Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore — iPetar Milošević (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Ready-made walk · Florence

Florence Essentials: Duomo to the Arno in an Hour

6 stops · ~1 hr · 1.1 km

Highlights

A compact stroll down the spine of the old city, from the cathedral past the bronze boar of the Porcellino to Orsanmichele, Piazza della Signoria and the open-air sculpture gallery of the Loggia dei Lanzi, ending on the Ponte Vecchio. The ideal short introduction if you only have an hour.

The stops, in walking order

iPetar Milošević (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Stop 1: Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore
~15 min here
The Duomo is Florence’s cathedral, dedicated to Saint Mary of the Flower, and this vast church took shape over generations.
iGuido Castelli66 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Stop 2: Chiesa di Orsanmichele
~15 min here
Chiesa di Orsanmichele is both a church and a museum, occupying a building that once served trade as well as worship.
iSamuli Lintula (CC BY 2.5)
Stop 3: Piazza della Signoria
~3 min here
Piazza della Signoria is the public square spread before Palazzo Vecchio, the fortress-like town hall that gives this place its unmistakable setting.
iFrancesco Bini (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Stop 4: Loggia dei Lanzi
~3 min here
Loggia dei Lanzi is an open-sided sculpture gallery, built for civic gatherings and ceremonies before becoming a setting for major works of art.
iSailko (CC BY 3.0)
Stop 5: Fontana del Porcellino
~3 min here
The Porcellino is a fountain whose animal is not a piglet but a wounded wild boar, cast in bronze by Pietro Tacca.
iDiego Delso (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Stop 6: Ponte Vecchio
~3 min here
Ponte Vecchio is the historic stone crossing carrying you over the Arno, with a remarkably unusual feature: shops form a continuous built frontage along the bridge.