Private Skip-the-Line Florence Highlights and David Walking Tour

Recommended by 92% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

Florence, Italy

3 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Group discounts
Offered in: English

Overview

With so much to see in Florence, it's hard to know where to begin—especially with limited time. Hit the highlights during this private walking tour, from Renaissance monuments and Medici palaces, to the Duomo and the Oltrarno. Plus, enjoy a visit to the original 'David' by Michelangelo, with timed entry tickets to the Accademia Gallery. Skip the crowds outside and head straight inside to see the sculpture up close.

Get a personalized introduction to Florence on this private tour
See the notable monuments plus tucked-away treasures
Learn the history behind the landmarks directly from your guide
Relax with hotel meet-up from select city hotels

What's Included

Professional art historian guide
Private tour
Hotel pick-up when this is central located
Timed entry tickets to Accademia Gallery

Private transportation
Lunch
Bottled water
NO REFUND is for flights/trains strikes, delays, illnesses communicated within 24hrs before the tour

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

Pick up WILL BE AT YOUR HOTEL if your hotel is in the historical center of Florence. If not, you will be contacted by our staff and define a central meeting point with the guide. Transportation to the meeting point will be at your own expenses

Itinerary

Piazza Della Repubblica (Pass By)

Ponte Vecchio (Pass By)

Palazzo Vecchio (Pass By)

Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (Pass By)

Galleria dell'Accademia

1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included

Piazza della Signoria

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Battistero Di San Giovanni (Pass By)

Ponte Santa Trinita (Pass By)

Palazzo Strozzi (Pass By)

Via de' Tornabuoni (Pass By)

Palazzo Pitti (Pass By)

Oltrarno (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Transportation is wheelchair accessible

Not recommended for travelers with back problems
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travelers can participate
NO REFUND is for flights/trains strikes, delays, illnesses or other circumstances communicated within 24hrs before the tour. For the above reasons please refer to your Travel Insurance company - please verify that it covers the above mentioned circumstances
Please provide the full names of all travelers when booking. Failure to present a voucher with all travelers’ full names at the ticket office prior to entry may result in denied entry to the attraction.
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.7

based on 78 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

great way to get to know Florence.

Gianni_B, Dec 2025

It was wonderful. Our tour guide was amazing. Highly recommended it. you will not be disappointed with the tour

This 2.5 hour walking...

Tomm_M, Apr 2025

This 2.5 hour walking tour is an excellent way to see Florence. Our guide, Christina, was so knowledgable and shared just the right amount of information without overloading. She walked us through all the neighborhoods of Florence pointing out different architectural features of the time as well as major buildings and monuments of note.

Stay away from overpriced company

Maria_P, Nov 2024

Be careful with this overpriced company. They happily agreed to later start time during the cancelation period. But when our flight was delayed and we could not get there in time they just took our 800 usd for a 2 hour walking tour with 5 people! They did not even send us our tickets for the skip the line entrance until we asked them and by the time they sent it was the end of the day so we could not use them. They only refunded a measly 200 usd claiming they had 600 bucks in expenses jajajajj. Stay away!!

Response from Host, Nov 2024

Dear Maria, I would like to say thank you for your feedback but This is not the case as your review doesn't have any sense. We had a long correspondence, (days before the tour ) to accommodate your requests of a customized start time which we agreed at 11:30. It was not during the cancellation period, it was days before the tour and we arranged everything just for you, changing the meeting point, booking the guide, booking the tickets according to your specific schedule. The morning of the tour you informed us that your flight was delayed and that you could not have the tour. Literally a few hours before start time. The cancellation policy is pretty clear, there is no refund for cancellation within 24 hrs from the tour, for any reason that does not depends on us. With hotels, flights, trains is the same, I don't understand why it can't be happens with tours. Our guide, tickets for the museums and the time we spent accommodation your needs and replying to your many e mails and change of plans have a costs that can't be refunded. There are Travel insurance for this kind of events, our company can't pay for any flight, train delays, illness, or for any tour cancellation out of our responsibility. Travel insurance are made exactly for this reasons. Nevertheless, We sent you the Accademia tickets but of course they were scheduled for a specific time and can't be used out of that time. We exceptionally refunded 200Euros even if you were not entitled to. You are complaining for the cost of the tour so why you booked that? We do not have much more to say at this point, your feedback comments by itself.

Amazing tour with superior guide

Scott_S, Sep 2024

Fantastic tour guide. Very knowledgeable and flexible with our schedule. Trip up to Duomo was incredible and the guide took care of our health. Absolutely recommend again!!!

Excellent Highlight Tour

Mary_P, Aug 2023

Marzia was absolutely fantastic. She showed us all of the key things in Accademia and took us to parts of the city we would have had trouble discovering on our own. Her knowledge of art and history is extensive, and she made everything interesting so my teenagers weren’t bored. I highly recommend this tour for anyone looking to see the highlights of Florence art and culture.

Excellent Walking Tour

Debi_M, Aug 2023

Daniela was very informative, punctual and went out of her way to make sure that we got to see all of the city sites we requested. She was kind enough to arrange to start our tour early in order to deal with the large crowds and we certainly appreciated her efforts. We would highly recommend this tour! For reference, total walking distance was approximately 2.7 miles.

A private tour of the city that made it appear less crowded.

Douglas_T, May 2023

Amazing “private tour” (just our two couples). Giacomo provided an outstanding brisk walking tour of Florence and the history behind the sights. He truly brought the old buildings and statues to life. It was a free-admission day (first Sunday of month) but Giacomo managed to weave through crowds and masses of people effortlessly. He made a conscious effort to not talk while moving, but rather gather our party in a quieter area (usually in shade) before he spoke. Finally, our guide customized the route to work around a foot race being conducted in the city streets and also provided recommendations for the rest of our day, including assisting with dinner reservations.

This was an amazing way to discovery Florence and its hidden gems

Alexander_B, Mar 2023

This was an amazing way to discovery Florence and its hidden gems. Barbara was the most brilliant of guides, very friendly and personable. Her enthusiasm really made the tour for us. Thank you!

Great walking tour

Jill_K, Oct 2022

Christina was excellent So knowledgeable and friendly We really enjoyed our time touring Florence with her.

Walking Tour in Florence

Caren_K, Oct 2022

Alisa was very friendly and knowledgeable, and took us to several very special places on our walking tour. I would highly recommend!

Great guided tour of Florence!

Johan_L, Mar 2022

Barbara was a great guide, knowledgable, witty and funny! She made it a great and relaxed experience.

Perfect tour to see the highlights of Florence

Darren_M, Mar 2022

Perfect morning tour of Florence. We chose this tour as it was light on museum time and gave the highlights without boring my 16 year old twins.

Florence Highlights

Lori_D, Mar 2020

Laura was a great tour guide. She picked us up at our hotel and then we walked all around Florence seeing different things. This tour is jammed packed with information. After the tour, we used our knowledge to spot different family crests or just understood why things were on the side of the building. Laura was very knowledgeable and she really understood art. When we got to see the David she was very enthusiastic and really showed us alot. Well worth the money. We also went to the place she suggested for lunch and it was delicious.

Response from Host, Jun 2020

Hi Lori thank you so much for this great review!!! laura is one of our best guides and we are happy your loved her and her passion for Florence!

Started late

Ron_M, Oct 2019

We missed receiving the e-mail (due to being international) that indicated our tour guide would meet us at the hotel. We were at our original meeting point right on time and due to the miscommunication started our tour 45 minutes late. Giacomo did a fine job for the time we had us, but we lost 45 minutes of our tour as he finished the tour as if he had started with us on time. We should be reimbursed for 1/3 of our tour fees due to the miscommunications and delay.

Response from Host, Oct 2019

Dear Mr. Moses thank you for your feedback, we are happy that you enjoyed our guide Giacomo. The meeting point has always been at your hotel as stated in the voucher and in the booking form that you have received by e mail at the time of the booking - the e mail that you have received 24 hrs before, stating that your guide would have met you at the hotel is just a courtesy reminder that we offer to all our clients, not a communication of a last minute change. Giacomo was punctual at 2.00pm at the Hotel St. Regis as indicated in the booking form under the section "Hotel pick up" . Your Travel agent (not us) for some reason told you to go at a different meeting point so we believe that the miscommunication happened with your travel agent not with us, even if we are sorry for the inconvenience. All the best, Elena

Great way to get oriented to Florence

Matthew_S, Jul 2019

Very knowledgeable guide with excellent English. You could tell how much pride she has for Florence. We learned a lot and enjoyed visiting the Academy. She also helped us buy tickets for the Uffizi the next day so we could skip the line.

Response from Host, Dec 2019

Dear Sprik0s Thank you for your glowing review! We are very happy you liked our tour in Florence and our guide !! We hope you’ll be our guest again in the future!!! All the best Elena

Private guided tour with Elisa

Jon B, Jun 2019

We had a great 3 hour private walking tour with Elisa who had previously taught history for the College of the Holy Cross exchange program in Florence. English was excellent as was her knowledge of many subjects ranging from Michelangelo to local gastronomy to the many and varied attractions of Florence.

Florence with Nicolette

Albert_J, Jun 2019

excellent and very informative; also accommodated all requests. I believe I may have under-tipped her!

Great tour

Patrick_D, Dec 2018

Our guide was excellent, she knew exactly how to captivate all of us, from an 80 year old to a 16 year old, she was a fountain of knowledge and we highly recommend this tour. Thank you.

Grazie, Brenda

Jack_W, Oct 2018

We would have given this tour an "Excellent" if only it could have been extended to a full day. For the time allotted, it could not have been better. Our guide, Brenda, was knowledgeable, enthusiastic and delightful and she rates an "Excellent". At the start of the tour, we told her that we wanted her to take us to places that as a native of Florence, she wanted us to see. But we also told her about the things we wanted to do. Brenda blended it all perfectly. She was very knowledgeable about places off the proverbial beaten track. We wanted to go to a marketplace not overrun with tourists. Brenda knew exactly where to go. She also took us to a store/warehouse that buys up the contents of churches that close; a kind of theological flea market. I wasn't allowed to photograph, but it was a treat. We would never have found this place on our own. A tip: Time constraints didn't allow us to stay in certain places as long as we would have liked. If you take this tour, allow yourself an extra day to revisit some of the places that you see on the tour. We highly recommend the tour and if you go, ask for Brenda.

This tour provided a great overview of...

Lisa, Sep 2018

This tour provided a great overview of Florence. Our tour guide was right on time, picking us up in the lobby of our hotel. Since it was a private tour just me and my husband, it was tailored to our interests. We walked around and had a conversation about the city, the sites, the culture, etc. We got great recommendations on where to shop for high quality leather and eat for dinner, too! Skip the line tickets for the Accademia was awesome. Overall, this is a good tour. I give it five stars instead of four, as we had tour guides in Italy who were more knowledgeable and higher energy.

Our tour guide Bernardo did an...

Lyle_V, Aug 2018

Our tour guide Bernardo did an amazing job. It was very informative. We could have not been happier with this tour.

This tour was amazing and Brenda was...

Scott_M, Jul 2018

This tour was amazing and Brenda was a fabulous tour guide! She spoke flawless English and was very easy to understand. She explained the history of Florence to us in an easy to understand way. We had our adult children with us 20 and 23 years old and we all equally enjoyed the tour! While it was very hot on our tour afternoon, Brenda made sure we had ample water breaks and we even stopped for gelato! We were able to skip the line at all attractions, even the Accademia Gallery, because of Brenda's great reputation with the staff there. She explained the David statue to us in detail, so that we could have a greater appreciation of it. She also showed us an area that was being excavated in the city square, that was not on the official tour. They had found a skull there that morning and she was excited to show us. We were in the area a few days later and went back to that excavation area, and they had actually found the entire skeleton of what looked to be a small child. I've posted the picture below. We highly recommend this tour and hope you get Brenda as your guide! She's the best!

Private tour well worth the money

Brad_T, Jul 2018

Tour guide was awesome! She was very knowledgeable and went at our pace. I would definitely do this tour again.

Our guide Barbara was amazing! We...

John C, Apr 2018

Our guide Barbara was amazing! We booked this tour for our family of five 3 kids 15, 13, and 9. She was fun, funny and super knowledgeable. She really connected with our kids and kept them interested and engaged the entire tour. In addition to the formal tour, she gave us a great overview of the city including some of her favorite shops, restaurants, and of course where to find the best Gelato!! The tour was outstanding and she really helped us kick off a great week in Florence!! Thanks Barbara!!

After seeing the lines to get into...

Neil M, Mar 2018

After seeing the lines to get into the Vatican Museums, a skip-the-line tour is well worth it. The best part of our tour was our private guide. She was very knowledgable and engaged everyone in our family of six. She really helped us to understand the history and meaning of the artifacts, the gardens, the Sistene Chapel, and the Basilica.

The tour itself was great. The guide...

Monica_M, Jan 2018

The tour itself was great. The guide was a bit low energy, not as communicative as would have expected or preferred. Regardless, the tour was charming and we highly recommend it.

This tour was one of the highlights...

Nigel C, Oct 2017

This tour was one of the highlights of our time in Italy. Barbara our tour guide, was extremely knowledgeable, friendly, a great sense of humour and also very passionate about Florence. We thoroughly enjoyed our three hours with her and would not hesitate to recommend her to any interested visitors.

we had a wonderful tour of florence...

robert w, Sep 2017

we had a wonderful tour of florence. unfortunately for us we did not realize the morning traffic would be so congested so we were late to meet our guide. she was most gracious and knowledgeable. we had a member of our group who needed to see a doctor and she took care of that also by bringing us to the doctor's office after our tour was done. so in addition to seeing the ponte vecchio, david and the other amazing sights we were so well treated that i would highly recommend this experience.

If I could, I would give Brenda six...

Chris B, Aug 2017

If I could, I would give Brenda six stars - she was amazing! She met us at our hotel and, being a native of Florence, she was able to take us on a fantastic and informative tour throughout one of my favorite cities in the world. Being that she had relatives in the USA, her english was perfect and she did a wonderful job of making everything about the city understandable and accessible to us.Also, being that she graduated with an art history degree, she was the perfect candidate to walk us through the Renaissance in the footsteps of the masters. Our time on the tour while long over three hours seemed far too brief when it was time to say goodbye to our guide. In that time, we covered all of the high spots in the city Il Duomo, David, etc., and also, many out of the way details that would not be noted by the average visitor. Some of the backstory and facts around the sites gave a great perspective and context as we went through Florence - having a private guide really made a difference. She even made it a point to recommend other sites and restaurants around the town, taking our map and indicating the location of all the spots for our reference later. Brenda made a beautiful city even more wonderful, and I would definitely repeat, although I've already been to Florence. This tour is highly recommended, especially with the right guide. Thank you Brenda!

Our tour guide was just brilliant...

Ashvin J, Aug 2017

Our tour guide was just brilliant without him I would have the place ten times round and still have no substance about Florence, now I am Florentine. Great personality and it could not have been more private than the one we had. The quick way to explore Florence with a purpose.