Less Crowded Sites in Florence
In spite of crowds, some sites in Florence will always be worthwhile. That doesn’t mean we don’t all need some breathing room at intervals. Over the course of multiple trips to the city, we’ve learned to mix lesser-known sites with the big-ticket destinations. In the historic center, a handful of world-class museums and churches gets overlooked in the rush to the Duomo, Uffizi, and Accademia. Nearby, quieter neighborhoods beckon, where the river and green spaces provide tranquility. We’ve put together a list of places which offer interest and beauty without mobs. All of them are marked on our Google map.
Orsanmichele Church and Museum
Medici Chapels: Michelangelo’s New Sacristy
San Lorenzo Basilica: Old Sacristy
Piazza della Santissima Annunziata and the Hospital of the Innocents
Santo Spirito Piazza and Basilica
Boboli Garden and Buontalenti Grotto
Visiting Florence: Essential Tips
Orsanmichele Church and Museum
Tucked between the Piazza della Signoria and the Duomo, the church and museum of Orsanmichele celebrates the role of artisans in Florentine innovation. Its quirky form – a box with Gothic flourishes – derives from the building’s past as a market and granary. Unlike the prominent portals of most churches, the Orsanmichele entrance is tucked away around the corner.
A series of religious miracles brought so many pilgrims that the structure was transformed into a church at the end of the 14th century. Each of Florence’s artisanal guilds sponsored a statue of their respective patron saints, vying with one another for most prestigious commission. The list of sculptors became a roll-call of Renaissance greats: Ghiberti, Brunelleschi, Donatello, Verrocchio, and Giambologna. Besides the art, the space features exquisite vaulting and rooftop views. The church’s dim interior and quiet make a respite on a hot day.
Bargello Museum
The Bargello is a perfect museum: this fascinating building circa 1256 holds one of the world’s best sculpture collections, but isn’t big or crowded enough to overwhelm. In other cities, the Bargello would be the star attraction, but most visitors to Florence skip it in favor the Uffizi and the Accademia – too bad for them.
The museum is worth visiting for the works by Donatello alone, which still seem modern over 500 years later. His ethereal St. John the Baptist is the most gently compelling statue I’ve ever seen. And his David ranks amongst the most curious. The Bargello invites quiet contemplation of the sculptures, a luxury not permitted amidst the crush of the big-name museums.
A two-level courtyard holds medieval hardware and heraldry on the walls and under the arcades. Mixed into the collection are diverse sculptures, from Gemito’s Il Pescatore (The Fisher Boy) and Giambologna’s birds to the life-sized crowned stone lions guarding a door. On the ground floor, Michelangelo’s genius is already evident in his Bacchus, completed when he was only 22.
Medici Chapels: Michelangelo’s New Sacristy
Head to the San Lorenzo complex for a chance to study more of Michelangelo’s work without the masses.
The New Sacristy is one of a series of mausoleums for the ubiquitous Medici family. If you’ve seen the tidy figures lying on Gothic tombs, you’ll understand why Michelangelo’s figures sprawling over curved sarcophagi revolutionized the genre. Even the thinkers look active.
Along with his characteristic muscled physiques and intense expressions this space shows a uniquely playful side to the artist. For instance, look at how many places he slips in little heads to reinforce the Day/Night, Dawn/Dusk time allegory. Based on a recently-excavated space next door, some scholars think Michelangelo hid out here during a siege, which may have given him time to consider such little details. In early 2024, visitors were allowed in on a limited basis to view the charcoal sketches found on the walls. It’s unclear whether the “Secret Room” will remain open since the work is extremely fragile.
Laurentian Library
In the nearby Laurentian Library, Michelangelo upended architecture as much as sculpture. He played with conventions by highlighting supporting elements, such as blank niches topped by pediments. The dramatic staircase and swooping curves ushered in a more dynamic style and paved the way for the Baroque.
San Lorenzo Basilica: Old Sacristy
The Medici Chapels are attached to the church of San Lorenzo, which requires a different ticket. The basilica was redesigned by Brunelleschi, and includes one of his most influential interiors. The formidable Medicis sponsored a transformation of the sacristy into a family mausoleum. The Old Sacristy is just one room but its impact on Western architecture was monumental. Brunelleschi used lines of pietra serena (serene stone) to accent soft white walls. His minimalist approach still feels fresh – an antidote to the overwhelming expanses of frescoes elsewhere.
Piazza della Santissima Annunziata and the Hospital of the Innocents
Brunelleschi’s Hospital of the Innocents (Ospedale degli Innocenti) makes a relaxing detour. Florentine humanism included progressive views on caring for children, resulting in what UNICEF calls “arguably the oldest continuously operating children’s care institution in the world.”
The Ospedale even provided a rotating container (still visible) so that residents could leave babies anonymously. The Museo degli Innocenti documents over six centuries of history, and includes a small collection of work by high-profile artists such as della Robbia, Botticelli, and Ghirlandaio. The café on top has views of the Duomo and is accessible without a museum ticket.
In a testament to the influence of Brunelleschi’s Ospedale, two of the three remaining façades sport matching porticos. The orphanage inaugurated Renaissance architecture, inspiring Sangallo’s loggia across the way and a remodel of the Basilica di Santissima Annunziata. Michelozzo designed the church cloisters and atrium; the façade was added around 1600. The preponderance of porticos means there is almost always shade on the piazza. In warmer months it hosts traditional religious and civic festivals, as well as markets and concerts.
Arno River and Oltrarno
After all the density of central Florence, hitting the open space along the Arno River can feel miraculous. Not surprisingly, people congregate here in all but the most extreme weather, especially at sunset. The Oltrarno (other side of the river) lies right next to the main sights but feels more laid back than the city center.
We stayed on the Borgo San Jacopo, which runs behind the buildings lining the Oltrarno side of the river. The old medieval street features churches, palaces, and traditional workshops as well as some modern shops and plenty of choices for food. The river provided an oasis of calm without sacrificing proximity to the major sites.
Santo Spirito Piazza and Basilica
Huge plane trees and an expansive feel make the Piazza Santo Spirito one of the nicest places in Florence to sit and have a drink. It’s also a chance to see Brunelleschi’s last building.
The architect died just as construction began on the Church of Santo Spirito. His successors generally adhered to his design, but the façade was never completed. The flat stucco wall with awkward curves was added in 1792 and still looks strangely unfinished.
Boboli Gardens and Buontalenti Grotto
Also in the Oltrarno: the Boboli Gardens, with iconic views across the river. The gardens themselves are quite formal: wall-sized hedges define room-like areas of grass, with features like a reflecting pool or a semi-circle of trees.
Our favorite part is the Buontalenti Grotta, the most famous (and bizarre) of the gardens’ grottoes. Creating artificial caves to celebrate the natural world became a Renaissance trend, and the Florentines brought plenty of imagination to the task. Sometimes referred to as the Grotta Grande (“Big Grotto”), the trio of spaces evolved over several decades and included the work of multiple artists. Michelangelo’s unfinished slave statues were eventually replaced with casts (the originals are in the Accademia), but Giambologna’s fountain and plenty of wild frescoes remain. It’s also a chance to discover what classical columns and pediments look like coated in shells. The grotto is tucked away on the site’s northern edge, just behind the Pitti Palace.
Bardini Garden
Admission to the Bardini Garden is included with a ticket to the Boboli Garden, although the only easy access between them is via Fort Belvedere. The hill slopes much more sharply under the Bardini, providing panoramic views of the city. Landscaping includes flower gardens as well as more trees, fountains, statues, and grottoes.
Visiting Florence: Essential Tips
Unless you plan to stay for at least a few weeks, chances are you won’t make it to everything you want to see. (Not with your sanity intact, anyway.) This means prioritizing. Reserve tickets for major sites in advance, and stay flexible about the rest.
Opening hours in Florence are notoriously Byzantine. Some places operate only a few hours per week under normal circumstances. Then there are myriad restoration projects happening at any given time, not to mention unforeseen circumstances like the ticket machine breaking down. The Florence Tourist Office’s PDF is the most comprehensive and up-to-date source of information, but it’s still not infallible – and unfortunately, the website doesn’t always load.
Further Reading
For more on Florence, see our guide to Brunelleschi’s architecture.
Ross King’s book Brunelleschi’s Dome and Mary McCarthy’s classic The Stones of Florence provide additional context.
