A good Florence itinerary for 3 days is shaped by the calendar before it is shaped by the sights. Most of the big state museums, including the Uffizi, the Accademia, Palazzo Pitti and the Bargello, close on Mondays, and the cathedral itself closes to visitors on Sundays.
So the strongest three-day plan runs Tuesday to Saturday, gives each day one booked anchor in the morning, and leaves the late afternoon for walking and views.
Here is the plan in one line. Day one is the David, the Duomo and the dome. Day two is the Uffizi, Ponte Vecchio and the Oltrarno. Day three is the Sant'Ambrogio market, the Bargello, Santa Croce and sunset above the city at San Miniato.
Every price and opening time below comes from the official museum sites and the City of Florence's own opening-times list, checked on 3 November 2026.
Which three days work best in Florence?
Start on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday if you can. That keeps Monday, when the Uffizi, the Accademia, Palazzo Pitti, the Bargello and the Medici Chapels are all closed, outside your trip.
It also keeps the Duomo's free cathedral visit on a weekday, since the cathedral is closed to visitors on Sundays and religious holidays.
If your three days must include a Monday, use it for the places that stay open. Palazzo Vecchio opens daily from 9 am to 7 pm, except Thursdays when it closes at 2 pm.
The Duomo's dome, bell tower and Baptistery keep running, and Monday is also a natural day for Fiesole or a train trip out of the city.
Check two more details before you fix the dates. The Boboli Gardens close on the first and last Monday of each month.
In November 2026 the City's list also shows the bell tower closed from 9 to 13 November and the dome closed from 16 to 20 November, so a dome climb that week needs a different plan.
What should you book before you go?
Three bookings decide whether this itinerary works. Everything else can be bought on the day.
The dome
Brunelleschi Pass: there is no single ticket for the dome. The €30 Brunelleschi Pass (€12 for ages 7 to 14) includes the dome, Giotto's bell tower, the Opera del Duomo museum, the Baptistery and the remains of Santa Reparata.
The dome slot is compulsory and cannot be changed once issued, and the pass is valid for three calendar days from that booked visit.
The David
Galleria dell'Accademia: the full ticket is €20, rising to €23 from 15 December 2026 to 2 May 2027.
It opens Tuesday to Sunday from 8.15 am, with last admission at 6.20 pm, and booking is recommended. Only small bags up to 40 x 30 x 18 cm are allowed, and there is no cloakroom.
The Uffizi
Uffizi Galleries: a Uffizi ticket costs €25 on the day or €29 booked in advance, and the gallery opens Tuesday to Sunday, 8.15 am to 6.30 pm.
If you also plan to see Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens, the Uffizi Galleries' five-day ticket at €40 covers all three, which is cheaper than buying them separately.
Day 1: the David, the Duomo and the dome
Morning: the Accademia at opening time
Be at the Accademia on Via Ricasoli for the 8.15 am opening. An hour to ninety minutes is enough for Michelangelo's David and the unfinished Prisoners that line the corridor towards it.
Taking the first slot of the day leaves the rest of the morning free for the cathedral.
Late morning: inside the cathedral, then up the dome
Walk five minutes south to Piazza del Duomo. The cathedral is free to enter, without a ticket, from Monday to Saturday between 10.15 am and 3.45 pm. Book your dome slot for late morning or early afternoon so the two fit together.
For the climb, go to the Porta della Mandorla on the north side about ten minutes before your slot.
There are 463 steps and no lift, and the Opera del Duomo strongly advises against the climb for people with heart conditions, vertigo or claustrophobia, and for pregnant women.
Afternoon: the Baptistery, the museum and Piazza della Signoria
Your pass also covers the Baptistery and the Opera del Duomo museum, where Ghiberti's original bronze doors are kept. Note that the Baptistery's mosaic ceiling is currently under restoration and not visible.
Then follow Via dei Calzaiuoli south to Piazza della Signoria and, if you have the energy, Palazzo Vecchio, which stays open until 7 pm except on Thursdays.
Evening: a table near San Lorenzo
Stay north of the river for dinner. The streets around the Mercato Centrale have long-running trattorias such as Trattoria Zà Zà, open beside the market since 1977. Reserve ahead for a weekend table.
Day 2: the Uffizi, Ponte Vecchio and the Oltrarno
Morning: three hours in the Uffizi
Take the first Uffizi slot of the day. Three hours is a realistic minimum for the Botticelli rooms, Leonardo, Raphael and the corridors of ancient sculpture.
If the Vasari Corridor is open during your visit, the combined ticket costs €43 on the day or €47 in advance.
Midday: across Ponte Vecchio
Walk out of the Uffizi to Ponte Vecchio, where only goldsmiths and jewellers have traded since a decree of 1593, and cross to the Oltrarno. Il Santo Bevitore on Via di Santo Spirito is a convivial Tuscan trattoria that suits this point in the day.
Afternoon: Palazzo Pitti or the Boboli Gardens
Choose one, not both, after a morning in the Uffizi. Palazzo Pitti costs €16 on the day and is closed on Mondays.
The Boboli Gardens cost €10 on the day and close early in winter: from November to February the gardens close at 4.30 pm, with last admission an hour before. In those months, go to Boboli straight after lunch and save Pitti's rooms for a rainy day.
Late afternoon: Santo Spirito and San Frediano
Finish around Piazza Santo Spirito and San Frediano, with artisans' workshops and neighbourhood bars. The Brancacci Chapel, with Masaccio's frescoes, is close by but closed on Tuesdays, so book it online for another day.
For a slower route through this neighbourhood, our half-day guide to the Oltrarno picks the sights and craftspeople in order.
Day 3: Sant'Ambrogio, the Bargello and sunset at San Miniato
Morning: the market and the Bargello
Begin where Florentines shop. The Sant'Ambrogio market is open Monday to Saturday from 7 am to 2 pm, so go early.
From there it is a short walk to the Bargello, Florence's first public building and now the national sculpture museum, with Donatello's bronze David and Michelangelo's Bacchus. The full ticket is €12, and it opens Tuesday to Sunday from 8.15 am.
Midday: Santa Croce
The Basilica of Santa Croce, with the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo, is open Monday to Saturday from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm and on Sunday afternoon from 2 pm.
Behind it, the Scuola del Cuoio leather school lets you watch artisans at work, a good place to see how Florentine leather is made before you buy any.
Late afternoon: San Niccolò, Piazzale Michelangelo and San Miniato
Cross the river at Ponte alle Grazie and climb through San Niccolò to Piazzale Michelangelo, then continue up the steps to San Miniato al Monte.
The basilica is open Monday to Saturday from 9.30 am to 1 pm and 3.30 to 6 pm, and on Sundays from 3.30 to 5.30 pm.
Time the climb for the hour before sunset, then walk down for dinner in San Niccolò, where Zeb serves a seasonal chalkboard of Tuscan dishes at a counter.
Swap option: Fiesole instead of the hills
If you prefer one escape from the centre, take city bus 7 from Libertà–Porta San Gallo up to Piazza Mino in Fiesole on an ordinary €2 urban ticket. The Roman theatre and the view back over the dome make a strong half day.
For longer trips to Siena, Pisa or Chianti, see the day-trip section of our Florence City Guide.
How much do three days of tickets cost?
For one adult following this plan, the core tickets come to roughly €96, or €99 from 15 December 2026.
That is the €30 Brunelleschi Pass, the €40 Uffizi Galleries five-day ticket for the Uffizi, Pitti and Boboli, and the 48-hour ticket of the Bargello museums, which includes the Accademia: €26, rising to €29 from 15 December 2026 to 2 May 2027. Buying the Accademia and the Bargello separately would cost €32 instead, or €35 in that period.
The Firenzecard costs €85 and gives 72 hours from your first entry to more than 60 museums in the city circuit, each visited once. It pays off only if you add many smaller museums to this plan, so compare its museum list with your own before you buy.
On the first Sunday of each month, state museums such as the Accademia are free, but the Accademia takes no bookings that day, so expect long queues.
Where to stay for a three-day trip
For three nights, sleep within walking distance of the Duomo and the river. The area between Santa Maria Novella and the Signoria is the most practical if you arrive by train.
The Oltrarno, around Santo Spirito and Via Maggio, gives you quieter evenings and is ten minutes on foot from Ponte Vecchio.
Our selection of Florence hotels lists properties with a Booking.com guest score of 8.0 or higher. If you only have two days, our two-day Florence itinerary compresses the same anchors into a shorter plan.
Getting around in three days
You will walk almost everything in this plan. The centre is compact and largely pedestrian, and every day here is designed as a loop on foot.
For the airport, a bus or Fiesole, a single urban ticket on Autolinee Toscane costs €2, or €3 if you buy it from the driver.
Do not drive into the centre. The historic core is a limited-traffic zone with camera enforcement, so leave a hire car outside the ZTL or pick it up only on the day you leave Florence.
What three-day visitors mean for hosts and local businesses
The three-day trip is the normal unit of a Florence visit, not a niche.
Tuscany's regional tourism observatory, produced by Ca' Foscari University of Venice with Toscana Promozione Turistica and published in May 2026, puts the average stay in the region at about three days in 2025.
The same report attributes 39% of foreign tourists' overnight stays in Tuscany to the Florence area, based on mobile-network data, and names the United States as the region's largest foreign market for arrivals, at 1.3 million.
Guests plan around closures and slots
A visitor with three days usually builds the trip around three timed bookings: the dome, the Accademia and the Uffizi. That makes arrival day and Monday the weak points.
Hosts can help by sending a short pre-arrival note with the official booking links, the Monday closures and the dome closure dates, so guests do not lose a morning. Suggesting Monday as a day for Fiesole, Palazzo Vecchio or a train trip turns a dead day into a good one.
The day ends in the hills, then comes back down
Itineraries like this one send visitors to Piazzale Michelangelo and San Miniato for the last light, then back down into San Niccolò and the Oltrarno for dinner.
For restaurants and bars on that route, the practical step is to be easy to book for the hour after sunset, and to say clearly online which days you are closed.
In winter, when Boboli closes at 4.30 pm, the same visitors are looking for an indoor plan in the late afternoon, which is an opening for workshops, tastings and small museums.
Short lets, tax and the rules
Short lets are a large part of this market: the same regional report counts 17.7% of Tuscany's 2025 overnight stays in tourist rentals.
In Florence, the city tax applies per person per night for the first seven nights, at €6.00 for short lets and €3.50 to €8.00 in hotels by star rating, with children under 12 exempt, under the rates in force since 1 February 2025.
Rules for new short lets in Florence have tightened sharply. Our guide to Florence short-term rental rules explains where letting is still possible.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice: check the City of Florence's official pages before acting.
For people who come back for longer, our page on living in Florence covers neighbourhoods, costs and daily life.
Florence in 3 days: frequently asked questions
Is three days enough for Florence?
Three days is enough for the Duomo complex, the Accademia, the Uffizi, the Oltrarno and the Bargello at a calm pace, with one sunset viewpoint.
It is not enough to add a full day trip without dropping one of those anchors. With a fourth day, add Siena, Pisa or Chianti.
Do I need to book the Uffizi and the Accademia in advance?
Booking is recommended for both, especially from spring to autumn. The Uffizi costs €29 booked in advance against €25 on the day, so you pay a little more for a guaranteed slot. The dome is different: a booked time slot is compulsory.
What is the best day to start a three-day Florence itinerary?
Tuesday is the safest start, because it gives you three consecutive days with the state museums and the cathedral open. A Wednesday-to-Friday trip works equally well. Avoid starting on a Sunday if the cathedral interior matters to you.
Is the Firenzecard worth it for three days?
Not for this plan. The main tickets here cost about €96 bought separately (€99 from 15 December 2026), and the Firenzecard costs €85 but only pays off if you add several smaller museums from its circuit.
Compare its museum list with your plan before buying.
Official sources, checked 3 November 2026: City of Florence, museum opening times (updated 1 October 2026), Uffizi Galleries, tickets and fares, Boboli Gardens, Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, prices, Brunelleschi's Dome entry rules, FeelFlorence, Galleria dell'Accademia, Musei del Bargello, Firenzecard, Autolinee Toscane, tickets, City of Florence, tourist tax and Osservatorio Turistico Regionale, 2025 annual report.
Photo credits: cover by Felix Bacher and the Arno at sunset by Sebastian B, both via Unsplash.
