As the birthplace of the Renaissance, Florence has a ton of incredible galleries, museums, and architecture. As the home of Chianti wine, there are many Tuscan vineyards and medieval towns to visit too. Let’s not start listing the food and desserts because we’ll be here all day! Planning and booking these amazing travel experiences for your group trip can be a daunting task.
Luckily, there are so many Florence tours that cater to a variety of budgets, interests, and needs. Friendly, expert guides take out all the stress and guesswork so you can focus on having a wonderful time in this beautiful Italian city together. This is a curated list of the best tours in Florence for the most unforgettable experiences you’ll talk about for years!
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Table of Contents
Top Florence Tours for Groups
Free Walking Tours of Florence
Essential Highlights & Hidden Gems
Taking a free Florence walking tour is the best way to get your bearings on your first day in the city. It’s low-key so if some members of your group are jetlagged, they can rest and meet you later. Everyone else can get their first taste of Florence!
Free Tour runs a super highly-rated Essential Highlights & Hidden Gems Florence Tour. They run it twice daily in English (10:00 AM and 3:30 PM) for 2 hours. Meet your tour guide in Piazza San Lorenzo and learn about the fascinating history of the city from the Romans to the Medici and beyond.
Here are just some places featured on the tour:
- Palazzo Vecchio
- Medici Palace
- Uffizi Gallery
- Piazza della Signoria
- Loggia dei Lanzi
- Ponte Vecchio
You won’t go inside buildings on a free guided tour, but you’ll learn about them. Even though it’s a free tour, book spaces in advance. Although the guides are working for tips, the city of Florence limits tour group sizes so they might not be able to accommodate everyone who shows up.
Tip at least €10 but these Florence guides usually work hard for their tips, so pay a fair price!
Pro tip: Wear comfortable shoes as Florence has lots of cobblestone streets.
The Dark Side of Florence
Free Tours by Foot offers lots of alternative free Florence walking tours. Their Dark Side of Florence Tour is perfect if you’re looking for an evening tour and everyone is over 18.
Plus, it’s a great guided tour if some members of your group have already visited Florence. They’ve probably never heard these morbid stories!
Your tour guide will delve into the mysteries, monsters, and murderers that have plagued Florence over the centuries. Hear tales about Florence’s most deadly serial killer, conspiracies, tortures, and unexplained happenings that have never been solved.
Meet your guide at Piazza Santissima Annunziata for this 90-minute walking tour at 7:15 PM daily. Groups larger than six should contact the tour company before arriving to ensure there are spaces for everyone. Bring some loose change plus tip money as you might need to pay a nominal fee (around €1.20) for a headset.
Florence Attraction and Museum Tours
Skip-the-Line Duomo & Dome Tour
The 15th-century Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore is better known simply as Florence’s Duomo. It’s the city’s most important and iconic building. Naturally, the line to enter is super long in all seasons and all hours of the day! And if your group wants to climb Brunelleschi’s Dome, that’s a different line and ticket entirely.
Explore Florence Cathedral in a stress-free way and book this Florence Cathedral and Dome Skip-the-Line Tour. This 2.5-hour tour will allow you to side-step long lines to enter the cathedral through a separate entrance. It also includes a skip-the-line Dome climb plus an exclusive viewpoint from the Duomo terraces (usually off-limits).
Private Michelangelo’s David First Viewing
If there is anywhere in Florence worth setting an alarm for, it’s the Accademia Gallery. This museum is always so unbelievably crowded because it houses one of the world’s most famous sculptures. That’s why this Private Michelangelo’s David First Viewing Tour by LivTours is so special.
Yes, your group can be the first people to see Michelangelo’s David! This 1-hour tour gets you inside the museum at 8:15 AM before it opens at 8:30 AM. Seeing this incredible artwork (and the other pieces in the museum!) with an expert guide on an early Accademia tour will be an experience you won’t forget.
Private Uffizi Galleries Crash Course
The Uffizi Gallery isn’t just one of the best art galleries in Italy, it’s one of the best in the world! It holds over 1,800 Renaissance paintings and other artworks by masters like Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci.
Its popularity and size can be overwhelming, so booking a Uffizi Gallery tour for your group is a good idea. Context Travel hosts an awesome Private Uffizi Gallery Crash Course Tour. This 3-hour tour (starting at 8:30 AM or 3:30 PM) includes skip-the-line access and only the most fascinating exhibits.
This tour is ideal for small groups of adults and older kids. There’s also a Uffizi Gallery for Kids Crash Course Tour. It’s perfect for groups traveling with young ones!
Small-Group Perfume Masterclass
This is a little off the beaten track but still such a quintessential Florentine experience! This Perfume Masterclass allows you to visit a master perfumer’s workshop in a Renaissance palace.
Catherine de Medici is credited with bringing perfume to Europe in the 16th century. Since the Medici family was from Florence, the city is a great place to discover more about this ancient art.
Learn all about how to make a fragrance in this 2-hour experience. Even better, you can choose and create your own scent! Everyone who participates will receive a certificate of completion from the master perfumer. Since it’s a small group, everyone will have the attention and guidance they need.
Florence City Tours
Private Full-Day City Highlights
Don’t have much time in Florence and looking for the best full-day experience possible? Check out this fabulous 7-hour Private Day Tour of Florence’s Highlights. This is ideal for groups planning a short Italian trip and want to do the top things to do in Florence in one day.
This full-day tour begins at 10:30 AM in the famous Piazza della Signoria. Your private guide will show you around the Uffizi Gallery before allowing you free time for lunch. While the cost is not included in the tour, you can be sure your guide will have delicious traditional Tuscan lunch suggestions.
Next, you’ll stroll along the Ponte Vecchio Bridge, see Michelangelo’s David at the Accademia Gallery, and visit the Duomo. Every attraction includes skip-the-line tickets to make the most of your limited time. Take advantage of the tour upgrade and climb Giotto’s Bell Tower or Brunelleschi’s Dome!
Groups traveling with kids may prefer a shorter, more family-friendly option. Check out WithLocals’ 2-hour Family-Friendly Florence City Tour.
Electric Vespa Tour
Vehicle tours are such a fun activity for small groups. While self-drive vintage Fiat 500 tours are great, there’s no experience like zipping around on a Tuscany Vespa tour. Viator’s Vespa Tour of Fiesole and Mugello is ideal if you’d prefer to stay close to Florence.
Book as many electric Vespas as your group needs. Each Vespa can have one passenger and one driver, but you may all want to drive! Enjoy zooming around the hills just outside of Florence and witness city views from Piazzale Michelangelo. Finish your 4-hour self-drive tour in the Oltrarno district with complimentary cheese and wine.
Everyone must provide an International Driving License and Passport so be sure you have both! All drivers need to be at least 18 years old too.
Group Photoshoot
Your trip to Florence might be the first time your extended family has traveled together. Maybe it’s your first girls’ trip in a decade, or perhaps it’s just a vacation you want to remember forever! If so, book a Florence Photographer via Flytographer.
Hand-picked and vetted photographers will snap beautiful pictures of your group. You’ll get a quick turnaround on the photos so you can post them on social media immediately.
Plus, your photographer is also a local expert about Florence. Ask them for their recommendations on the most Instagrammable spots and what to see, do, and eat in the city.
Florence Food Tours for Groups
Secret Food Tour
Let’s face it, one of the main reasons you planned a group trip to Florence was because of the food, right? Gelato, pasta, pizza, bistecca… Food lovers are guaranteed to adore Tuscany’s traditional cuisine. Book a small-group or private Secret Food Tour of Florence to ensure you’re spending your stomach real estate on only the best eats.
This unforgettable culinary experience will take your group (a maximum of 12 on public tours) to seven food stops over 3.5 hours. Visit cafés and markets where local Florentines go. Taste cheeses, meats, lampredotto street food (if you dare!). Visit a local trattoria and try Tuscan pasta, soups, and gelato.
Secret Food Tour’s pièce de résistance is a secret dish you will only discover on this tour! Upgrade your drinks packages and make a night of it.
Wine Tasting and Local Market Tour
Since there are so many great foodie Florence tours, here’s an alternative that focuses on wine tasting and markets. Eating Europe’s small-group Florence Central Market Tour is perfect for those with limited mobility (or with kids) as all the food stops are under one roof.
Meet your guide in San Lorenzo Market at 10 AM daily for this comprehensive 3-hour tour. Your guide will be a fervent wine enthusiast and passionate about traditional Tuscan dishes. Visit a historic wine stand with food pairings, indulge in real gelato, and taste authentic flavors.
There are discounted rates for children and teenagers.
Private Gelato-Making Class
There’s nothing like eating a dish in the place where it was invented. Well, there is one thing: making it yourself! Florence is the birthplace of ice cream’s cousin, gelato. LivTours runs a Private Gelato Class so your group can learn how to make it!
Learn the process of gelato-making, how to balance flavors, and even how to scoop it. Of course, you get to taste your creations as soon as they’re made.
Since it’s private, your group can ask as many questions as you like and take your time. Professional gelato-makers will teach you in their family-owned gelateria’s real Italian kitchen.
Pasta and Tiramisu Cooking Class
Do you only have time for one Florence cooking class? Get more bang for your buck by signing your group up for this small-group Pasta and Tiramisu Class. It’s not a private tour but there are limited spaces so your group will still receive excellent instruction.
Head to the San Spirito neighborhood south of the River Arno for this 3-hour experience. Learn how to make two types of pasta and homemade tiramisu. You’ll be given top tips that only true Italians know! Enjoy eating the dishes afterward with glasses of wine, coffee, and/or limoncello.
There are four different daily start times to choose from to fit your schedule. It’s kid-friendly and every instructor is welcoming and patient.
Day Tours From Florence
Private Tuscan Vineyards Tour
The heart of Tuscany is home to hundreds of Chianti vineyards stretching in rows across the valleys and hills. There are many fabulous day trips into the Tuscan countryside for wine tastings and Chianti winery tours. However, I think Context Travel’s Private Full-Day Val d’Orcia Wine Tasting Tour is hard to beat.
Your private tour guide will drive your group from Florence to Pienza, a delightful Renaissance town. Next, you’ll continue onto the world-famous wine town of Montalcino. This tour includes a light lunch with local Pecorino cheese and samplings of Brunello. Finally, head to Sant’Antimo and see its magnificent 12th-century abbey.
This is a luxury, full-service tour for people who want to see more of Tuscany’s rich history and picturesque landscapes. Groups of up to eight people can easily book one tour. Larger groups may have to make two separate bookings for two vehicles and guides.
Private Lucca and Pisa Tour
For some, traveling to Tuscany and not seeing the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person is unthinkable. This Private Lucca and Pisa Tour is even better as you can explore two Tuscan towns in one day.
Take a private chauffeured car from your Florence hotel straight to Pisa. Organize funny photos of the Tower and your group before exploring the stunning Romanesque cathedral next door. Then, travel to the nearby Renaissance-style fortified city of Lucca and stroll through the historic streets.
This tour allows your group free time in both medieval towns to explore them at your own pace. However, if anyone in your group is a self-confessed history buff, add on a local guide to learn more about these fascinating places.
Siena and San Gimignano Tour
Tuscany is full of beautiful ancient hilltop towns, but they don’t all boast a UNESCO-certified historic center. Groups on a budget will love this Siena and San Gimignano Small-Group Tour.
This epic 11-hour tour will pick your group (and others) up from Piazza Montelungo and will drive you to Monteriggioni. After exploring the walled medieval town, you’ll be whisked away to Siena for some free time or you can opt for a guided tour.
Next, you’ll head to San Gimignano and its iconic, impressive towers. The tour will return to Florence via a famous wine estate in the Chianti region.
Private Cinque Terre Tour
Visiting the pastel-colored cliffside villages of Cinque Terre isn’t the easiest day trip from Florence. But wow, it’s an unforgettable journey worth taking. Luckily, this Private Cinque Terre Full-Day Tour takes care of the logistics so your group can concentrate on enjoying this incredible excursion.
Visit the unique but equally stunning Ligurian villages of Vernazza, Monterosso, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. Learn about the history of the villages, see the most iconic viewpoints, and enjoy free time for lunch. You’ll also get to ride on Italian trains on this Cinque Terre day trip. This offers your group the most scenic views of the coastline.
Enjoy the Best Experiences with these Florence Group Tours
Whether you want to explore the gems of Tuscany on a day tour, savor every bite on a food tour, or admire Italy’s cultural heritage in a museum, there’s a tour of Florence for your group. Book an affordable small-group tour, or book a private tour and move at your own pace.
See Florence’s iconic landmarks if it’s your first time, or try alternative activities on a second or third trip. Whatever you choose, an expert local guide is ready to welcome your group to the wonders of Florence!