A Florence Itinerary for Two or Three Days

Two days in Florence fit its three timed bookings, the Accademia for Michelangelo’s David, the Uffizi and Brunelleschi’s dome, around the free centre; a third day crosses the river to the Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens, or leaves the city for Siena, San Gimignano and Pisa. No official body says how many days Florence needs, so this plan is built from the 2026 opening hours, the ticket rules and the visit times that the museums and the tour listings publish. Each day has one bookable piece, on its own page. Keep the museum days off Mondays, when the Uffizi, the Accademia and the Pitti Palace are closed.

Two ticket rules set the order. The Brunelleschi Pass (€30 in 2026) runs for three calendar days from the day of your dome slot, with one entry to each monument, so put the dome on Day 1 and leave the bell tower, the Baptistery, the Opera del Duomo Museum and Santa Reparata for later. And the Firenze Card (€85 for 72 hours from the first museum) still needs reservations at the Uffizi, the Accademia and Palazzo Vecchio and covers no Duomo monument; the Firenze Card guide does the sums. Two cheaper passes suit a short stay: the Accademia’s 48-hour ticket with the Bargello, €26 plus a €4 booking fee, and the Uffizi’s five-day PassePartout, €40 for one entry each to the Uffizi, the Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens, starting at the Uffizi.

Day 1: the David and the Duomo

Start at the Accademia when it opens at 8:15 am, Tuesday to Sunday. Entry is €20 plus a €4 booking fee in 2026, B-Ticket is the museum’s only official online channel, and a timed, named reservation is the normal way in. The David and Accademia page has the timed entries and the guided visits.

Late morning is for the centre on foot: Piazza del Duomo, Piazza della Repubblica, Piazza della Signoria and Ponte Vecchio. The walking tours page compares the guided walks, and the free walking tour guide explains the tip-based ones. The Cathedral is free from Monday to Saturday, 10:15 am to 3:45 pm, with shoulders and knees covered and no hats.

Book the dome for the afternoon. The climb is 463 steps with no lift and takes about 45 minutes, the slot is named and cannot be changed or refunded, and weekday slots run until 6:45 pm. The Duomo page compares the pass and the guided climbs, sold by operators on the Opera’s 2026 list of authorised resellers.

End with food. The food tours page features a 2.5-hour street-food walk with wine that meets under the obelisk in Piazza dell’Unità Italiana (from $47, rated 4.8 from 1,943 reviews; tips and extra drinks are not included), and the cooking classes page a class in which you make three kinds of fresh pasta, with Tuscan wine included (from $20, rated 4.8 from 16,376 reviews).

Day 2: the Uffizi and the river

Book the Uffizi for the morning: €29 in advance or €25 on the day, named and checked against an ID, Tuesday to Sunday from 8:15 am. The Uffizi page features a 1.5-hour small-group tour with the ticket and headsets (from $74, rated 4.7 from 2,951 reviews). Outside, the Loggia dei Lanzi has needed a free ticket, collected on site, since 23 January 2026. Palazzo Vecchio costs €18, or €20 for the Arnolfo Tower’s 223 steps, and closes at 2 pm on Thursdays. The Duomo pass’s second day covers Giotto’s bell tower, 414 steps up, and the Baptistery, whose vault mosaics are hidden by restoration.

In the afternoon, see Santa Croce (€10), which holds the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli. It takes about 50 minutes by its own reckoning, shoulders and legs must be covered, and free disposable kimonos are available. Then cross Ponte Vecchio and climb to Piazzale Michelangelo for the evening. The bike tours page features a two-hour guided e-bike ride that stops there (from $33, rated 4.4 from 1,564 reviews); it is not for riders under 150 cm or pregnant women, and in bad weather it becomes a walking tour. The golf cart page explains which permitted carts still drive up under the city’s rule in force since 15 October 2025, and the Piazzale Michelangelo guide covers the walk and San Miniato al Monte above it.

Day 3 in the city: the Oltrarno

Palazzo Pitti costs €16 on the day or €19 in advance (Tuesday to Sunday, 8:15 am to 6:30 pm), the Boboli Gardens €10 or €13, and the two together €22 or €25. Boboli opens every day except the first and last Monday of each month; in October it closes at 6:30 pm, or 5:30 pm once the clocks go back, with last entry an hour before. The Treasury of the Grand Dukes inside the palace has been closed since 3 February 2026. FLORENCEPASS runs a guided visit of the Palatine Gallery and the gardens with timed tickets, meeting at the palace’s main entrance, Piazza Pitti 1 (from $110, rated 4.8 from 656 reviews), and the Boboli Gardens guide has the paths.

The Vasari Corridor joins the two banks. You enter at the Uffizi, cross above Ponte Vecchio and leave at the Pitti, one way, in about 45 minutes, in groups of 25 accompanied, but not guided, by two museum staff. There is no daytime ticket without the Uffizi: €43 on the day or €47 in advance with the gallery, or a €20 supplement on an Uffizi ticket, and the Pitti and Boboli are not included. The Vasari Corridor guide explains the booking. Back on the north bank, the Medici Chapels (€11) and the Bargello (€12) are both closed on Mondays.

Day 3 out of the city: Siena, San Gimignano and Pisa

A coach tour reaches three towns in a day, including San Gimignano, which has no railway station. The calendar below is the featured tour on the day trips page: Walkabout Tours’ “From Florence: Siena, San Gimignano, Pisa & Lunch at Winery”, from $152 as of October 2026 and rated 4.9 from 5,342 reviews. It includes a guided walk in Siena with entry to its Cathedral (if a service closes it, the tour visits the Palazzo delle Papesse instead) and free time in all three towns, plus, with the lunch option, a farmhouse lunch and a tasting of four wines at a winery in Chianti. A ticket to climb the Leaning Tower is an option, not standard. There are two starting points, and the listing’s description names the front of Santa Maria Novella station. The tour is back around 8:30 pm, and the listing suggests booking any train out of Florence after 9 pm. Vegetarian meals are available but gluten-free ones are not, the tour is not suitable for people with mobility impairments, and cancellation is free up to 24 hours before.

Other days out on the same page: My Tour in Italy’s 12-hour Pisa, Siena and San Gimignano day, with options from transport only up to lunch and a guided Siena (from $55, rated 4.6 from 11,857 reviews); Ciaoflorence Tours & Travel’s half day at two Chianti wineries, with three to four wines at each, from the Piazzale Montelungo bus stop near the station (from $56, rated 4.5 from 11,741 reviews); and Walkabout Tours’ Cinque Terre day, two hours by bus to La Spezia and then by train between the villages, not for children under 8 (from $62, rated 4.9 from 6,221 reviews).

By train, without a tour: from Santa Maria Novella, fast regional trains reach Pisa Centrale in 51 to 66 minutes, direct regional trains reach Lucca in 71 to 106 minutes and Siena in 87 to 98, and direct trains to La Spezia, for the Cinque Terre, take 147 to 171 minutes. San Gimignano needs a regional train to Poggibonsi and then a bus, €2.90, up to the old town.

Questions people ask

Is 2 days enough for Florence?

For the centre and the three timed bookings, yes: Days 1 and 2 above fit them with the free sights in between. Two days do not leave room for the Pitti Palace, the Boboli Gardens and the Vasari Corridor as well, or for a day out.

What should I include in a 2-day itinerary for Florence?

The Accademia, the Uffizi and the dome, each at a booked time; the Cathedral on a weekday; Piazza della Signoria, Ponte Vecchio and Santa Croce; and Piazzale Michelangelo at the end of a day. Book the dome first, since its pass then covers the other Duomo monuments for the next two days.

How many days do I need in Florence, and is three too many?

No official body says. Two cover the essentials above, and Florence in one day shows what a single day can hold. Three are not too many if the third has a plan: the Oltrarno’s palace, gardens and corridor, or a day out.

Which is better to visit, Florence or Tuscany?

It is not a choice: Florence is in Tuscany, and the day trips start from it. No official body ranks Tuscany’s towns or names a prettiest village. The tours listed here go to Siena, San Gimignano, Pisa, the Chianti wineries and the Cinque Terre.

Is there a direct train from Florence to Tuscany?

Florence is itself in Tuscany. Direct regional trains run from Santa Maria Novella to Pisa, Lucca and Siena (times above); San Gimignano needs the train to Poggibonsi and a bus, and Greve in Chianti is on Autolinee Toscane’s bus line 365.

How far is the Cinque Terre from Florence?

La Spezia, the gateway town, is 121 km from Florence by Trainline’s measure. Direct trains take 147 to 171 minutes, and Trainline’s fastest itinerary takes 1 hour 57 minutes. The Cinque Terre day above goes by bus, about two hours to La Spezia by its listing.

Can I take a day trip from Florence to a winery?

Yes. The Chianti wineries tour above is a half day at two wineries, and the Siena, San Gimignano and Pisa day includes a winery lunch with four wines if you choose that option. Walkabout Tours’ Vespa ride through the hills stops for prosciutto, cheese and a glass of Chianti; drivers need a valid licence and must be 18 or over (from $169, rated 4.8 from 825 reviews).

What’s the best month to visit Florence?

It depends on what you want from the trip. In the regional tourism observatory’s counts of nights spent in the Florence area’s accommodation, short lets excluded, January and February were the quietest months in both 2024 and 2025; the busiest was July in 2024 and May in 2025. August is the hottest month, with an average high of 32.5 °C, and November the wettest. The best time to visit Florence goes month by month.