How To Get A Free Tourist Map Of Florence

Explore Florence's treasures with this guide to the heart of Italy's Renaissance city.
Written By: Andrea Spallanzani
Reviewed by: Rick Orford
How & Why We Created This Article

This article has been written, reviewed, and fact-checked by Rick and I. We live in Italy and travel throughout the country to help you make the best choices for your trip. We wrote this piece to help you have the best trip possible on your next trip to Italy. Portions of this article have been written using assistive AI tools to help with tasks like research, spell-checking, grammar, and translation.

Last Updated March 22, 2024

In this article, you'll learn how:

  • The Santa Maria Novella train station is an ideal starting point for exploring Florence, whether you arrive by train or car. It offers secure parking options, making it a practical choice for travelers.
  • The famous Ponte Vecchio bridge is a unique attraction on the map, known for its jewelry stores and a historic secret passage used by the Duke of Tuscany. 
  • At the Mercato del Porcellino, travelers can shop for Florentine leather goods and participate in a superstitious tradition. They can place a coin on the boar's tongue, let it fall in the fountain, and then rub the boar's nose for good luck.

Are you planning a trip to the amazing city of Florence, Italy, but don’t know how to get there? Well today we will give you a Map of Florence with the perfect itinerary to explore all the best spots in the city!

Also, if you follow this link, we will give a link for you to download the Map of Florence to take with you!

Stops On Our Map of Florence

If you’re wondering whether you can tour Florence alone or not, the answer is YOU CAN. Just follow this easy and simple Map of Florence to visit this incredible city’s best attractions.

Stop NameDescriptionTips and Highlights
Santa Maria Novella Train StationStarting point for exploring Florence, accessible by train or carConvenient underground parking, ideal for train travelers
Santa Maria Novella Church and PharmacyBeautiful piazza with the Church of Santa Maria Novella, Ancient Pharmacy of Santa Maria NovellaExplore ornate pharmacy and shop for fragrances and more
Walking to the DuomoVisit the stunning Duomo (Santa Maria del Fiore)Free to visit, reserve time online
Off to Palazzo VecchioStroll down via dei Calzaiuoli, visit Piazza della Signoria with Palazzo VecchioSee Loggia dei Lanzi, Fountain of Neptune, and a David replica
Ponte VecchioWalk across the iconic bridge with jewelry storesLearn about its historical secret passage and butcher store past
Palazzo Pitti and The GardensExplore Palazzo Pitti, residence of the Duke of Tuscany, and the Boboli GardensOrnate palace with an impressive art collection, beautiful Italian gardens
Porcellino Market and FountainDiscover Mercato del Porcellino, famous for Florentine leather goodsParticipate in a superstition by placing a coin on the boar’s tongue
Santa CroceVisit the church of Santa Croce with tombs of Machiavelli, Michelangelo, and GalileoExplore the rich history of this magnificent church
See The Real DavidHead to Galleria Dell’Accademia to admire the real David statueBook skip-the-line tickets in advance to avoid long waits
Off to San Lorenzo MarketExplore the market of San Lorenzo for Tuscan specialties and moreEnjoy a quick lunch or wine, and shop for local goods

Santa Maria Novella Train Station

Florence is a very walkable city, and all the best spots are a few steps away from each other! For this reason, our Map of Florence begins at the Santa Maria Novella train station, which receives over 400 trains daily

Tip: If you’re starting your trip to Italy in Rome, you can travel to Florence by train in just a few short hours.

This is the perfect gateway to Florence if you plan to take the train. But it is also a great spot for you if you plan to drive to Florence. In fact, on the side of the train station, you can find a couple of great underground parking lots that are the most convenient places to park.

Now, these are not the cheapest parking spots in Florence, but they are the most convenient, the easiest to reach, and very secure. So if you decide to drive to Florence, we recommend you park here. And speaking of cars, a rental is the best option if you want to get around the Florence countryside. 

Santa Maria Novella Church and Pharmacy

You can walk a few steps from the train station and reach the beautiful Piazza di Santa Maria Novella. You can admire the Church of Santa Maria Novella in the piazza with its colorful facade. This church was completed in the year 1350, which means it’s around 674 years old. 

From the Piazza of Santa Maria Novella, you can reach Via Della Scala, where you can find another beautiful place in Florence, the Ancient Pharmacy of Santa Maria Novella. This very old and ornate pharmacy is a must-see in Florence. This ancient pharmacy has been crafting fragrances, soaps, elixirs, and more since 1221, making it an over 800-year-old pharmacy, yet you can still shop around nowadays. 

Walking to the Duomo

After visiting the Pharmacy of Santa Maria Novella, we continued on our map of Florence and reached via dei Banchi. At the end of this short street, you’ll find one of the most beautiful monuments in Florence and maybe in the world. The Duomo!

The church of Santa Maria del Fiore is also known as the Duomo. This church has stood for nearly 600 years since its completion in 1436. The Florence Cathedral is entirely free to visit, you just need to reserve your time online.

Walking is surely the best way to get around Florence, but how long does it take to walk around Florence? To give you a hint, most visitors walk 6-7 hours to get enough, but it can take 2-3 days to see everything in Florence. 

Off to Palazzo Vecchio

Next on our Map of Florence, we take via dei Calzaiuoli, one of the main strolls of Florence. On this street, you can enjoy one of the many stores, coffee shops, gelateria, and so on.

At the end of this street, we reach another incredible Piazza. Piazza della Signoria with the majestic Palazzo Vecchio. Also, in this Piazza, you can admire the Loggia dei Lanzi with its stunning sculptures, the Fountain of Neptune, and of course, the David of Michelangelo. Now this is not the real statue of David, but it is a replica. We will get to the real deal in a bit!

Right on the side of Palazzo Vecchio, you’ll find one of the most famous museums in Italy and maybe in the world! The Galleria degli Uffizi. Inside of the Uffizi, you can admire some of the most important Renaissance paintings in the world. Remember that if you plan on visiting the Uffizi, you must buy your tickets in advance; otherwise, you might risk waiting in line for hours or, worse, find it sold out!

At the end of the Galleria degli Uffizi, you reach the Lungarno (or the Arno river banks), where you have a stunning view of the most famous bridge in the city.

Ponte Vecchio

We continue our Map of Florence by walking on this beautiful bridge to admire the many jewelry stores. On the bridge is a secret passage that the Duke of Tuscany used to go freely from his Palace to Palazzo Vecchio

Let us give you a fun fact: in the old days, those stores were butcher stores. The butchers used to throw scraps of meat and bones in the river. In 1594, the Duke of Tuscany Ferdinand the First signed a law to remove the butcher stores from the bridge because the smell of the rotten meat bothered him when he was walking in the secret passage. 

Palazzo Pitti and The Gardens

Right after crossing the river Arno on Ponte Vecchio, we continue our Map of Florence on via dei Guicciardini to reach Palazzo Pitti.

This huge Palace was the residence of the Duke of Tuscany. The Palace inside is very ornate and has an incredible art collection.

But the real gem here is the Gardens right beside the Palace, Il Giardino di Boboli. These gardens represent one of the best examples of Italian gardens, with statues, fountains, and beautiful views. Definitely a must see when visiting Florence.

Porcellino Market and Fountain

Let’s continue our Map of Florence tour by walking back on the Ponte Vecchio and continuing on the Via Por Santa Maria.

We reach the Mercato del Porcellino on this street with the famous fountain. At this market, you can shop for the famous Florentine leather goods. At the market, you can find the Fontana del Porcellino.

According to superstition, you must put a coin on the boar’s tongue, let it fall in the fountain, and then rub the nose for good luck. Who doesn’t want some good luck?

Santa Croce

From the market, we walk on Via della Condotta and then on via dell’Anguillara until we reach another famous landmark of Florence. (For a complete list of what to see and do in Florence, click here) The church of Santa Croce. Inside this magnificent church, you can admire the tombs of Machiavelli, Michelangelo, and Galileo. 

See The Real David

From Santa Croce, we walk on via del Proconsolo until we reach the back of the Duomo. We can then walk alongside the stunning duomo until we reach via Ricasoli, the same family that makes the fantastic chianti!

We walk a few minutes on via Ricasoli until we reach the Galleria Dell’Accademia. Inside this Galleria, we can admire the real David. Again, if you plan on visiting the David, book your skip-the-line tickets way in advance because they get sold out quickly!

Off to San Lorenzo Market

Let’s continue our Map of Florence by walking back on via Ricasoli until we reach Via De’ Gori and then the Piazza San Lorenzo with the church of San Lorenzo. From here, we are just a few steps away from one of Florence’s best Markets: The market of San Lorenzo. This market is the perfect place to shop for Tuscan specialties or to sit for a quick lunch or a glass of wine – or both 🙂

Take your time at the market, and explore the many things it has to offer. Also, just outside the market, you can find many places that sell leather goods. From the market, we walk on via Nazionale to reach our final destination of, Santa Maria Novella Station. 

Final Thoughts

Well, this concludes our Map of Florence tour. Florence has so much more beauty to offer, but for the purpose of this article, we picked the ones that are easy to walk to from the Santa Maria Novella train station.

Also, remember we told you that we would give you a downloadable version of the map? Here it is. Visit this link, and you’ll receive the map right in your inbox. Also, if you have any questions about Florence, leave a comment below, and we will get back to you.