Basilica Santa Croce: Walking Among the Masters of Florence
Recommended by 98% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Florence, Italy
- 1 hour (approx.)
- Offered in: English
Explore our promoted experiences
Overview
Learn secrets of Santa Croce Basilica that you wouldn’t likely learn if you visited on your own on this guided tour Florence’s “Temple of the Italian Glories.” See the tombs of luminaries including Michelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli, admire museum-worthy frescoes by Giotto, and learn about the design of this Franciscan jewel.
- Perfect for travelers wanting to learn about the history of Santa Croce Basilica
- Learn about the church’s most treasured paintings, sculptures, and tombs
- See details and historic highlights you might miss on your own
- Includes a tour of Santa Croce Square and the church’s interior, crypt, and cemetery
What's Included
- Official Certified guide
- Radio system to hear the guide
- Entrance tickets with reservations
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Food and drinks
- Transportation to/from attractions
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Monument to Dante AlighieriPiazza di Santa Croce, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy
Please be present next to the Statue of Dante Alighieri (Piazza della Santa Croce, 1 Firenze), 15 minutes before departure time in order to avoid any delays.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
1
Basilica of Santa Croce
1 hour • Admission Ticket Included
Basilica of Santa Croce (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- A dress code is required to enter places of worship and selected museums. No shorts or sleeveless tops allowed. Knees and shoulders MUST be covered for both men and women. You may risk refused entry if you fail to comply with these dress requirements.
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately.
- Please note that the tour requires a minimum number of two guests to run.
- Please note that if you arrive after the tour start time you will not be able to join and will not be refunded or have your tour rescheduled.
- There is a possibility of cancellation after confirmation if there are not enough passengers to meet requirements. In the event of this occurring, you will be offered an alternative or full refund.
- A refusal of entry due to inappropriate dress code, the tour will not be rescheduled or refunded.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.9
based on 107 reviews
Elizabeth_T, Jan 2026
Good tour. Interesting information. Always helpful to have a guide. Otherwise , you really miss everything.
Jacqueline_M, Jan 2026
Walking Among the Masters at Santa Croce was a memorable experience of our time in Florence. From the moment we stepped into the basilica, it felt like walking through Italian history. Seeing the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, and Rossini in one place was incredible, and our guide added to the context.
We learned about the impact of the 1966 Florence flood and the restoration efforts. We also enjoyed seeing Donatello’s crucifix. So much to see and our photos don’t give it justice.
Kristin_J, Nov 2025
Wow, our tour guide was spectacularly knowledgeable in all things Florence! At the end of our one hour tour, it was as though we had been in an art religious history class. The basilica was beautiful, and we were very appreciative to our guide for all her knowledge and expertise.
Response from Host, Nov 2025
Thank you so much for your wonderful 5-star review! 🌟
We’re thrilled to hear that your Santa Croce tour felt like a true journey through art and religious history. Your guide will be delighted to know her knowledge and passion made such a strong impression. Santa Croce is a remarkable place, and we’re glad you enjoyed every moment of the experience.
Thank you again for sharing your kind words! 🙏✨
Daniel_H, Oct 2025
Beautiful artwork and we loved walking amongst the greats of Florence. Our guide explained everything well and was friendly.
Response from Host, Oct 2025
Thank you so much for your 5-star review! 🌟 We’re thrilled you enjoyed discovering the beautiful artwork and history of the Basilica Santa Croce. It’s wonderful to hear that your guide’s explanations and friendly approach made the experience so enjoyable. We hope to welcome you again soon in Florence! 🙏✨
Jennifer_N, Oct 2025
The Basilica di Santa Croce is a wonderful church which should be included in your Florence trip. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and explained the significance of the artwork around the church and grounds. The church and beautiful artwork are spectacular....the history of the church is amazing.....and it is the church where Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli are all buried. Highly recommend taking this tour.
Response from Host, Oct 2025
Thank you so much for your fantastic 5-star review! 🌟 We’re thrilled you enjoyed your visit to the Basilica di Santa Croce and that your guide’s knowledge brought the church’s remarkable history and artwork to life. It truly is a special place, with the resting places of Michelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli making it even more meaningful. We truly appreciate your recommendation and are delighted this was such a wonderful experience for you! 🙏✨
Laura_S, Sep 2025
From the outside, I never thought this church would be a HUGE as it is! It just goes on and on! Learning the history was just fascinating!!
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you so much for your 5-star review! 🌟 We’re delighted you were impressed by the grandeur of the Basilica Santa Croce and that learning its rich history made the experience even more fascinating. We’re so glad you enjoyed the tour and hope to welcome you again soon! 🙏✨
Susan_S, Aug 2025
Great tour and excellent guide. Very informative and educational. Would not have been as comprehensive tour without a guide!
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Thank you so much for your 5-star review! We're thrilled to hear you enjoyed the tour of the Basilica Santa Croce and found it informative and enriching. Our guides are passionate about bringing history to life, and we're glad it made a difference in your experience. We hope to welcome you again on another unforgettable tour!
James_E, Jul 2025
Our guide was very knowledgeable and gave us an informative overview on the history of the Santa Croce Basilica and some of the famous people burial there.
Response from Host, Jul 2025
Thank you for your wonderful 5-star review! We're so glad you enjoyed your visit to the Basilica Santa Croce and found the historical insights meaningful. It's an honor to walk among the legacies of such remarkable figures—hope to see you again on another tour soon! 😊✨
Ron_C, Jun 2025
We had the very best guide, Chiara Conti. She was so incredibly knowledgeable and kind. We had a great time learning from her and she patiently answered every question we had. We are so grateful.
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Thank you so much for your amazing review! We're thrilled to hear you had such a fantastic experience at the Basilica of Santa Croce with Chiara Conti. Her deep knowledge, kindness, and thoughtful approach truly make each tour special. We're so glad she helped make your visit memorable and meaningful. We’ll be sure to pass along your kind words to her. We hope to welcome you back to Florence again soon!
ittai_g, May 2025
The guide had very bad English and we couldn’t understand half of her words. It is an expensive guide for the information that was presented
Response from Host, May 2025
Dear Customer,
Thank you for your feedback. We’re truly sorry to hear that the language barrier affected your experience during the Basilica Santa Croce tour. Please note that this was a new guide, and not one of our regular team members who typically receive excellent reviews.
We take your comments seriously and will follow up to ensure all guides meet our quality and language standards. We genuinely regret the disappointment and hope to have the opportunity to offer you a much better experience in the future.
Elke_S, May 2025
Well worth the visit with an experienced guide to get the full story. Beautiful church with beautiful artwork and sculptures
Response from Host, May 2025
Thank you so much for your kind review! We’re thrilled to hear you enjoyed your visit and appreciated having an experienced guide to bring the history and beauty of the church to life. The artwork and sculptures truly are remarkable, and we’re so glad you had a memorable experience. We hope to welcome you back soon for more discoveries in Florence!
Catherine_M, May 2025
This was a quick tour we added on, mostly because my brother loves Dante and we wanted to send him pics from the memorial - it ended up being truly a fantastic tour! Jenny was wonderful - she grew up in the neighborhood where Santa Croce is and knew so much about the church and the area. Really a great tour, so much history and just an hour out of our day! Highly recommend!
Response from Host, May 2025
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We're thrilled to hear that your visit to the Basilica of Santa Croce turned into such a fantastic experience. Jenny’s deep connection to the neighborhood and her passion for the history of Florence truly make the "Walking Among the Masters" tour something special. We're so glad you enjoyed the rich stories, the beautiful setting, and that you found this gem of a tour worth recommending. We hope to welcome you back for more unforgettable moments in Florence!
Sai_P, Mar 2025
Our guide Raphael was very informative and friendly. Loved our tour with him as family. A Keep it up.
Response from Host, Apr 2025
We sincerely appreciate your 5-star review! Your satisfaction is our top priority, and it’s wonderful to know we met your expectations. We’ll keep working hard to make every experience just as great. See you next time!
Nirzka_L, Jan 2025
It was a wonderful experience! Mateo was our tour guide. and he was simply Wonderful, Spectacular! He gave us a history class of the Santa Croce Basilica, without losing the details behind the reality of Florence at the time from his perspective as a historian. We loved it. Thank you Mateo for transporting us to past centuries! For being so humorous, jovial, for teaching us so much! Sincerely, Nirzka Labault
Response from Host, Feb 2025
Dear Nirzka Labault,
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! 🌟 We’re absolutely delighted to hear that you had such an incredible experience discovering the art and history of Santa Croce Basilica with Mateo.
Your kind words truly capture Mateo’s passion for history and storytelling. His ability to transport guests back in time, while adding a touch of humor and warmth, is what makes his tours so special. We’re thrilled you enjoyed every moment and that he brought the rich history of Florence to life for you.
Thank you again for sharing your experience. We hope to welcome you back for more unforgettable tours in Florence! 🇮🇹✨
Best regards,
Chirag_B, Oct 2024
PROS
- Ou tour guide, Elena, was AWESOME. She had our small group of 4 people and she gave us so much history and background.
- She was wonderful and always ready to answer questions.
- The Basilica was amazing and the number of famous Italians buried here was mind-blowing
Overall a great guided tour and Elena was awesome
Response from Host, Oct 2024
Thank you for your wonderful review! We’re so happy to hear that you had an amazing time exploring the Santa Croce Basilica with Elena as your guide. She’s truly passionate about sharing the rich history of Florence, and we’re thrilled she could bring the fascinating stories of the Basilica and its famous figures to life for your group.
We’ll be sure to pass along your kind words to Elena – she’ll be delighted to hear she made such a positive impact on your experience! Thank you for choosing our tour, and we hope to welcome you again on your next visit to Florence.
Cindy_A, Aug 2024
Helena was fantastic! She was enthusiastic, captivating and had great stories of history to tell. It was a wonderful tour!!!
Nick_L, Jul 2024
This tour was fantastic and featured the best tour guide we've ever had. Matteo's knowledge and passion for the subject was clear to see and he really brought the history alive. Bravo Matteo!
Claire_D, Jul 2024
Beat the line is the go in summer!
Our guide was passionate and knew her stuff. To be honest this church rivalled all the other churches we had already seen. Some famous people buried in it and a story behind each. This is well worth it while in Florence.
Kelesha_A, Jul 2024
Lovely tour guide. Perfect amount of history, detail and insight. Also appreciated the shopping tips for items reflective of the area.
Brad_L, Jul 2024
Marcello was very trough and knowledgeable. He provided in depth knowledge was very clear and easy to understand. We would very much like to have a tour with him again.
Heather_F, Jun 2024
We were incredibly fortunate to have Matteo as our guide through this breathtaking church. It turned out to be just my husband and me in our small group, which allowed us to ask Matteo numerous questions, all of which he skillfully and happily answered. The church itself is one of the most astonishingly beautiful I have ever seen. Beyond its role as a "Star of Fame" as a final resting place for famous Italians like Michelangelo and Galileo, the artwork inside is truly stunning. Absolutely worth a visit.
Matt_S, May 2024
We had a delightful tour with Sarah at Santa Croce. Having a knowledgeable tour guide makes all the difference. It was fascinating seeing the people buried in the church, more Medici influence and the beautiful church and chapels.
Malcolm_W, May 2024
The tour guide had fantastic knowledge and enthusiasm of Florence and the entire church. Adds to the experience greatly.
Aron_B, Apr 2024
This church is incredible. There are so many historically important people buried within it! Once you figure out who your guide is everything goes pretty well. These guides do NOT hold up flags, or pennants, as the listings say they do, be warned about that. But the guide was knowledgeable and interesting to listen to. I would recommend the tour!
Dora_D, Apr 2024
We missed the tour because we arrived too late (our fault not knowing how to get a taxi). The tour guide went out of his way to find us and give us tickets to enter and we went through on our own.
Keely_W, Dec 2023
The church was beautiful and the guide provided a lot of interesting information. It did run longer than expected so I am not sure which parts might have gotten skipped if it was the right length and the very last thing was one of the most interesting.
Henry_G, Dec 2023
Our guide was extremely knowledgeable & enthusiastic, providing details well beyond our travel guides, all delivered with a sense of humor and wit. Highly recommended!
Nancy_Z, Oct 2023
Guido was delightful and very knowledgeable. However, I
think the tour was overpriced for what we got.
Jason_Y, Oct 2023
Hillary was excellent. She gave us enough info and kept a good pace. The church is a must see as it’s the gravesite of some of the most amazing individuals of all time.
Olivia_M, Oct 2023
We loved this tour. Perfect pace and great information! Thank you so much! Recommending to everyone going to Florence.
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