Florence lived outside the museums, too.
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Behind its famous works were workshops, commissions, rivalries and neighbours. Cross the Arno and discover how a city of artists was also a city of trades, ambitions and ordinary days.
Start with “The Duomo and the Baptistery”. You start where Dante was baptised and walk round the Baptistery: the carpenter who, according to a novella of the time, was talked into believing he was another man; the elm that, tradition says, flowered in January; and the 1401 contest that every contender told his own way. Then the confraternity that has been carrying the sick for eight centuries, and its hooded men in black; a façade tried out at full size in front of the public; Brunelleschi's egg; the stone where tradition sits Dante; and the marble disc that, they say, marks where the ball from the lantern fell.
Then there’s “Via de' Bardi and San Niccolò”. You start where the street was once called "Lousy", before it came to belong to the Bardi, bankers who lent money to a king of England and were never paid back. Beside the Uzzano palace you'll hear why one man refused to bring down Cosimo de' Medici, and in front of a marble plaque of 1565, how a boy was pulled alive from the rubble and grew up to be an architect at court.
For another side of the city, try “Dante's Florence”. Within a hundred metres of narrow streets lived the Portinari, the Donati, the Cerchi and the Alighieri. You start in front of the palazzo that, according to a nineteenth-century identification, contains the houses of the Portinari, Beatrice's family, and which also has a legend about a little boy and a window.
Choose by neighbourhood or by the stories that interest you: each route shows its distance, stops and approximate duration before you set off. The audio is written for walking, with a clear distinction between documented events and local legend. Download it in the app, put on your headphones and pause whenever something catches your eye. English and Spanish are included.
The cathedral square, face to face: a prank out of a novella of the time, a contest with a catch, a dome nobody knew how to close, a lightning bolt that brought down the golden ball, and a murder in the middle of Mass.
Explore the free walk
The map shows where each walk starts. Choose a theme below to find the stories you like.
Open a marker to see its page. Use two fingers to move the map on mobile.
Florence fits into short walks that grow longer as you keep looking. The centre is compact; crossing the Arno changes the perspective without changing the city.
Our Florence guide has suggestions for one, two and three days. Start with one area rather than trying to fit every walk into a day; leave room for travel between neighbourhoods and any indoor visits.
Terrain: the historic centre and areas close to the river are fairly flat. The hills to the south involve slopes and stairs. Surfaces: stone slabs, cobbles and narrow pavements; wet paving can be slippery.
“The Duomo and the Baptistery” is the free route: 11 stops over 0.87 km, with an approximate duration of 40 minutes. You can see its map and stops on the route page.
Spring and autumn suit walking; in summer, keep exposed squares for cooler parts of the day. June brings the feast of St John and calcio storico, with more activity around Santa Croce. December adds Christmas atmosphere.
Download the audio in the app before heading out, then listen offline. Loading the online base map and calculating a new route from your location require a connection.
Every route includes Spanish and British English. The English version is adapted for English-speaking travellers, rather than translated word for word.
Join the waitlist, choose a city and confirm your email address. When the app launches, we will email you with access details. No card is required. You can also try one free route in every city.
Yes. Your own access is included and you can choose 0–5 guests: up to 6 people including you. Each guest saves up to €0.50 on a walk, €1 on a pack or €2 on a whole city compared with buying separately. The counter shows the total before you confirm one payment.
After paying, share your purchase’s invitation link. Each guest opens it in Podtour and accepts their place on their own iPhone or Android phone. They must redeem it within 30 days of purchase. Unclaimed places then expire and cannot be recovered or renewed. Access accepted in time is kept. Opening the link does not use a place; one account takes just one place, and no more people can join once all places are taken.
No. Choose all your guests before confirming the first purchase. Afterwards you can share the places you paid for, but you cannot increase their number or restart the 30-day deadline.
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