Best views of Florence: where to see the city from above

If you wish to gaze out at the magnificent views of Florence and its skyline, there are many opportunities and different kinds of viewpoints. You can climb to the top of one of the many ancient towers of the historic center, or on the dome of the Cathedral. Or you can escape from the city, and reach one of the many villages nestled on the hills surrounding the town. The countryside is full of unique spots from which to admire the rooftops and majestic monuments from above. Here you will find my tips for finding the best views of Florence!

Best free views of Florence (in town)

As I said before, there are different ways to see Florence from above: climbing up a very tall building in the historic centre, or moving away from the city to climb a hill. There are also places like gardens which are free and super close to the historic centre. First let’s talk about the free and public viewpoints located in the historic center, or in any case close enough to it to get there on foot from it.

Piazzale Michelangelo

Piazzale Michelangelo is a terrace with a view located on a hill very close to the historic center, in the Oltrarno area (beyond the Arno river). This is certainly the most famous viewpoint in Florence. The view you can enjoy from here is truly amazing, and includes the entire city with its domes, belltowers, bridges, red rooftops, and the surrounding hills. It is even possible to see capped Appennines on a clear day. There is also a bronze copy of Michelangelo’s David (you can admire the marble original at the Accademia Gallery Museum).

Access is totally free since it is a public square! Of course Piazzale Michelangelo is always very crowded, especially at sunset, which however is the best time to go. At sunset, the sun goes down behind the city, illuminating the Arno river with all its bridges one after the other. If you want to skip the crowds, go early in the morning (but no sunset!).

A similar view can ben enjoyed also from the medieval church of San Miniato al Monte, which is very close to Piazzale Michelangelo. The church is one of the most ancient and rich in art of the city, and is surrounded by the Porte Sante Monumental Cemetery. This is one of my favorite places ever, don’t miss a visit! You can get to Piazzale Michelangelo on foot, climbing the ramps that are starting from piazza Poggi, a short uphill walk of 10 minutes. Or you can get there by bus, taking the bus n. 12 or 13.

Extra tip: you can make a DIY aperitivo at sunset at Piazzale Michelangelo. Just buy a bottle of wine and a takeaway pizza in the historic center, go up the hill and sit on the steps. Pizza, red wine and sunset over Florence, that’s a perfect combo!

The Roses Garden

The Roses Garden in Florence is a small corner of peace just a few minutes’ walk from the historic centre. This public park is located on the side of the same hill on which piazzale Michelangelo is located. As the name suggests, it is a garden entirely dedicated to roses. There are hundreds of different species that flower throughout the spring and part of the summer, and some of them are very rare or ancient.

The Rose Garden is very poetic thanks to the statues of the Belgian artist Jean-Michel Folon. Cats, birds, fishes and other naive creatures live in the garden, hidden among the flowering bushes. The view of Florence from the garden is gorgeous, especially from the terrace halfway through, where there is the famous sculpture of Folon’s suitcase that frames the skyline of the city.

Being a public park, the entrance to the Rose Garden is free, it is open every day from 8.00 am to sunset. There are two entrances, one on the top of the garden (just below the terrace of Piazzale Michelangelo) and one on the bottom, in via dei Bastioni (San Niccolò area, in the Oltrarno District).

Boboli and Bardini gardens are real open-air museums, so eating inside is prohibited. But the rose garden is a normal public garden with free access and no rules about food. And it’s the perfect place to have a picnic with a view! Just bring a throw blanket or a beach towel, your own food and drinks, and enjoy the meal, the sun, the warm weather and the view of Florence.

Bellosguardo hill

Bellosguardo is a hill that rises in the Oltrarno area, where I really like to go for a walk on Sunday mornings. The name literally means “beautiful view”, and it’s easy to understand why: this is one of the best views of Florence! The hill is very close to the city centre, but you are already surrounded by the landscape of the Tuscan countryside, with olive trees, ancient stone walls and sweet, rolling hills. It is such a secret peaceful corner, where you won’t find many tourists, but mostly local people going out for a walk.

To enjoy the view of Florence from the Bellosguardo hill, go to Piazza Tasso, then take Via di Bellosguardo until you reach the square of the same name, piazza Bellosguardo. There are two viewpoints, one just before reaching Piazza Bellosguardo, and one shortly after, in via Roti Michelozzi.

From the square start some very characteristic streets where you can walk, which form a circular route of 5 km (3.1 miles) It’s an easy but very beautiful hike that takes about one hour. The itinerary is: piazza Bellosguardo, via Piana, via Santa Maria a Marignolle, via dei Morelli, via del Ferrone, via di Soffiano, via San Carlo, and then you’e back to piazza Bellosguardo again.

Best views of Florence from towers and building

Are you ready to climb a lot of steps? But of course, the view is worth the effort.

In this part of the post you will find the towers and buildings where you can climb to the top to enjoy the view of the historic center of Florence from above, such as the dome of the Cathedral.

Most of them are actually museums (or churches with a paid entrance, so quite similar to museums), to enter these places there is a ticket to pay.

Brunelleschi’s Dome of the Cathedral

This is the quintessential viewpoint, although is rather touristic. In the summer heat can be a challenging climb, but it’s certainly worthy. The view from the top of the Cathedral is quintessential and unmistakable. In addition, the ascent to the top is even more exciting thanks to the sight from above of the Cathedral’s interior, as you climb steep stairs admiring the extraordinary work of architecture.

Remember that you must book the climb to the Dome in advance! Book it as early as you can because during the high season the requests are way higher than the daily capacity. You can book the ticket, called Brunelleschi pass, on the official site of the Duomo. The ticket has a duration of 72 hours, including also the climb to the bell tower, the Duomo Museum, the entrance to the Baptistery and the access to the crypt of the church. Price is 30 euro per adult.

• My complete guide for visiting the Duomo of Florence (and climbing the dome) has all the information you may need to know before your visit.

View from Giotto’s Bell tower

Being very next to it, the view of the city from the bell tower of the Cathedral is just as beautiful as at the top of the Brunelleschi dome, but with the bonus of having the dome included in the panorama. Additionally, the availability for the bell tower is usually much more than the dome of the Cathedral.

The bell tower takes its name from Giotto, the architect who designed it. Giotto was also a painter and a sculptor, definitely the brightest name in the history of medieval art in Italy. His paintings are definitely among the things to see at the Uffizi, and there are also some wonderful frescoes in the church of Santa Croce.

There are three different types of tickets for the complex of the Duomo of Florence. Only two include the access to the bell tower:

• the Giotto Pass (which also includes entrance to the Baptistery, the Opera del Duomo Museum and the cathedral crypt)
• and the Brunelleschi pass (which also includes the climb to the dome, in addition to everything else).

You can find more information about that in my blog post about how to climb Giotto’s bell tower, which is full of useful tips to plan your visit and book the tickets.

Tower of Palazzo Vecchio

You can enjoy another stunning view of Florence from the top of the tower of Palazzo Vecchio. It’s also called Arnolfo’s Tower, from the name of the architect who designed the palace, Arnolfo di Cambio. The tower is part of the Palazzo Vecchio building, which today is used as a town hall, and also houses an important museum, the Palazzo Vecchio Museum.

I think that the tower of Palazzo Vecchio is actually one of the best viewpoints of Florence, because the views from there are including the cathedral and its Dome. I recommend you to book it advance because the availability for the tower is limited (there are just a few places for each time slot).

The climb to the tower also includes the visit to the ramparts and the famous cell of Alberghetto, where both Cosimo the elder and Savonarole were imprisoned. The ticket for the tower and ramparts costs 12,50 euros; there is a combo ticket including both the Palazzo Vecchio Museum and Tower of Arnolfo for 17,50 euro.

• Palazzo Vecchio is one of my favorite museums of Florence! Learn more about my private tour of Palazzo Vecchio

Giardino of Villa Bardini

The Gardens of Villa Bardini is the brainchild of the eclectic Florentine antique dealer Stefano Bardini, who bought two different nearby gardens and transformed them into one large park. The two parts are very different from each other: a seventeenth-century Baroque garden and a nineteenth-century English garden. My favorite part is the baroque garden, with its beautiful stone staircase that climbs the hillside. The Villa Bardini is a museum with temporary exhibits, and has a different ticket from the gardens.

The point from which you can enjoy the most beautiful view is from the terrace at the top of the staircase, where the cafeteria is also located. From here the view of Florence is framed by the ancient statues that decorate the terrace, and the stone staircase extends down to the lowest part of the garden.

The best time to visit the Bardini Garden is in spring, when everything is in bloom. It then gives its best in April, when the irises blossom along the staircase and when the famous wisteria tunnel blooms with violet flowers. The Arno river and the red rooftops seen from the wisteria gallery is one of the best and most romantic views of Florence that you can get in springtime.

The entrance ticket for Boboli Gardens also includes the entrance to the Bardini Gardens, so you can visit both in the same day (they are very close to each other). To find out all the information about it, read my post about the Bardini Garden.

Tower of San Niccolò

From just a few years, the ancient tower of San Niccolò, in the Oltrarno area, is open to the public in summers months at sunset. The view is really beautiful because the tower rises just across the Arno river, in front of the area between the Uffizi Gallery and the church of Santa Croce.

Actually this was not a tower, but a door of the medieval walls of the city. In the 1800s the city demolished its walls, but the doors are still there, and San Niccolò is one of them!

The tower of San Niccolò is open from the end of June to the end of September. Opening hour is from 5 pm until 8 pm. Accompanied tours leave once every half an hour and cost 4 euros for a ticket.

Best views of Florence from outside of town

These villages located on the hills surrounding Florence are the perfect opportunity to take a half-day escape from the city or a day trip in the surroundings, and discover new, off the beaten path places. Fiesole is well known among tourists, but still very authentic. In Settignano and Bellosguardo instead you will probably only find locals.

Village of Fiesole

This ancient town resting on the top of a hill is only a few kilometers away from the historical centre of Florence. You can get there in a dozen of minutes by bus (line no. 7). A trip to Fiesole is a great idea for a half a day getaway. Here you can visit a wonderful archeological area with Etruscan and Roman ruins, and a small but rich museum that houses all the findings of the area.

The village was actually founded by the Etruscans in the IV century BC, then was conquered by the Romans in the year 90 BC. There are still some portions of the ancient city walls built by the Etruscans!

To enjoy a beautiful view of the entire city of Florence, head to San Francesco monastery. It can be easily reached by foot from the main piazza, where the bus stops. Note that the pathway is pretty steep, however it’s quite short. Franciscan friars still live in this 14th century monastery, which is a peaceful and beautiful place where to rest, meditate and enjoy the view.

Village of Settignano

The village of Settignano is also easy to reach by bus (line no. 10). Much less famous than the close by Fiesole, although is certainly not less interesting. Settignano is known as the town of stonecutters, as it was once a town full of quarries and the birthplace of many important florentine Renaissance sculptors. Some famous sculptors to hail from here include Desiderio da Settignano, Bernardo and Antonio Rossellino and Bartolomeo Ammannati. Also, a young Michelangelo lived and studied here at a workshop of a master sculptor.

In addition to its beautiful history, Settignano is one of my favorite places to see a view of Florence at sunsets. This almost unknown village remains less travelled by tourists, and for this reason still breathes the life and atmosphere of a small Tuscan town.

Extra tips for a coffee with a view

There are also some cafes with a gorgeous view of the historic center of the city, and they are located inside beautiful, old buildings. I will quickly list some of my favorites, but you can find many more suggestions in my blogpost about the best rooftop bars in Florence.

Caffetteria delle Oblate. It is on the top floor of the Biblioteca delle Oblate, a public library housed in an ancient convent. The view from the cafe is magnificent, because it’s right in front of the the Duomo. Entrance to the cafe is free for visitors too, just go up to the rooftop terrace. But I recommend you also take a tour of the library to see the architecture of the cloisters.

Caffè del Verone. It is the cafe of the Innocenti Museum, a beautiful museum dedicated to the history of the oldest institution for the assistance of abandoned children. I recommend you visit it because it’s very beautiful and emotional, but you can also access the cafe without visiting the museum (and without paying the ticket). Just enter from the right door (the one of the bookshop), take the elevator and go up to the top floor. This café is also very close to the Duomo and has a magnificent view of Brunelleschi’s dome. 

You hope you find this post useful to find the perfect viewpoint where to take memories and pictures of your trip. Let me know in the comments if you have other tips about the best views of Florence!