Best of Florence walking tour:
David, the Duomo, and the Ponte Vecchio
Destination
Florence, Italy
Duration
3 hours
Tour size
Max 18
Language
English
Overview
Walk through the Renaissance, from Michelangelo's David to the Ponte Vecchio, with a guide who knows what's worth lingering over. This Florence walking tour puts you ahead of the crowds and inside the stories most visitors never hear.
- •Stand face to face with Michelangelo's David and hear why he considered it his greatest work, not the Sistine Chapel ceiling
- •Step inside Florence's Duomo with priority access and see how Brunelleschi built its dome using a technique the Romans lost for a thousand years
- •Stop at the Baptistery doors Michelangelo called the "Gates of Paradise," won in a competition that set Ghiberti against Brunelleschi
- •Cross the Ponte Vecchio and walk the piazzas, markets, and streets where the Medici held power and Michelangelo first made his name
- •Hear every story clearly on a personal headset, in a small group of no more than 18
What's included
- Skip-the-line ticket to the Accademia Gallery (Michelangelo's David)
- Skip-the-line ticket to the Florence Duomo
- Local English-speaking expert guide
- Headset
You will visit
- Accademia Gallery and Michelangelo's David
- Florence Duomo (interior)
- Baptistery doors (Gates of Paradise)
- Piazza della Signoria
- Palazzo Vecchio (exterior)
- Orsanmichele Church (exterior)
- Il Porcellino and the Leather Market
- Piazza della Repubblica
- Ponte Vecchio
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What to expect
The Accademia Gallery: David and much more
Your Florence walking tour begins with skip-the-line entry into the Accademia. The David commands the room, and after you soak in the sheer size and stories, your guide will draw your attention to six unfinished Michelangelo sculptures nearby. These figures are still half-trapped in their marble blocks, abandoned when popes died, budgets shrank, or the stone turned out wrong. It's a side of the artist most visitors never see: a man who started far more than he ever finished. Before you leave, your guide may stop you in front of the medieval paintings whose gold backgrounds worshippers once scraped off flakes of paint and ate , believing the images held real power.
The Duomo: the dome that shouldn't exist
Filippo Brunelleschi built the largest dome since the Roman Pantheon using a technique the Romans themselves had lost for over a thousand years. Your guide will tell that story inside the ground floor of Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, which you'll enter with priority access. Outside, you'll stop at the Baptistery to see Lorenzo Ghiberti's gilded bronze doors. Ghiberti won the commission at 21, beating Brunelleschi himself, then spent 27 years finishing the doors.
"Everyone rushes to the David. But the unfinished sculptures, once you know the story, that's what they remember."
Lorenzo,
WalksDevour Florence guide
"The gold paintings were made for candlelight. When I explain that, people look at every painting in the room differently."
Chiara,
WalksDevour Florence guide
Postcards from Florence
Best of Florence walking tour
Best of Florence walking tour
Best of Florence walking tour
Best of Florence walking tour
Best of Florence walking tour
Best of Florence walking tour
Best of Florence walking tour
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Frequently asked questions
Our guides love answering your questions. Here are some things they’d like you to know before you arrive.
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