From the Medici neighbourhood to the square of their Grand Duke: a market from the years when Florence was a capital, a façade that was never built, a palace too beautiful to be allowed, the lightning that heralded Lorenzo's death, the garden where Michelangelo learnt his craft, the storming of San Marco and the first little girl taken in at the Innocenti.
You start at the Mercato Centrale, the great iron-and-glass market that Florence began building in the few years when it was the capital of Italy, and walk on to the bare façade of San Lorenzo, the one Michelangelo never clad in marble. Round the corner stands the palace Cosimo wanted kept plain so as not to stir up envy. In Via de' Martelli you picture the lantern of the cathedral dome, hidden behind the houses, and the night of the lightning in 1492, when Florence looked up at it in fear, three days before Lorenzo died. Then you follow the old Via Larga to the confiscated palace. At San Marco come the garden where a boy kept the keys to the statues, the convent the city stormed to seize Savonarola, and the bell that was banished like a person. You finish at the Santissima Annunziata with the Grand Duke and his bees, the bride from Browning's poem, and the first little girl taken in at the Innocenti.
An outline of the walk. The full stories are in the app.
Open a marker to see its page. Use two fingers to move the map on mobile.
Walking directions are based on mapped pedestrian routes. Check local access and signs; the route is not an accessibility guarantee. Times are approximate.
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.
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.
Florence tells a great many stories, and here you find out how long it's been telling them.
Within a hundred metres of narrow streets lived the Portinari, the Donati, the Cerchi and the Alighieri.
An app for self-guided audio walks. Choose a city and a route, then listen to the stories behind its streets. You decide when to start and when to stop.
Podtour is coming to iOS and Android. There is no confirmed launch date yet. Join the waitlist and we will let you know when it is ready.
No. Street walks and monument audio tours do not include admission tickets, transport or a guide accompanying you.
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.
Join the waitlist. When we launch, your chosen city is yours to explore.
Join the waitlist and get one whole city free when Podtour launches. You choose where.
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One city per person. All its Podtour routes in Spanish and English. Available at launch. Offer details.
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