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City guide · Solo living

Things to Do Alone in Florence

Written by the Solo Era team · Solo living · Last updated

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Florence is easy to do alone once you know which day each place is short. In November the Boboli Gardens close at 16:30, the Museo Galileo shuts at 13:00 on Tuesdays and Palazzo Vecchio at 14:00 on Thursdays, so the smart plan is a weekday map, not a list of sights. This page is built that way, using official sites checked on 2026-11-01.

The week, museum by museum

Alone, you do not have to agree on a plan, which means you can simply follow the closing times. These are the hours the museums publish themselves.

Prices on the official pages: the Museo Galileo is EUR 14 full price, and the Palazzo Vecchio museum is EUR 18 (EUR 20 for the tower and battlements). The Museo Novecento lists tickets from EUR 9 and a cafe on site. Its permanent collection is temporarily closed, but exhibitions by Victor Man (to 7 March 2027) and Danielle McKinney (to 28 February 2027) are on.

For a method that works in any museum, see how to go to a museum alone.

Free on the first Sunday

FeelFlorence, the city's official tourism site, says admission to state-run museums is free on the first Sunday of the month. It names the Uffizi, the Accademia, the Pitti Palace, the Boboli Gardens, the Medici Chapels, San Marco and the Bargello among them (FeelFlorence). Other free days are announced by the museums, so check before you go.

Free days may draw longer queues, so if a crowd bothers you, choose a smaller museum such as the Museo Galileo, whose own page lists a EUR 14 full fee.

Across the river: Pitti and Boboli

The Boboli Gardens, behind the Pitti Palace in the Oltrarno, are open Monday to Sunday from 8:15. In November, January, February and December they close at 16:30 (last admission one hour before). They stay closed on the first and last Monday of each month and on 25 December. Besides the Pitti Palace, you can enter from the Annalena gate on Via Romana, Forte di Belvedere or Porta Romana (Boboli Gardens). That makes it easy to arrive from one side and leave from another, with no meeting point to coordinate.

Arrive by noon: with the 16:30 close, November gives you a short afternoon.

Eat at the first-floor market

The Mercato Centrale is on the first floor of the historic San Lorenzo covered market. It is open every day 9:00 to 23:00, and the official page says "Al Mercato puoi sederti dove vuoi": you can sit wherever you like. You only book a table at the pizzeria or the restaurant. It is 900 metres, about five minutes' walk, from Santa Maria Novella station (Mercato Centrale Firenze, Italian). The stalls are run by artisans, and the hall opened in spring 2014 (home page, Italian).

A food hall is the easiest solo meal there is: you choose at the counters, eat where you like and leave when you are done. More at how to eat alone in public.

Evenings: a bookshop cinema and a second screen

A single seat is all a screening needs, and nobody has to coordinate with you. See cinema alone.

A bus ride to Fiesole

The Musei di Fiesole say to take bus number 7 from Florence to "Fiesole, Piazza Mino", the last stop (getting here). Timetables are at at-bus.it. In November and December the Archaeological Area and Museum are open 10:00 to 15:00 and closed on Tuesdays; the Bandini Museum is open Friday to Sunday 10:00 to 15:00. The ticket office closes at 14:30 (opening hours). Go in the morning, and take the Tuesday off.

Autolinee Toscane runs the buses and has an official app, "at bus" (at bus app).

Later in the month, if you stay

Your first solo outings in Florence

  1. Easy. Lunch at the Mercato Centrale, then an hour in the Museo Novecento (not on a Thursday) or the Museo Galileo (not after 13:00 on a Tuesday).
  2. Medium. Boboli Gardens in the morning, walking in at Pitti and out at Porta Romana.
  3. Bold. A film at Cinema La Compagnia on your own, with bus 7 to Fiesole the next morning.

Solo Era (an iPhone app) has a food mission worded "Build a lunch at a food hall." It is a level 2 mission in the food category, and the Mercato Centrale suits it. Free to download. A subscription is required to start missions. Prices and any free trial are shown in the app and depend on the offer and eligibility.

Details change. Check the venue before you go.

Solo Era for iPhone

Try it with Solo Era

Solo Era gives you one realistic mission a week, records how nervous you felt before and after, and keeps a photo journal of what you did. An iPhone app. A subscription is required to start missions; any free trial depends on the offer and eligibility shown in the app.

Download Solo Era on the App Store

See the full list of things to do alone in cities and the guide to a new city alone. For another Italian city on a timetable, see Rome.

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FAQ

Which Florence museums are closed on Mondays?

The Uffizi and the Pitti Palace are closed on Mondays, according to their official pages. The Boboli Gardens open on Mondays, except the first and last Monday of each month.

Are Florence museums ever free?

FeelFlorence lists free admission to state-run museums, including the Uffizi, Accademia, Pitti Palace and Boboli, on the first Sunday of the month.

What time do the Boboli Gardens close in November?

At 16:30, with last admission one hour earlier.

How do I get to Fiesole from Florence?

The Musei di Fiesole say to take bus number 7 to the last stop, "Fiesole, Piazza Mino". In November the museums are open 10:00 to 15:00 and closed on Tuesdays.

Can I just sit down at the Mercato Centrale?

The official page says you can sit wherever you like. Booking is only for the pizzeria and the restaurant.

Sources (checked 2026-11-01)

Solo Era for iPhone

Try it with Solo Era

Solo Era gives you one realistic mission a week, records how nervous you felt before and after, and keeps a photo journal of what you did. An iPhone app. A subscription is required to start missions; any free trial depends on the offer and eligibility shown in the app.

Download Solo Era on the App Store
Solo Era mission library with difficulty levels