Florence: What to Know Before You Go

Short answer: book your Dome climb, Uffizi and Accademia tickets weeks ahead on the official portals, never drive a rental car inside the historic walls, learn how Florence's two-colour street numbering works, and cross the river to the Oltrarno when the centre fills up at midday.

Three tickets you must book before you travel

Spontaneous queuing in Florence wastes hours under the sun. Three sights require advance timed bookings:

• Brunelleschi's Dome (Cupola): included only on the official Brunelleschi Pass issued by the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, with a strict date and time slot for the 463-step climb. Slots often sell out three to four weeks ahead in spring and autumn.
• The Galleria dell'Accademia (Michelangelo's David): timed entry slots sell out days or weeks ahead; closed on Mondays.
• The Uffizi Gallery: book the earliest 08:15 slot so you reach the Botticelli rooms before tour groups arrive; also closed on Mondays.

Red versus black street numbers

Florence uses two separate numbering systems on the very same street. Black (or blue) numbers belong to residential doors and hotels, while red numbers (written with an "r", such as 24r) belong to shops, workshops and restaurants. Check whether your restaurant or hotel address ends in "r" before walking five blocks in the wrong direction.

Coperto, bread and wine windows

At sit-down trattorias you will see a small per-person coperto (cover charge) on the bill, which covers linens and the basket of unsalted Tuscan bread (pane sciocco, baked without salt since medieval salt taxes). Service is included, though leaving a few euros in coins for warm hospitality is appreciated. Keep an eye out for small arched openings carved into Renaissance palace walls at waist height: these are buchette del vino (wine windows), originally used during the 1600s plague to pass flasks of Chianti directly from noble cellars to buyers on the street, and several in the Oltrarno and near the Duomo now serve glasses of wine again.

ZTL cameras and church dress

The entire historic centre is a Zona a Traffico Limitato (ZTL) monitored by overhead number-plate cameras. Driving a hire car past a ZTL sign triggers a hefty fine per camera crossed; see our transport guide for where to collect a car safely. Major churches including Santa Maria del Fiore, Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella enforce covered shoulders and knees at the door.