Florentine Crafts & Workshops: Private Half-Day Walking TourPrivate Tour

Explore the artisanal craftsmanship and backstreets of Florence, the cradle of the Renaissance, on this behind-the-scenes, three-hour walking tour. 

On your private tour, you will:

Florence is justly famed for being the “cradle of the Renaissance”. It was the birthplace and home of many luminaries from Dante to Brunelleschi, from the Medici to Michelangelo. You’ll find some of the greatest works of art, pottery, and sculpture by the world’s most famous artists inside the Uffizi and Accademia and many other galleries – but Florence is also famous for her more humble craftsmen. 

On this private, three-hour walking tour, you'll go under the bonnet of Florence. Your expert local guide will show you the less well-known streets and alleys and artisanal districts of the city. You’ll get to know the artisans, tanners, jewellers, papermakers, silversmiths, cobblers and many others as you explore the city from a different, more local and truly fascinating perspective. 

You’ll visit a plethora of markets, shops, stalls, schools and workshops and have the chance to watch these specialist experts at work and ask them about their livelihoods – many will have a generational family history of their craft. 

Crossing the Ponte Vecchio – with its delightful array of antique shops and stalls – you’ll learn all about the Church of Santo Spirito, a fascinating and much-overlooked church – that houses a crucifix by an 18-year-old Michelangelo. Rather gruesomely, it was in the basement of this church that the early Renaissance artists would dissect cadavers to draw from. This was how Michelangelo became an expert anatomist! 

Your guide will show you the trendy neighbourhood beyond the church, and there you have a huge choice of local restaurants and cafés in which to sit down for a well-deserved lunch and drink.