We will discover the main sites of the city through characteristic and interesting roads and alleys replete with details that you will certainly find amazing.
Duration: 3 hrs
Sites visited: Duomo, Baptistry & Bell Tower (from the outside), Piazza della Repubblica, Piazza della Signoria, Palazzo Vecchio, Ponte Vecchio, Vasari Corridor, Orsanmichele, Medieval and Renaissance palaces and other smaller churches*
Price: for 1-4pax: €225
Additional price for headsets from 5-10 pax: €30
Since there is no priority entry to the Duomo, we do not enter the cathedral on this tour unless we see that lines are short. We may, however, visit minor churches that require a dress code. Please dress appropriately with covered shoulders and knees.
Through the Backdoor
Florence is an open-air living museum. Still today a city of workshops, markets, little alleyways that lead to architectural and cultural marvels. In this amazing town, extraordinary personalities have crossed paths. We find here an intricate play of wealth and power, genius, and invention.
We will see buildings from the 11th – 12th century, Renaissance palaces, statues and frescoes whilst lso visiting Piazza Signoria, the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio and other smaller churches of Florence.
Explore the city and allow it to unveil its complex layers as you observe peculiar aspects of medieval Florence. Admire the restrained grandeur of Renaissance palaces and the art commissioned by the Medici and their associates, or their rivals. Look at chisel marks and interesting details created by gifted artists and artisans. Feel daily life and contemporary society.
But a visit to Florence is never always the same. We might want to go to the market or on some days, see something else happening in the city…hear drums in the distance, chance upon a historical parade, be in the midst of an event, …. Who knows?! We may all be pleasantly surprised!
Florence was established in the 1st Century BC as an encampment for war veterans. Lying on the banks of the River Arno, the city is connected to Pisa and the Mediterranean sea. By the 4th century, the Roman city grows demographically and economically. It will have a colosseum and an amphitheatre. In the 5th century, with the Fall of the Roman Empire, the city contracts on itself, surviving into the 9th century and the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 10th century, commerce begins to flourish again and in the 13th century, people converge to Florence in search of work and trade. By the 14th century, the city has grown into a major manufacturing and banking centre.
Great energies and money will be spent on civic and private buildings, institutions and the Church. The city will be run by an oligarchy of wealthy merchants and bankers who through political and artistic patronage, finance the Renaissance. The Medici, emerging as the most powerful of these families, will control the city from behind-the-scenes throughout the 15th century. From the 1500s-1700s, they will be rulers of Florence and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. The family will die off in the mid-1700s leaving an immense legacy of art & science, knowledge & philosophy, land, palaces and villas to the City of Florence and humanity. info@florencecitytour.com