Florence Bike Tours: The Centre on Two Wheels and the Climb to the View

The Comune’s pedestrian-area rules, updated in April 2025, let bicycles into Piazza della Signoria, Piazza della Repubblica, Piazza Santissima Annunziata, Piazza del Duomo and the Piazzale degli Uffizi. In the strictest pedestrian areas a bike may only be pushed by hand, and the whole of Ponte Vecchio is one of them, so on the bridge every rider gets off and walks. Nowhere may a bike be locked to the barriers around a monument. Across the river, the climb to Piazzale Michelangelo is the one that three of the six tours here make, and the tour on this page makes it on an e-bike.

Bikes and the 2025 vehicle rule

The rule that took golf carts out of the historic centre in October 2025 names golf carts, caddies and pedal vehicles that carry three or more people, such as rickshaws. It does not name ordinary bikes or e-bikes, and we found no official statement either way on whether guided bike tours fall under it. The tours on this page ride their published routes through the centre.

The e-bike tour to Piazzale Michelangelo

The tour on this page is My Green Tour srl’s guided e-bike tour, from $33 as of October 2026 and rated 4.4 from 1,564 reviews. It takes two hours. Along the way its listing names the Medici Palace, Santa Maria Novella, Pitti Palace and the basilicas of Santo Spirito, Santa Croce and San Lorenzo, before the climb to Piazzale Michelangelo, which the city’s tourism site calls “the panoramic point par excellence over the city”. You choose one of two starting points when you book, and the ride ends at one of five drop-off points. The e-bike, the guide and a free luggage deposit are included, and helmets are optional. Guides work in English, French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, and cancellation is free up to 24 hours before.

No entry tickets are included. The listing rules out riders under 150 cm, pregnant women, people with mobility impairments and anyone over 95, and in bad weather the ride turns into a walking tour.

If you want the centre and the view from the Piazzale in one ride, with a motor to help on the hill, this is the tour to book.

See dates for the e-bike tour →

The climb, and the other ways up

We found no official distance or step count for the climb from the river to Piazzale Michelangelo, so none is given here. The e-bikes on these tours are pedal-assist: the motor helps only while you pedal, as CAF’s listing explains, and they are not scooters. On foot, the Comune describes the Rampe del Poggi, a network of paths, basins and cascades rising from Porta San Niccolò to the Piazzale. By bus, San Miniato al Monte’s own directions give line 12 from Santa Maria Novella station, on a €2.00 ticket valid for 90 minutes. The basilica of San Miniato, near the Piazzale, is free to enter with no booking, except during services.

When to ride

Florence’s summers are hot: the average high at the airport weather station is 32.2 °C in July and 32.5 °C in August (1991-2020 normals). July is also the driest month, with 26 mm of rain on average, and November the wettest, with 118 mm. Rain policies differ by operator. My Green Tour’s rides turn into walking tours in bad weather, Fat Tire’s runs rain or shine with ponchos to hand, and CAF includes a rain vest. CAF’s night tour is seasonal: when we checked on 7 October 2026, its next date was 3 May 2027.

Ages, heights and who should walk instead

Each operator sets its own limits. My Green Tour’s rides need riders of at least 150 cm, and its classic city ride is not for children under 12. CAF’s e-bike tours also start at 150 cm for riders, but carry children aged 3 to 8 on a rear seat, up to 22 kg. Fat Tire asks that every rider can handle a bike alone and that under-18s ride with an adult, and it welcomes younger riders who are used to riding in a group, on mixed surfaces and on roads shared with traffic. Enjoy Biking’s listing, like My Green Tour’s, rules out people with mobility impairments.

Anyone unsteady on a bike, or who has come for the Uffizi and the Accademia, will do better on a walking tour. For the view without pedalling, a golf cart tour stops at Piazzale Michelangelo, one of the two stops the city’s 2025 rule allows. The Piazzale Michelangelo guide covers every way up.

Five more bike tours

My Green Tour’s 2-hour city ride (from $30, 4.4 from 1,080 reviews) is the same operator on a classic bike. Its itinerary takes in San Lorenzo, Santa Maria Novella, the Cathedral, Piazza della Repubblica, Ponte Santa Trinita and Piazza Pitti, from one of two starting points. Transport to the start, food and drinks are extra.

FLORENCE TOURS - ENJOY BIKING’s 2-hour ride (from $39, 4.7 from 667) starts and ends at the operator’s shop at Via Cavour 21R and includes a helmet and headsets. Its twelve stops run from Palazzo Medici Riccardi and the Duomo across the river to Santo Spirito and Pitti, then past Ponte Vecchio, where bikes are pushed, to Ponte alle Grazie, Santa Croce, the Signoria and the house of Dante. Entrance tickets, food, drinks and tips are not included.

Fat Tire Tours - Italy’s highlights ride (from $45, 4.7 from 267) is the long one, at three hours, with an e-bike upgrade available. It goes from the Duomo and Santa Croce over to San Niccolò, then back through the Uffizi’s square, the Signoria and Via de’ Tornabuoni to Santa Maria Novella. The start depends on the option you choose, and tips are extra.

CAF Tour & Travel - Gray Line Florence runs two e-bike tours, both with a helmet, a rain vest and a rear seat for small children. The ride with gelato (from $66, 4.7 from 85) goes up to Piazzale Michelangelo and on into the hills at San Miniato, Pian dei Giullari and Arcetri, in the morning or the afternoon, with a stop for gelato and an optional three-course Tuscan lunch; its start depends on the option. The night tour (from $66, 4.9 from 111) meets in front of the Trattoria da Benvenuto on Via de’ Neri, at the corner with Via della Mosca, 15 minutes before the start. It rides up to Piazzale Michelangelo after dark and comes back past the Duomo, Santa Croce and the Signoria, and its riders must be at least 5 feet tall.