Florence Highlights Small-Group Walk with Duomo & Ponte Vecchio

Palazzo Medici Riccardi and the Basilica of San Lorenzo

The walk begins on Via Cavour beside Palazzo Medici Riccardi, built from 1444 for the banking family that ruled Florence for generations. Its rough stone base, elegant upper floors and heavy cornice became the model for Florentine palaces, and inside a small chapel is covered with bright frescoes of a royal procession.

Around the corner stands the Basilica of San Lorenzo, a church consecrated in the 4th century and rebuilt from 1419 in a pure Renaissance style. Its façade was never finished, so the bare brick front hides a luminous grey-and-white interior. The family's parish church and burial chapels lie here, while the streets nearby hold leather stalls and the Mercato Centrale food hall.

The Duomo: Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore

Florence's cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore, was begun in 1296 and consecrated in 1436, and its façade of white, green and pink marble was completed only in the 19th century. The dome, raised between 1420 and 1436 without a timber framework, is still the largest brick dome ever built, about 45 m across, and it defines the skyline of the city.

Your guide explains how the double-shell dome was engineered with herringbone brickwork, and where to stand for the best photos of the apse. Is the Duomo worth visiting inside? Entry to the cathedral itself costs nothing, though queues can be long, while the dome climb of 463 steps needs a timed reservation, so book it for later in your stay.

The Baptistery and the Bell Tower

Facing the cathedral, the octagonal Baptistery of San Giovanni is among the oldest buildings in Florence, clad in green and white marble in the 11th and 12th centuries. Its gilded bronze doors are famous, especially the east doors known as the Gates of Paradise; the originals are kept in the cathedral museum and copies stand in place.

Beside the cathedral rises the bell tower, begun in 1334 and decorated with coloured marble and relief panels. At about 85 m it offers a climb of 414 steps and close views of the dome, a good alternative when dome slots are full. Together these monuments make Piazza del Duomo the high point of any Florence city tour, and the guide gives you time for photos.

Piazza della Repubblica and Piazza della Signoria

Piazza della Repubblica stands on the forum of Roman Florentia, founded in 59 BC; a column still marks the old crossroads. The square took its present form in the 1880s, when the city was briefly capital of Italy, with a triumphal arch, historic cafés and a carousel. It is a lively stop where the guide shows how Roman streets still shape the centre.

A few minutes on foot lead to Piazza della Signoria, the political heart of the city since the Middle Ages. Palazzo Vecchio, begun in 1299 and still the town hall, rises over it with a tower of about 94 m. Around the square you see a copy of the marble David at the palace door, the Fountain of Neptune and the open-air statues of the Loggia dei Lanzi.

Ponte Vecchio over the Arno

The walk ends on the Ponte Vecchio, the medieval bridge rebuilt in 1345 after a flood. Shops cling to both sides, and since 1593 they have belonged to jewellers and goldsmiths, after the butchers who once worked here were moved away. Above them runs a covered elevated corridor that once let the rulers cross from Palazzo Vecchio to the palace on the far bank.

In 1944 every other bridge in Florence was destroyed, but the Ponte Vecchio was spared. Is it worth visiting? Yes, especially early in the morning or at sunset, when the light on the Arno is softest; the best view of the bridge is from the neighbouring Ponte Santa Trinita. From here you are well placed to continue exploring the Oltrarno on your own.