend had recommended visiting Florence on a private tour and I opted for this one, having only one day in the city.
It was a great choice: now, almost one month later, I can say both cities are spectacular, but I remember many more details about Florence.
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Christina –
I was in Florence for just one day (September 16th) and booked this tour, that revealed to be my best day in Italy. Florence is such an amazing city, with wonders at any corner. As slow as you can walk, you have no time to recover from the emotions of the previous attraction that the narrow alleys suddenly end in a square and something else, even more amazing, hits your heart again. Add to this that I had a very nice guide, fluent in English, with an encyclopedic knowledge of the city, and she was at our complete disposal… a perfect day.
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Paul Oliver –
I went on this tour with my family in August 2015, and picked up Siro as our tour guide. He was very friendly and I was very pleased when he agreed to extend the tour by one additional hour, to show us more attractions. Siro led us into the Uffizi and Accademia and showed us all the other important attractions of Florence, being funny and very professional, exactly at the right time. He gave us the needed breaks during the tour and allowed us to seat whenever possible. We never felt rushed. It was a great day!
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Nicole –
Martina is just the most wonderful lady! We had such a nice time tooling around Florence. Learned lots I didn’t know about the city. Martina took us at her private gelato stop. Yuuummm.
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Evelyn –
Florence is not a city you can see in one day, and not even in two, but this tour gives you a complete overview of the main sites without making you feel rushed. The tour at the Uffizi is very detailed, you get just enough information on the squares and palaces, and Michelangelo’s David is an amazing finale!!! Recommended!
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