The oldest city, founded by Julius Caesar, practically the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance and the capital of Tuscany, Florence managed to preserve its entire centuries-old history and rich culture, while remaining an eternally young and cheerful city, and not a frozen monument of the past. You can feel the atmosphere of the city and its harmony by choosing individual excursions in Florence with a Russian guide.
Classic sightseeing tour
In this short time, you will have time to see all the main attractions of the city, as well as learn how to easily navigate here. Meeting with the guide and the beginning of the route - Duomo Square. All guides live in Florence. They know and love their city very well. Not boring, familiar stories await you about who and when built these temples and palaces, whose money and whose masterpieces are kept in them. You will hear only the most interesting facts about the owners of these buildings and about the architects and painters who lived here.
You will visit the Cathedral of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, in the Piazza Senoria square, you will see the Orcagni Loggia, from the outside you will admire the Uffizi Gallery, Ponte Vecchio, make a wish at Porcellino. The guides will advise you on the best restaurants, cafes and shops, as well as help you develop new walking routes around the city.
Florence - all the essentials in 2 hours
Walking sightseeing tour, without visiting museums, galleries and churches. Meeting with the guide - at Piazza Santa Maria Novella, in the very center of the city. You will see the main cathedral of Florence - Santa Maria del Fiore, or Duomo. On the Piazza del Duomo, you can admire the bell tower of Giotto and the Baptistery. Then you will reach Piazza della Signoria, where the architectural and historical masterpieces of Florence are concentrated: the Uffizi Gallery (without visiting the museum itself) and Palazzo Vecchio, which for many centuries served as the administrative center of the city.
Walk along the Golden Bridge - Ponte Vecchio and learn about its history. And ahead - the creation of the great architects - Brunelleschi, Donatello and Michelangelo - the Basilica of San Lorenzo, which served as the family temple and the tomb of the Medici house. The Medici Palace, the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, the Piazza della Republica and the United Italy - you will see all the most unforgettable, and along the way you will learn about those objects that are not included in the route, but are perfectly visible from the banks of the Arno - the old city walls, Piazza Michelangelo, iris and rose gardens, etc.
Timed admission ticket for Michelangelo's David - 16 €
Admission ticket to the Uffizi Gallery - 20 €
Uffizi Gallery: Priority Entrance € 40
Florence Cathedral: ticket with entry to the dome - 29 €
Entrance ticket and audio guide to Palazzo Vecchio - 19 €
Hop-on Hop-off tour. Ticket for 24, 48 or 72 hours - from 23 €
Leonardo da Vinci Museum: entrance ticket - 7 €
Tour to the Duomo with a guide and ascent to the top of the dome - 40 €
Entrance ticket to the Basilica of San Lorenzo - 8.50 €
Hot air balloon flight over Tuscany: Florence - 250 €
Florence legends and traditions
The city, which became the center of the Italian Renaissance, and after centuries continues to inspire and delight everyone who, at least for a short time, could be here. Outstanding masters of the Italian Renaissance not only worked here, but also considered Florence their home. Michelangelo, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Brunelleschi took part in the construction of palaces and temples, painted the walls of churches. To better understand and feel the spirit of this magical city, go on an excursion with a Russian guide. In two hours, you will not only see the pearls of Florence, but also learn the many inspired stories associated with these places.
Real Florence "for insiders"
Florence is a very ancient city, and for many it is perceived simply as a museum. But how do the inhabitants of the city live here, are they not bored among the museum exhibits? This excursion will help you to plunge into the everyday life of ordinary Florentines. Its route is designed in such a way that you will not only see the main sights, but also feel like an ordinary resident of the city.
You will find out where Italians buy food, which cafes and restaurants they go to and why they drink coffee right at the bar; taste the most delicious street food and the best ice cream in town; see real street art and shops with original frescoes; will visit the front door of a medieval house, whose ceilings are higher than 5 m. In addition, you will learn a lot of practical information: where and how best to park, how much does life in the city cost, where it is best to buy the freshest and most delicious products.
Florence gourmet
Florence is the capital of Tuscany, which means that here you can not only admire the masterpieces of medieval art. The oldest architectural structures, but also to enjoy the most exquisite Italian cuisine. And local cheeses and wine are masterpieces in themselves! The route is built around the most interesting cafes, markets and restaurants in Florence. Your journey to gastronomic Florence begins with the main coffee market in an old coffee house. Then, walking along the medieval streets, you will find out where the Florentines bought food in the old days, how they baked bread and why they have it unleavened.
Your guide will show you the places to sample some of the city's finest street food. Later, you will definitely learn how to distinguish real wine from fake wine, which is considered a saint in Florence. Then have a glass of Chianti with cheese, salami and prosciutto. Your gastronomic journey will end with a real Italian ice cream in the best gelateria in Florence. Lunch and tastings are not included in the tour price. Costs will average 35-40 euros per person.
Non-touristy Florence
If you want to learn how to independently understand the intricate labyrinths of the streets of a medieval city, see the life of Florence through the eyes of ordinary citizens, feel the real spirit of the city, and not just its museum-postcard side, then go along the most unusual routes of "non-tourist" Florence.
You will find out when the Florentines get up in the morning, where the best market in the city is located, how and where the townspeople park their cars and where they buy food; in which cafes and restaurants they make appointments with friends, where to dine and what to remember when visiting local restaurants. See fountains with drinking soda and unique places known only to the locals. The exclusivity of this route lies in the fact that all the guides who will accompany you are local residents who know and love their city well.
Medici and Renaissance
Representatives of this wealthy family were not only wise rulers of the city, but also true connoisseurs of art and true patrons of the arts. Love for their hometown and art made them patronize poets, painters and architects. That is why the best masters of the Renaissance era lived and worked in the city. Until the very end of their reign, the Medici remain faithful to their principles - the last representative of the family, Anna-Maria-Luisa Medici, bequeathed all the family's property and the richest collection of works of art to the city, thereby initiating the formation of the Uffizi Gallery.
Your guide will take you along a route that all features links to the history of this illustrious home. You will see the Medici Palace, the chapel, the Basilica of San Lorenzo, which served not only as a house church, but also as the tomb of the family; you will learn about the most prominent representatives of this family, their activities for the benefit of their hometown.
Group excursion to the Pitti Palace
One of the three Medici residences, the most grandiose palace in Florence in the 16th century, was bought by Eleanor of Toledo, the wife of Duke Cosimo I of Medici. It houses the richest collection of fine art objects, jewelry, authentic furniture and textiles of the time. The walls and ceilings of the palace are decorated with frescoes and paintings by the greatest masters of that time. The Palatine Gallery exhibits works by Titian, Michelangelo, van Eyck, Raphael, Botticelli, Tintoretto and other representatives of the Renaissance and Baroque era.
The Silver Museum contains jewelery from the Medici family, while the Royal Apartments showcase the original furnishings of that time. The tour starts at the castle entrance on Tuesdays and Fridays at 10 am. The guide will help you plan a route and not get lost in all the variety of cultural values around. The entrance ticket must be purchased by yourself.
To the Uffizi Gallery with an art historian
The Uffizi Gallery is perhaps the most famous art museum in Italy. Here are collected masterpieces of Raphael, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, a large collection of paintings by Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci and other masters of not only Italian, but also world painting. Already during the construction of the palace by order of the Medici, Giorgio Vasari provided for the construction of long galleries, which paintings would look the most advantageous. All the greatest creations that were kept in all the homes of the Medici family were collected here.
It will be quite difficult to sort out all the halls on your own and see the most interesting things. An experienced guide will lead you through the halls, show you the most important masterpieces of the Medici collection. You will be able to trace the history of the development of fine arts from the Byzantine period and the early Middle Ages, you will clearly see how the epochs changed, and with them styles, how the skill of artists grew and changed. You need to buy a ticket to enter the museum yourself.
Sightseeing tour of Florence
An ideal route for those who are visiting Florence for the first time. In two hours you will see its most important cultural and historical sites, understand the intricate labyrinths of the medieval city and understand what you want to consider in more detail in the future. You will start your journey from Piazza Duomo, from the city's main cathedral, see the Baptistery, Dante's house, Piazza della Signoria and the grandiose Palazzo Vecchio, the Uffizi Gallery and the Pitti Palace.
Be sure to make a wish by the Porcellino fountain on the loggia of the New Market, where you can also discover the traditional products and customs of Tuscan cuisine. You will not only see unique examples of Renaissance and Baroque architecture, but you will also plunge into the turbulent life of the city, learn its history, traditions, get a lot of new practical information about the best handicrafts, varieties of Tuscan cheese and wine.
Italian cooking lessons
Everyone has heard and knows about the famous Italian cuisine. And Tuscany is a fertile land, any products in which are already masterpieces in themselves. You have a unique opportunity to learn how to cook masterpieces of Tuscan cuisine on your own, and from Italian chefs. You will learn what a Florentine steak or chicken in wine sauce is and how to cook them, get acquainted with new ways of cooking meat, vegetables and desserts.
At a master class in the company of cheerful Italians, you will prepare 4 dishes yourself, which you will choose yourself from the 7 menu options offered to you. Afterwards, a freshly prepared dinner with local wine awaits. You will take home not only impressions, but also new culinary knowledge, which you can share and surprise at home of loved ones and friends. The lesson is held in Italian or English. All food, wine and cook services are already included in the price.
Michelangelo Buonarroti - life and work
Almost the entire life of the great sculptor, architect, painter, thinker and poet Michelangelo Buonarotti is associated with Florence. He belonged to an impoverished noble Florentine family and here, under the patronage of the Medici, created his best works. In Florence, he created the main standard for the image of the human body, not only of the Renaissance, but also of other eras - David. This monumental figure and sculptural group "Slaves" are kept in the gallery of the Academy.
In the Laurenzian Library, the building of which was designed by Michelangelo, you will feel how accurately the master managed to create a calm, working environment here; you will see the sculptural groups of the Medici chapel, which was the tomb of this family and was built according to the artist's project. In the Basilica of Santa Croce, not only admire the splendor of the architectural decoration and the paintings on the walls and ceilings, but also visit the grave of Michelangelo himself. You will need to buy tickets to visit the museums and the basilica yourself.
Life, customs and passions of medieval Florence
In the Middle Ages, Florence was the center of the political and cultural life of Europe. People came here not only to solve some pressing problems, but just like now, only to see this legendary city live. The best artisans work here, craft workshops and merchant guilds are founded, the greatest masters of the Renaissance create, real political passions are boiling for the right to rule the city.
Dante, Boccaccio and Petrarca live here, and the Tuscan dialect in which their immortal creations are written forms the basis of the literary Italian language. The route of the excursion will pass by Gothic buildings, fortified houses, towers and basilicas along the narrow streets of the medieval city. You will see the Duomo, Pagliazza Tower, the Signoria Palace, Dante Alighieri's house and the church, Bargello, Santa Croce and Orsanmichele churches.
Florence - the cradle of the Renaissance
Already in the XIII century. Florentine artists begin to use new trends in their work and revive ancient subjects and motives. Later, in the 15th century, Florentine art flourished. Famous architects Donatello, Brunelleschi create here; create their poems Dante and Petrarch, the great Michelangelo, Botticelli, da Vinci work on the creation of architectural structures, wall paintings and paintings and sculptures, Raphael begins his work.
All these achievements are associated primarily with the policy of the Medici family, many of whose representatives themselves were not alien to creativity and provided patronage to people of art. You will follow in the footsteps of the creations of this unrivaled era. You will see an example of the early Renaissance - the Brancacci Chapel, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore and the Church of San Lorenzo - the works of F. Brunelleschi, the interiors of the Church of Santo Spirito, the Uffizi Gallery, the Medici Palace. The walk will take three hours.
The luxury of the Signoria and the Palazzo Vecchio
The famous Palazzo Vecchio in Piazza della Signoria, built in the 13th century, became the main residence of the Florentine rulers in 1540 when Cosimo I Medici and his wife, Eleanor Toledo, moved here. The walls of the palace are decorated with frescoes and canvases by Giorgio Vasari, a painter, architect and writer, friend of Michelangelo. In the Hall of Five Hundreds, you will see originals of works by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and other artists of this brilliant era.
Here, on the Vasari fresco, you can see on the flag of one of the warriors the famous mysterious message of the artist Cerca trova (“Seek and find”), the riddle of which was solved not so long ago: the great master, who was entrusted with the reconstruction of the hall, did not destroy da Vinci's fresco, but hid it under his own. You will visit the duke's chambers, in the secret room in which he was engaged in alchemical experiments, and you will find out where the secret passage of Gvaltieri de Brienne is.
Guided tour based on Dan Brown's book "Inferno"
Your adventure begins at the central entrance to the Boboli Gardens, from where you will walk to Porta Romana and see the mysterious sculptures at the entrance, then you will reach the pond with the image of the Ocean and climb Via Viottolone to the Fork Fountain. Ahead of you are the Pitti Palace, you will look into the Buontalenti grotto, you will find a secret door leading to the Vasari corridor. Along the Ponte Vecchio, you will cross to the other side, from where you can see the entire Vasari corridor from the outside. You will reach the Old Palace and find a secret door, through which the heroes of the book left it.
In the Palace you will be shown the alchemical laboratory of the Duke Studiolo, you will admire the creations of the Renaissance masters in the Hall of Five Hundred. Here you will try to find Vasari's inscription Cerca trova on your own, see Dante's mask and Machiavely's office. Leaving the Palace, walk through the narrow streets, in the Church of St. Margaret, leave a letter to Beatrice and go to Santa Maria del Fiore and the Baptistery.
Florence in One Day: Sightseeing Tour + Uffizi
If you do not have a lot of time, but want to see and learn as much as possible about this city, then a sightseeing tour and a visit to the Uffizi Gallery should be combined into one tour. In this case, you will get to know the city, understand what is closest to you here and what you would like to return to, and you will be able not to get lost in the endless halls of the gallery and see the true pearls of the world fine art.
The first part is devoted to the architectural appearance of the medieval city. It tells about the history of Florence, about the Medici politics, during which the city reached its highest prosperity. You will see the buildings that were built according to the designs of Brunelleschi, Vasari, Michelangelo, Donatello: Santa Maria del Fiore, the square and the Palazzo Signoria, the Baptistery, Ponte Vecchio and the New Market. Then head to the Uffizi Gallery to see the greatest creations of Botticelli, Michelangelo, Titian, Rubens, and more.
