Florence wasn’t on our original list. We’d done Rome with the kids the year before and assumed the rest of Tuscany could wait until they were old enough to appreciate Renaissance art without asking “can we go yet?” every four minutes. But a cheap flight popped up, we had a free long weekend, and sometimes that’s all it takes. Three days later we were standing on a hilltop watching the sun drop behind the Duomo, eating pistachio gelato, and thinking — why did we wait so long?
Florence is smaller than you’d expect. Compact, walkable, and absolutely stuffed with beauty. It’s not the easiest city with young children — cobblestones everywhere, a lot of art, and summer heat that’ll flatten you — but it rewards families who pace themselves. One museum in the morning. Gelato. Long lunch. An afternoon doing something that doesn’t require hushed voices. That’s the rhythm that works here.
Getting There From the UK
Direct flights from the UK take about two and a half hours. Ryanair, easyJet and BA all fly into Florence or Pisa (Pisa airport is about an hour by bus or train from the city centre, so factor that in). School holiday prices vary wildly, but book a couple of months ahead and you can usually find something reasonable.
The other option — and honestly our preferred one if you’re already travelling in Italy — is the train from Rome. An hour and a half on the high-speed Frecciarossa. The kids barely had time to get restless. Santa Maria Novella station drops you right in the centre of Florence, which is brilliant. No transfers, no faffing about.
How Many Days
Two is tight but doable. Three is right. You could stretch to four if you want a day trip thrown in, but Florence itself doesn’t need more than three full days. It’s a small city and the main sights are close together. The danger with two days is cramming too much in and turning the whole thing into a forced march through galleries. Three lets you breathe.
The Duomo
You can’t miss it. Literally. It dominates the skyline and the first time you turn a corner and see it up close, the scale hits you. The marble facade — pink, white, green — looks like something from a fairy tale. Our youngest said it looked like a giant birthday cake. Fair enough.
The cathedral itself is free to enter. Just walk in. The interior is more austere than you’d expect given the outside, but the sheer height of it gets a reaction from children. It’s a quick visit — fifteen or twenty minutes is plenty.
The dome climb is the main event. It’s €30 per person and you absolutely must book ahead — slots sell out days in advance, especially in summer. There are 463 steps. No lift. The passage narrows as you go up, spiralling between the inner and outer shell of the dome. It’s not for claustrophobes, and they don’t allow children under six. Ours managed it at seven and eight, though the last hundred steps were accompanied by heavy breathing and some dramatic complaints. The views from the top are worth every single step.
Down at ground level, don’t miss the Baptistery doors. The bronze panels by Ghiberti — Michelangelo called them the Gates of Paradise — are right opposite the cathedral entrance. Even kids who couldn’t care less about art tend to stare at the detail. They’re remarkable.
One thing to know: Piazza del Duomo is always packed. Morning, evening, doesn’t matter. It’s the busiest spot in Florence and you won’t avoid the crowds. Accept it, take your photos, move on.
Uffizi Gallery
Here’s where you need to be honest with yourself about your children. The Uffizi is one of the greatest art museums in the world. It’s also a lot. Room after room after room of paintings, and if your kids are under about eight, there’s a solid chance they’ll be done after twenty minutes.
Tickets are €25 for adults. Under 18s from EU countries get in free. Book a timed slot in advance — the queue without one is painful.
Our advice: either book a highlights tour with a family-friendly guide, or go in with a strict 90-minute time limit. Hit the Botticelli room first — The Birth of Venus and Primavera are the ones even children recognise. Then the da Vinci room. Then leave. Trying to see everything is a recipe for meltdowns, and not just from the kids.
If your children are under eight, honestly consider skipping it entirely. Palazzo Pitti and Boboli Gardens give you a far better family day out.
Ponte Vecchio
The old bridge. Free to walk across, which is handy because there’s not much else in Florence that’s free. It’s lined with gold and jewellery shops — tiny, glittering cave-like places that older kids find fascinating and younger kids want to touch everything in.
The bridge itself is the attraction. Stop halfway, lean over the edge, watch the Arno flowing underneath. Our lot spent ages here, which we didn’t expect. Something about bridges and water just works with children. Good photo spot too, especially from the next bridge along.
Piazzale Michelangelo
The best view in Florence. Possibly the best sunset view in all of Italy. And it’s completely free.
The piazzale is a large terrace on a hill south of the river, overlooking the whole city. The Duomo, the bridges, the terracotta rooftops — it’s all laid out in front of you like a postcard. We went up late afternoon, found a spot on the steps, unpacked a picnic we’d grabbed from the market, and sat there as the light changed. Golden hour in Florence from up here is something else.
You can drive or take the number 12 bus up. Walking up is possible but steep, especially with small legs. Our recommendation: bus or taxi up, then walk down through the Giardino delle Rose — the rose garden — which is also free and very pretty. The kids ran ahead on the paths while we took our time. Exactly the sort of low-key family moment that makes a trip.
Bring food and drinks. There’s a kiosk at the top but it’s overpriced and the queue is long at sunset.
Gelato
Right. This is important. Florence takes gelato seriously, and so should you.
The gelato here is the best in Italy. That’s not up for debate. Something about the Florentine gelato tradition — the texture, the intensity of flavour, the fact that they don’t pile it with artificial colours — sets it apart.
Three places we’d go back to in a heartbeat. Vivoli, near Santa Croce, has been going since 1930 and does a dark chocolate that’s almost savoury. La Carraia, by the bridge of the same name, is cheap and brilliant — massive portions for the price. Gelateria dei Neri does the best pistachio we’ve had anywhere.
Budget €3 to €5 per person per visit. And yes, twice a day is perfectly acceptable on holiday. Breakfast gelato is frowned upon by absolutely nobody in Florence.
Palazzo Pitti and Boboli Gardens
If you only do one “cultural” thing with your kids in Florence, make it this. The combined ticket is €16 for adults. Under 18s from EU countries? Free.
The Palazzo Pitti itself is a massive Renaissance palace — grand rooms, paintings, the usual. Fine for a quick wander through, but the real family gold is behind it. Boboli Gardens is an enormous hillside garden with fountains, grottos, sculptures, hidden pathways, and enough space for kids to properly run about.
After the tight streets and hushed galleries of central Florence, letting the children loose in Boboli felt like opening a pressure valve. They found a grotto with stalactites. They ran races along the gravel paths. They sat by a fountain and ate crisps. It was perfect.
Give it at least two hours. You could spend half a day here easily.
Eating Out
Florence has spectacular food and it’s not difficult to eat well with children. Pasta, pizza, and simplicity — that’s the Florentine way.
Trattoria Mario, near San Lorenzo market, has been serving cheap, honest pasta since 1953. Shared tables, no bookings, cash only. It’s loud and chaotic, which suits families brilliantly. Get there before noon or you’ll queue down the street. A plate of pasta is about €8.
Mercato Centrale is the big indoor food hall — the ground floor is a proper market (fruit, veg, meat, cheese) and the upper floor is a food court with different stalls. Pizza, pasta, burgers, salads — everyone can pick what they want and you eat at communal tables. It takes the argument out of choosing a restaurant, which with our lot is half the battle.
For street food, Florence’s thing is lampredotto — a sandwich made with braised beef tripe. It’s about €5 from the carts dotted around the city. Sounds grim, tastes delicious. Soft, rich, usually served with salsa verde. Will your kids eat it? Probably not. But it’s worth a try if you’ve got adventurous eaters. Ours took one look and went back to their pizza.
San Lorenzo Leather Market
The outdoor market around San Lorenzo is touristy. Let’s not pretend otherwise. Stalls selling leather bags, belts, wallets, souvenirs — the same stuff you’ll see all over central Italy.
But. Older kids enjoy it. The bargaining is the thing. Most prices are negotiable and there’s a thrill for a ten-year-old in haggling over a leather bracelet. Start at about 60% of the asking price and work from there. It’s not aggressive — the sellers expect it and most of them are good-humoured about it.
Younger kids get bored quickly. And watch your bags — it gets crowded.
Where to Stay
Florence is small enough that you can walk to most things from almost anywhere in the centre. That said, three areas work particularly well for families.
Near Santa Maria Novella station is the practical choice. You’re connected to trains for day trips, there are supermarkets and pharmacies close by, and getting a taxi is straightforward. It’s not the prettiest part of the city, but with kids, convenience sometimes wins.
Santo Spirito and Oltrarno — the area south of the river — is our favourite. Quieter, more residential, proper neighbourhood restaurants where you’re not sitting next to other travelers. It’s a short walk over the Ponte Vecchio to the main sights but feels like a different world. Good for families who want a calmer base.
Near the Duomo puts you in the thick of it. Everything is walkable. You can nip back for a nap or a rest without wasting half an hour getting there. It’s pricier and noisier, but the convenience is hard to argue with.
Practical Bits
Florence is walkable. Genuinely. The historic centre takes about twenty minutes to cross on foot, and most of the main sights are within that zone. You don’t need public transport unless you’re heading to Piazzale Michelangelo or out of town.
Cobblestones are everywhere. If you’re bringing a buggy, get one with decent wheels — the flimsy umbrella fold type will rattle your baby’s teeth out. A carrier or sling is easier for the really small ones.
Summer is hot. Properly hot. July and August regularly hit 35 to 38 degrees, and the city holds the heat. There’s very little shade in the main piazzas. Carry water. Take a long lunch indoors. Don’t try to sightsee between noon and three.
The golden rule with kids in Florence: one museum per day. Maximum. Fill the rest with walking, eating, gelato, and just being in the city. Florence is beautiful enough that wandering the streets without a destination is a perfectly good use of your time.
Day Trips
Two obvious ones, both easy by public transport.
Pisa is about an hour by train. You go, you take the photo pretending to hold up the Leaning Tower, you have a gelato, you leave. Honestly, two hours in Pisa is plenty. The tower and the cathedral square are magnificent, but there’s not much else to hold kids’ attention. It makes a great half-day trip paired with a lazy afternoon back in Florence.
Siena is about an hour and a half by bus (the train is slower and drops you further from the centre). The main piazza — Piazza del Campo — is one of the most beautiful public spaces in Europe. It’s shell-shaped and sloped, and kids naturally gravitate to sitting on the bricks and sliding down the gentle incline. There’s a great cathedral too, and the whole town is gorgeous. Worth a full day if you can manage it.
Both trips are straightforward enough that they don’t need much planning. Buy train or bus tickets on the day, keep it loose, come back when you’re done.
Is Florence Worth It With Kids?
Yes. With a caveat. Florence is an art city, and if you try to do it as an art trip with children in tow, everyone will be miserable by day two. But if you treat it as a food trip with some culture thrown in — gelato as the reward, a gallery as the morning activity, and plenty of time just pottering about — it’s brilliant.
Our kids still talk about the dome climb. The gelato. The sunset from the piazzale. The bloke at the leather market who taught our son to count to ten in Italian. Florence gives you those moments. You just have to leave enough space in the day for them to happen.