Top Free Walking Tours of Florence you won’t want to miss
Once you decide to visit a city with such a tourist vocation as Florence for the first time, you usually include in your itinerary the most top-rated tourist attractions, those that made it famous all over the world.
And that’s exactly how it should be.
Before going into the details of the places to visit, however, we recommend you to participate in Free Walking Tours, activities that we always consider precious and interesting.
We often attend them too, especially when we do not have much time available to devote to visits and their organization.
These walks aim to provide a whole range of useful information through which learn the history, culture and curiosities of the city or a specific area of it.
Historic center panorama (© Massimiliano Morosinotto)
During the tours you will be accompanied by specialized local guides, who in our opinion represent the real added value of the experience.
Thanks to their experience you might discover hidden corners that the average tourist would not be able to grasp alone: a courtyard of a palace, a cloister, the architectural detail of a building, the symbolism of a painting, etc.
Free Tours are, as we said, free activities. If at the end of the walks you will be satisfied by the service received, we advise you anyway to leave a small tip to the guide, to gratify his commitment.
The rate will be decided by you, on the spot. There are no constraints at all.
Since these high-demanded activities are limited in number, if for any reason you will be unable to attend them, we suggest you to cancel your reservation through the email link you will recieve, in order to give other tourists the possibility to participate.
1 – Free Walking Tour of Florence
The Free Walking Tour of Florence will let you discover a large portion of the places of greatest interest in the historic center of the city.
The meeting point is located in Piazza dell’Unità Italiana, a few tens of meters far from the famous Basilica of Santa Maria Novella.
Walking through the narrow streets of the old town, paved with the characteristic rectangular stone slabs, you will reach the Medici Chapels.
This is the ideal place to start diving yourself in the history of the most famous Florentine family, which played a leading role in Italian and European history between the XV and XVIII centuries.
The tour continues along the mighty walls of the Basilica of San Lorenzo.
Did you know that for three hundred years it was the official Florence Cathedral? And, more incredibly, that at the time it has been consecrated it stood outside the city walls?
Continuing the walk for a few hundred meters you will reach one of the most famous places of the city, Piazza del Duomo.
In our opinion it is one of the most breathtaking glances in the world.
Giotto’s Bell Tower (© Giusi Borrasi)
Onto its wide open space face the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, surmounted by brunelleschi’s famous dome, Giotto’s Bell Tower and the Baptistery of San Giovanni.
The most iconic places in Florence follow each other very closely here. After a short walk you arrive in Piazza della Signoria, dominated by the unmistakable façade of Palazzo Vecchio.
Flanking the elegant building that houses the Uffizi Gallery (by the way, you can book a guided tour by clicking on the link), you will reach an amazing natural balcony overlooking the Arno river.
On the right Ponte Vecchio, one of the most captured symbols of Florence.
Back to the historic center, after about two and a half hours the tour ends in the beautiful Piazza di Santa Croce, home of the historical re-enactment of Calcio Fiorentino.
When we come to Florence on summer, we always sit on the steps of the homonymous Basilica to admire the view and enjoy a scoop of ice cream.
Depending on your availability you have 3 time slots to choose from.
2 – Florence Mysteries & Legends Free Tour
If the previous free tour represented the classical way to discover the most important places that the capital of Tuscany offers, this one instead is focused more on its darker side.
It is no coincidence that this experience begins in Piazza San Marco at 7pm, when the sun, depending on the season, is setting down or it has already set.
The Florence Mysteries & Legends Free Tour is pure enchantment, just browse the web and social media to admire some of the most evocative night shots of the city.
From the meeting point, close to the University of Florence main building, you will start walking through the historic center until you will reach Piazza della Santissima Annunziata and later Piazza del Duomo.
The Ponte Vecchio (© Giuseppe Mondì)
Here you will be told about all the history of Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral, from the early times until recent days (you can arrange a guided tour by clicking on the link).
Then you will start a journey through a series of narrow streets in the hearth of the old town, where you will be told about the Florence Monster and the eights double murders he committed btween 1968 and 1985.
The last stop of this tour will be Piazza della Signoria. Near the wonderful Palazzo Vecchio you will learn new disturbing facts and mysteries about this unique city.
Finally, at 8:30 pm the tour ends nearby Ponte Vecchio.
You only have one time slot available.
3 – Medieval Florence Free Tour
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We personally recommend this tour to anyone in love with the Middle Age history.
In fact, this experience is specifically thought to fully immerse yourself into the city’s medieval past, allowing you to discover its unknown and almost forgotten side.
It’s not a joke: the Medieval Florence Free Tour will let you discover how the life of the inhabitants was during those hard times, their customs, beliefs and traditions.
The meeting point is in Piazza Santa Maria Novella. After learning the history of the nearby Basilica, you will walk through the narrow streets of the historic center.
The alleys overlook religious buildings and noble palaces, such as Antinori, Bartolini Salimbeni, Spini Feroni and Strozzi, which are interspersed with showcases of the most famous clothing brands in the world.
You will be guided to discover the most fierce rivalries among the wealthy families of the time and how this left some trace in the nowadays Florence architecture.
After 2 hours of sightseeing, the tour will end in Piazza Santa Croce.
You only have one time slot available.
Photo credits, downloaded from Unsplash:
- Heidi Kaden, the cover photo;
- Giuseppe Mondì, photo of the Ponte Vecchio;
- Giusi Borrasi, photo of Giotto’s Bell Tower;
- Massimiliano Morosinotto, panoramic photo of the city
