Here's How To Spend 48 Hours In Florence Without Going Broke

Don't worry, pizza and wine are priorities.

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While Italy isn’t the most budget-friendly location in the world, you can still enjoy cities like Florence without breaking the bank.

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This is especially true if you visit outside of the peak summer season when prices are high. Though the museums and art galleries do have pretty steep entrance fees, Florence is the kinda city where you can walk around the streets for hours and entertain yourself without spending a single cent.

Here’s our guide to seeing Florence on a budget and finding some cool hidden gems along the way.

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First up: coffee time.

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Italians don’t really do breakfast the way Americans and other countries do. Here, the first meal of the day is usually just a pastry and a coffee. Start your morning at Pasticceria Nencioni, a local spot with awesome coffee and a ton of choices to satisfy your sweet tooth. There are a couple of tables at the back of the café, but to be a real Italian, drink your coffee quickly while standing at the bar. Ordering a “caffè” will get you a short black coffee, or go for a cappuccino or Americano if that’s more your vibe.

COST: €2.20 for coffee and a croissant

Wander around to your heart's content.

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Now you’re caffeinated, it’s time to take a stroll around the city. Florence is pretty small, so you can walk from one end to the other in under an hour. There are so many winding streets and cobblestone alleyways, chances are you might get lost once or twice. But it’s pretty easy to find your way back to the river or the Duomo and reorient yourself from there. Take a couple of hours to wander and people-watch. If you want a bit of education on the go, you could always do a free walking tour. Or there are free self-guided audio tours you can listen to while walking.

(Sneaky pro tip: Head to the top floor of the Oblate Library for the best free view in the city.)

COST: Free

Now fuel up with some delicious local food.

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Hopefully all that wandering has made you hungry, because Florence has a ton of good food options. Trattoria da Rocco is a no-frills restaurant inside a small food market. Walk past the shops selling pastries, fresh fruit, and meat, and through the crowds to the bustling trattoria which serves up delicious home-style food. The pasta with chickpeas is an amazing local dish, but they also do great meat-based mains if you’re super hungry. Stick around for dessert, especially if you’re a tiramisu fan. (Fun fact: Tiramisu literally means “pick-me-up” in Italian.)

COST: €5 for a plate of pasta

Hang out in Oltrarno.

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Most of the sights of Florence can be found on the north side of the Arno River, which tends to get pretty busy. The south side, called Oltrarno (other Arno), is a bit quieter and more chilled out. It's a good place to wander around for a taste of local life. Be sure to stop by the amazing Alessandro Dari jewelery museum/showroom, and pop into the Santo Spirito church to see some amazing artwork. If you're feeling like an afternoon pick me up, La Cité is a cool bookshop/café that also sells wine and cakes. Keep an eye out for boutiques on the winding side streets, like the awesome unique jewellery at Gioielli di Camilla.

COST: €1.50 for a cappuccino at La Cité

Graze an aperitivo spread for dinner.

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One truly great thing about Florence is the aperitivo. At a lot of bars around the city, you can pay a flat rate for a drink and unlimited access to a buffet. It’s technically supposed to be a small meal to whet your appetite before dinner, but it’s also a great way to fill up for cheap. Expect pasta, mini sandwiches, frittata, bread, cheese, veggies, and small pizzas. One of the best spots to get your aperitivo fix is Pop Cafe, in one of Florence’s student neighbourhoods. If the weather’s good, try to snag a table outside on the Santo Spirito square, which is a great place for people-watching.

COST: €8 for a drink and buffet

Now get your (local) wine on.

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Florence is in the heart of Tuscany, a region that produces some really epic wines. If you don’t have a chance to venture out into the vineyards, you still need to set aside some time to taste as many varieties as possible. Some bars do wine flights, or you can just hit up a nearby wine bar and do your own. Buca 10 is a nice chill bar where you can hang out and drink wine all night (the dream). If you're staying around Oltrarno and don't want to trek to the other side of the river, check out Volume, right across from Pop (where you had aperitivo). If you're up for a rager of a night, Red Garter is a karaoke bar and a great place to end the evening.

COST: from €5 for a wine

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Treat yourself to a big brunch.

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I know we said that Italy doesn’t really do breakfast, but after a night out drinking you might need something more substantial than a pastry in your stomach. Hit up Le Vespe, a cute little café opened by a Canadian and an Italian. The extensive menu has things like granola, pancakes, bacon and eggs, and even some vegan options. Along with their Italian-standard coffee, it’s an ideal spot for a recovery brunch.

COST: about €8 for breakfast and coffee

Chill out in the park.

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Parco delle Cascine is a giant historical park just outside the city centre — you can reach it by foot or on the tram. It's a collection of beautiful gardens with lawns and wooded areas, filled with sculptures and buildings that date back to the 1600s. It's a great spot to just wander around and enjoy the break from the busy city. Or if you're feeling up to it, rent a bike and take it for a spin around the park. Some Sundays you'll find markets going on here.

Grab a takeaway sandwich...

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One thing Florence does really well is sandwiches. Walking around the city you’ll see a lot of places selling huge panini stuffed with fresh prosciutto or salami, cheese, and eggplant. The Insta-famous All’Antico Vinaio — which now has outposts in NYC and LA — always has a line around the block. If you don’t want to wait around for an hour for your food, great alternatives are I Fratellini, Sandwichic, or Ino. You definitely can’t go wrong with any of the choices on this list. Get it takeaway (“portare via”) and try to resist eating it until we get to a more scenic spot.

COST: about €5 for a sandwich

...and admire the Florence skyline.

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A huge tourist attraction in Florence is the Piazzale Michelangelo — and it’s easy to see why. This open area has amazing views over the river and across the city of Florence, with its famous orange dome. It can get pretty packed here, especially at sunset, but there’s an even better place just around the corner that’s usually a lot quieter.

Head down the hill a little to a cute little rose garden, with views just as good as the piazza above. Find a spot on the grass or a spare bench where you can chill out for a bit and enjoy your sandwich. You could even grab a bottle of wine from a supermarket for a couple of euros to make your lil' picnic even better. If you've got the energy, you could then walk back up the hill to San Miniato al Monte; a cute church with an amazing view.

Indulge in some gelato.

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From the rose garden you can easily walk back down to the riverbank, where you’ll find one of the best gelato shops in Florence. Yes, there are gelato places everywhere...and the key is to avoid the overpriced ones, which are easily spotted by the mountains of colorful flavors in the window. Instead try to find the shops where the gelato is kept inside silver canisters; this usually means it’s homemade right there in the store.

One place like this is Cantina del Gelato. They have some seriously good flavors here: white chocolate and Nutella, chocolate orange, hazelnut, and pistachio. Plus the vegan choices extend beyond the usual (boring) mango or lemon sorbet.

COST: €2.50 for two scoops

Head to a hilltop town for amazing sunset views.

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Just outside Florence, you’ll find the quiet hilltop town of Fiesole. A few tour buses do make it up here, but it's still a lot more chill than being in the main city itself. You can hop on the number 7 bus from Florence’s central station and be in Fiesole within 30 minutes. Here you can wander around the town's quiet, winding streets, or hike through forest on nearby Monte Ceceri. There are also Roman ruins and an ancient wall you can visit. Just before sunset, make it up to the San Francesco Monastery and you’ll have amazing views over the valley and down to Florence below.

COST: €3 for a return bus ticket

Get some authentic pizza you'll be dreaming about for a long time.

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Everyone has a different favorite pizza place in Florence. Many rave about Gustapizza and Mister Pizza, though in our humble opinion, the best spot is a small place near Santa Croce church. Caffè Italiano isn’t the most inventive name, but the small pizzeria attached to the restaurant is next-level good. A huge wood fire oven ensures that the dough is the perfect blend of chewy and crispy, and the toppings are fresh as hell. One pizza can definitely be shared between two, and be sure to get a good glass of rosé to go along with it.

COST: €8 for a pizza

And that's Florence for around €50!

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See, you can indulge in pizza and gelato and wine and still have an economical weekend. If we missed any of your fave Florence spots, let us know in the comments!