Three Days in Florence: An Itinerary That Follows the Map

Three days is the right amount of time for a first visit to Florence. This plan groups each day by area, so you walk short distances and are never crossing the river twice in a day.

Book before you go

• Uffizi, first slot on day 1.
• Accademia, first slot on day 2.
• Duomo pass with a dome or bell tower slot on day 1.
• Brancacci Chapel on day 3, if you want it.
• Dinner for each evening at popular places.

Shuffle the days so no state museum falls on a Monday.

Day 1: the cathedral and the Uffizi

• Morning: Uffizi at opening time. Three hours, with a coffee on the terrace café.
• Lunch: around Piazza della Signoria the food is overpriced; walk five minutes east towards Santa Croce, or grab a schiacciata.
• Afternoon: your Duomo slot. Climb the dome or the bell tower, then spend an hour in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, which is included.
• Evening: Piazza della Signoria and Ponte Vecchio after the crowds thin, then dinner.

Day 2: San Marco, San Lorenzo and Santa Croce

• Morning: Accademia at opening, then Museo di San Marco next door (check its days).
• Lunch: the Mercato Centrale in San Lorenzo.
• Early afternoon: the Medici Chapels behind San Lorenzo.
• Late afternoon: the Bargello, then Santa Croce (tombs, Giotto frescoes, Pazzi Chapel).
• Evening: gelato at Vivoli and dinner in Santa Croce or Sant'Ambrogio.

Day 3: the Oltrarno

• Morning: Palazzo Pitti (pick one or two sections) and the Boboli Gardens before the midday heat.
• Lunch: around Santo Spirito.
• Afternoon: workshops in the streets off Via Maggio, Santo Spirito church, the Brancacci Chapel (booked), and San Frediano.
• Evening: walk east along the river to San Niccolò, up to Piazzale Michelangelo and San Miniato al Monte for sunset, then a last dinner in the Oltrarno.

A fourth day?

Take a train or bus to Siena, Pisa and Lucca, or join a small-group trip to Chianti. See our day trips guide. Or stay and go up to Fiesole for half a day.

Pace

This plan has one major museum a day plus one smaller sight. That is plenty. Florence rewards slow afternoons: an hour on the steps of Santo Spirito or a long lunch is not time wasted.

Prefer to build your own? The itinerary planner groups the stops you choose by area automatically.