MEET THE BEST GUIDES IN
FLORENCE
Meet The Best Private Tour Guides in Florence
All of our guides have a slightly different look at the world. Have a read through some profiles to get a sense for who they are!
PLANNING
Florence is small, dense, and also one of the most-visited places in Europe, which means that how you plan your time here can radically change what kind of experience you have.
When:
The crowds between March and October can be intense, especially midday in the narrow lanes near the cathedral and Ponte Vecchio.
If your schedule is flexible, consider early spring (March or early April) or late autumn (late October into November), when the light softens and the city feels more itself. Even in high season, however, careful timing helps. Early morning walks, late afternoon museum entries, and reservations at off-hour meal times can help you reclaim a sense of calm.
Where:
Where you stay also matters. If this is your first visit, it’s often worth being in the historic center or just across the river in the Oltrarno.
The historic centre gives you access to the major sights on foot: the Duomo, Uffizi, Palazzo Vecchio, Accademia, and Santa Croce.
Oltrarno offers a slightly more relaxed, lived-in atmosphere with excellent access to artisan workshops, smaller trattorie, and local cafés.
Borgo Santo Spirito, Piazza della Passera, and the area around San Niccolò offer particularly rewarding bases for those looking to feel part of the city rather than just observe it.
How:
We strongly recommend starting with a guide: Ours can orient you not just geographically, but intellectually.
And don’t underestimate Florence’s after-hours pleasures. Once the tour groups fade, this becomes a twilight city of echoing courtyards, shadowed churches, and glowing wine bars.
MUSEUM & SITEBOOKING
A basic first-time itinerary for Florence should include at least three days, with time built in not just for museums, but for markets, churches, gardens, and walks through the Oltrarno.
Worry less about ticking off everything, and more about leaving space to absorb the experience of being here.
If it’s your first time, aim to see both Michelangelo’s David at the Accademia and the Botticelli rooms at the Uffizi, but try not to book them on the same day.
We always recommend limiting your huge indoor art history experiences to ideally one per day, so do take the itinerary suggestion to heart. This maximises your memory-making capacity. If you can’t, certainly, you’ll survive.
The Accademia | David
The Accademia Gallery should always be booked in advance unless you’re visiting in the quietest weeks of winter. Entry lines can be extreme.
Booking directly with the museum is usually best: Accademia Tickets
The Uffizi | Botticelli
The Uffizi Gallery is also best reserved in advance. Entry is timed, and we strongly suggest starting early or mid-afternoon after lunch.
As with the Accademia, you’ll find the official booking portal here: Uffizi Tickets.
The Duomo
For those interested in the Duomo complex, know that different tickets cover different elements: the cathedral itself is free, but access to Brunelleschi’s dome, Giotto’s bell tower, the baptistery, and the museum require tickets and sometimes timed entry.
Use the official site here: Duomo Tickets
If you have time, consider also booking:
Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens, across the river. Both are best in spring or autumn.
The Bargello Museum, home to Donatello’s David and early Renaissance sculpture. Quieter, and ideal as a mid-morning contrast to painting-heavy visits.
Florence’s churches (Santa Croce, Santa Maria Novella, San Miniato al Monte) are generally less booked in advance, but some, like the Medici Chapels, may require timed entry in high season. For these, check availability closer to your visit, or let your guide assist.
If you'd prefer someone to handle all reservations for you, many of our guides can help, though it is always up to the individual. Just ask!
All can certainly build you a timeline that fits your pace and interests, and they may even unlock a few unexpected extras.
ITINERARY SUGGESTIONS
David & Old Town
DAY I
This day will give you a walk through the historic centre and a visit to see David.
It’s essential to have tickets pre-booked, as they tend to sell out quickly due to the limited capacity that the Accademia Gallery has for visitors.
Have a relaxing lunch, and in the afternoon make your way over to visit Brunelleschi’s spectacular Duomo. We think it's worth having climbed the crazy 463 steps to the top at least once in your life for the view over Florence alone.
If you fancy, it’s honestly worth climbing the bell tower as well, to get a view of the Duomo from up top.
It's lots of steps, but if you’re going to climb a tower in Europe, this is high in the running for the best of them.
This evening is ideal for having a lovely rustic dinner and relaxing after quite a bit of walking one way, and very probably quite a few stairs...
Uffizi & Oltrarno
DAY II
The premier collection of Botticelli paintings in the world, the Uffizi needs little introduction.
There is a strong argument for visiting the Uffizi at its emptiest, first thing in the morning when it opens at 08:15, although the author of this guide has never managed that. This is due to the quality of the wine in Florence, which tends to beget unusual quantities of it.
While you could easily spend a day in the Uffizi, our guides can help you have a wonderful experience in 2-3 hours which will fill your heart with wonder.
This has two immediate benefits: Firstly, that you get a lovely, focussed overview of the museum’s most important treasures, and secondly, that you will likely have plenty of mental energy left over for a visit to the nearby Palazzo Vecchio.
Go for a spectacular lunch behind the Uffizi, and then for the afternoon, walk across the river and stroll through the shops and architecture of the Oltrarno district.
Palaces & Perfumes
DAY III
This is a perfect day to visit the Palazzo Pitti Complex, stroll the beautiful gardens, and take in the galleries of the Pitti Palace, including the Medici art collection, the fashion museum (in and of itself a wonderfully architectural experience) and the royal apartments of the Medici family, the Habsburgs, and finally the House of Savoy.
After lunch, visit the world’s oldest pharmacy replete with its gorgeous rooms, gothic, and early renaissance frescoes, Santa Maria Novella.
One of the author's favourite parts is the tornabuoni chapel, with frescoes by Domenico Ghirlandaio, under whom a young Michaelangelo apprecenticed.
As the pharmacy is above all else, one of the world’s greatest perfume houses, it bears mentioning that for those who find fragrances bothersome, it’s worth giving this a try, as the entire collection is made with high-quality, natural ingredients, and you may find that you have a different experience than you might be used to with inferior products.
You might want to stay longer, and here’s why we think you should:
DAY IV PLUS
While the Uffizi and the Duomo draw the crowds, the city reveals its true character in its quieter corners and slower rhythms. Really. Like in so many places which are too-often overrun, it's actually not as hard as you think to find some lovely little bits well-worth the effort where nobody who doesn't live there really goes.
And there are day trips as well:
Fiesole
Perched in the hills just above Florence, offers sweeping views and a much older story: Etruscan ruins, Roman baths, and the kind of calm that invites reflection. Take a late afternoon walk along the Via Vecchia Fiesolana and watch the sun set over the Arno valley.
The Chianti Countryside
Full of cypress-lined roads and hilltop estates, is just close enough for a half-day but rich enough for a full one. Private wine tastings and long vineyard lunches become especially memorable when arranged with someone who knows the right doors to knock on.
Lucca and Siena
Both within reach by train or car, offering different sides of Tuscany. Lucca’s Renaissance walls, bicycle paths, and musical legacy (Puccini’s hometown) contrast with Siena’s medieval intensity and its radiant Campo. Either could tempt a return trip — or a night away if you have time to spare.
And within Florence itself, staying longer allows for deeper dives. Perhaps a visit to the Medici Chapels, a quiet morning in San Miniato al Monte, or time spent with an artisan in the Oltrarno, learning how Florentine leather goods or marbled paper are made.
Florence may be small in size, but give it time, and it will give you more than just memories.
And you're almost guaranteed to end up going home with some beautiful leather goods and perfume.
We don't make the rules.