10 Mistakes People Make When Visiting Florence

Florence has an abundance of museums and galleries, many of which contain extremely famous and popular works. Naturally, most also have long queues of people waiting outside in the blazing Florentine heat for their turn to see these unique marvels. If you don’t arrange your tickets in advance, you’ll be joining them, losing endless hours of your valuable holiday time in lines.

Some works are so famous that you have effectively no choice but to book in advance. While you can theoretically see Michelangelo’s David in the Accademia Gallery by getting your ticket at the door, many people spend all day queueing outside only to leave disappointed as the number of people allowed inside each day is limited. If enjoying Florence’s art is a priority for you, book as many of your tickets as far in advance as you can.

Michelangelo’s David in the Accademia Gallery is arguably Florence’s star attraction. The 5.17-metre-tall masterpiece in marble is undoubtedly striking and iconic. However, it is also over 500 years old and surprisingly brittle. In fact, it was proposed to install padding to prevent the statue from getting damaged just by the vibrations from visitors’ footsteps. Understandably, the museum curators limit the number of people who can view it each day to minimise the damage.

Given this limitation, a lot of visitors miss out on seeing the original statue by failing to book their tickets far enough in advance. However, that doesn’t mean they have to leave Florence without having seen the biblical giant slayer. There are 2 replicas of David dotted around Florence – 1 in Piazzale Michelangelo and 1 in front of the entrance to Palazzo Vecchio. They may not be the original, but they’re better than nothing!

Florence is an old city and, like many European cities this old, its centre was designed long before cars were even considered. Roads tend to be extremely narrow, turns tend to be tight, and convenient parking places are practically unheard of. Put simply, driving in the city centre is not a viable option.

On the other hand, with the city centre being relatively compact, Florence is an excellent place for walking from one attraction to the next. Even so, it’s strongly recommended to place comfort over fashion, especially with footwear. You’re going to be on your feet for a long time, often walking on ancient cobbles and uneven surfaces. You will soon find your stylish high heels or flip-flops feeling more like torture devices, so bring some practical shoes for your museum days.

While Florence’s city centre is compact enough to walk around, you may need to use public transport to reach attractions on the outskirts of the city and beyond (or even just to give your feet a rest). However, when you do so, there's one small but extremely important part of the process that’s easy to overlook – validating your ticket.

If you’re taking a train, look out for yellow boxes on the platform, which you will need to stick your ticket into so that it can be stamped. You will find a similar machine close to the door as you board buses. Failing to validate your ticket could potentially result in a fine of hundreds of euros, which you may be asked to pay on the spot.

Walking around all of Florence’s big attractions will undoubtedly give you an appetite, and the natural instinct would be to satisfy your hunger at the first available restaurant. While such places are certainly a convenient option, they’re not a particularly smart one. Most are far more motivated by profit than they are by high culinary ideals. In other words, expect overpriced and inauthentic meals.

If you take your food seriously, it’s better to get away from the tourist hubs. Check out our guides to dining in Florence for some suggestions on high-quality eateries that even locals rave about. You are far more likely to find genuinely good food and great value for money at such places.

Stendhal syndrome dates back to the namesake French author’s visit to the city in 1817, during which he was so overwhelmed by the beauty of the art on display that he suffered heart palpitations and nearly passed out. That may seem like an exaggeration, but the staff at Florence's hospitals have reported numerous cases of people experiencing dizzy spells after viewing Michelangelo’s David – a visitor even suffered a heart attack while looking at Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus.

Realistically, some of these illnesses could be put down to extreme dehydration and exhaustion from long queues and walking around huge museums all day. That being the case, our advice is to pace yourself. Don’t try and do everything in a single day. If you are starting to feel a little overawed, take a break and drink plenty of water.

Florence is absolutely packed with interesting historical highlights, but not all of them are world famous. Some get barely a fraction of the attention that the likes of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore or the Uffizi Gallery get, which means shorter queues (if any).

Aside from the convenience of actually being able to enjoy the contents of the museum instead of just the line outside, some of the city’s lesser-known attractions are fantastic to visit in their own right. The striking Loggia of Bigallo, the fascinating Dante's House Museum, and the historically significant Hospital of Innocents are must-sees. Check out our list of Florence's hidden gems for more options.

The vast majority of visitors spend their entire time in Florence on the northern side of the Arno, which is entirely logical. Most of the city’s top attractions are there, including the Duomo and the Accademia Gallery. However, there’s more to the southern bank than just nice views of the famous bridges crossing the river.

What the southern side of Florence lacks in famous attractions, it makes up for in charm. The Santo Spirito and San Niccolo areas consist of quaint cobblestoned streets lined with traditional Italian coffee shops, with groups of locals enjoying the afternoon sun in the piazzas. If you want to experience the city like a local, you won’t have to go far past the river.

Florence may be the capital and star attraction of Tuscany, but it is certainly not all that the 5th-largest region in Italy has to offer. It’s famous for its stunning landscapes of rolling hills, its historical highlights like the Leaning Tower of Pisa and Volterra’s Roman theatre, and its outstanding wines and food. Suffice it to say, it’s a great way to spend a day or 2 while you’re in the area.

Getting out and about in Tuscany is pretty easy. You can book tours, hire a car, or use public transport. The bus and train services are very good and cost-effective, though you may have to get a taxi, at some point, if you’re hoping to reach outlying rural destinations.

After a day of exploring Florence, you’re naturally going to be very hungry, to the extent that you might consider forgetting traditional mealtimes and going for dinner early. Good luck with that! You’re going to quickly find that the majority of restaurants aren’t even open before 7 pm. Italians traditionally have their dinner late and they’re not about to break that habit for you.

If you can’t possibly wait until 7 pm, fear not as there are several options. Naturally, you could self-cater, but there’s also the tradition of aperitivo you can enjoy. Bars open for a sort of happy hour before the restaurants open, offering pre-meal cocktails, liqueurs and, thankfully, snacks. Many even offer a snack buffet with cured meats and cheese. Just be careful not to fill up before you get to your main meal.