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Centro Storico

UNESCO World Heritage site around the Duomo and Piazza della Signoria

Florence's historic centre has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982, packing the Duomo, the Uffizi and the Palazzo Vecchio into a small area.

Busy shopping street heading towards Piazza della Repubblica, with the distinctive triumphal arch in the background and street vendors in the foreground.

The heart of the World Heritage site

The Centro Storico is Florence's historic core and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982. In a remarkably small area you'll find the biggest names all at once, the Duomo with Brunelleschi's dome, the Baptistery, the Uffizi Gallery, the Palazzo Vecchio on Piazza della Signoria, and the guild church of Orsanmichele. Narrow lanes, elegant shops and historic cafés fill the space between the monuments.

Florence on foot

The centre is remarkably compact, almost everything is within a few minutes' walk, and cars are banned here anyway (it's a restricted traffic zone, ZTL). From the Duomo to Piazza della Signoria, and on to the Ponte Vecchio, each leg takes just a few minutes.

The best base for first-time visitors

If this is your first trip to Florence, staying in the Centro Storico is the most convenient choice: every sight is right on your doorstep, though you'll pay more for it and deal with heavy crowds in high summer. If you'd rather have it quieter, the neighbouring Oltrarno district is the alternative.

Around Centro Storico

Aerial view of Brunelleschi's red-tiled cathedral dome and Giotto's Campanile rising above Florence's old town.

Florence Cathedral

Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence's Gothic cathedral, is topped by Brunelleschi's world-famous dome. Entry is free; climbing the dome needs advance booking.

The courtyard of the Uffizi Gallery with the elegant colonnades of the facade and a view through the archway to the Renaissance buildings opposite.

Uffizi Gallery

The Uffizi Gallery holds the world's finest Renaissance collection - Botticelli, Leonardo, Raphael, Caravaggio. Book a timed-entry ticket in advance.

Rustic sandstone entrance portal of Palazzo Vecchio with the blue sign for the Museo di Palazzo Vecchio and the Florentine lily crest above the arch.

Palazzo Vecchio

Palazzo Vecchio on Piazza della Signoria has been Florence's town hall since the 14th century, home to the Hall of the Five Hundred and the Torre di Arnolfo.

The Loggia dei Lanzi on the Piazza della Signoria with its three large round arches and the sculptures underneath, busy with numerous tourists.

Piazza della Signoria

Florence's political square is a free open-air museum in front of the Palazzo Vecchio, with the Neptune Fountain, a copy of David and Renaissance sculpture in the Loggia dei Lanzi.

The façade of Orsanmichele with the statues of the Florentine guilds

Orsanmichele

This solid guild church between the Duomo and Piazza della Signoria was once a grain market, famous for the saints' statues in its facade niches and the sculpture museum upstairs.