Lonely Planet’s guide to overtourism in Florence

A few days after diplomat Francis Colman arrived in Florence in May 1725, he jotted down a note in his diary: “I have hardly had one hour to myself this last week by reason of the concourse of English gentlemen that are here at present.”

Traveling as the British envoy to the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Colman couldn’t have known the feeling of zigzagging through selfie sticks or being caught up in lines of people waiting to share their sandwich quests online. Yet, the idea that visitors in the city could be too numerous was already present before the term “overtourism” existed.

These were the early days of the Florentine tourism industry – the Uffizi would open as a public museum only half a century later – and leisure travelers were mostly young northern European aristocrats who reached Florence to marvel at the extraordinary collection of artistic and architectural Renaissance masterpieces. Much has changed since the Grand Tour era, both in terms of numbers and travelers’ habits. Over 300 years, the excesses of tourism have shifted from being a source of personal frustration to a political issue determining who can and can’t live in the city.

Read any of the precursors of Lonely Planet’s guides from that time, such as Richard Lassels’ Voyage of Italy (1670), and you’ll find that many of the monuments drawing visitors from across the continent then are the same that attract people today: the Medici Chapels, Corridoio Vasariano, Boboli Gardens and, of course, the Duomo. This is the paradox of a historic city turned major tourist destination: as millions arrive to see a cultural heritage preserved over centuries, the city’s identity radically transforms.

What does overtourism mean in Florence today?

The entire inner city was designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1982, and since then the influx of visitors was exacerbated by low-cost airlines beginning to fly into nearby Pisa in the late 1990s and by high-speed rail services in the 2000s, which made international short-term visits easier and cheaper than ever before. Mass tourism, seen as an economic opportunity in the post-war period, has altered Florence’s character and urban fabric, posing unprecedented pressure on its infrastructure in the past decade.

About 360,000 people live in Florence’s metropolitan area today. Since the end of the pandemic, an estimated 7.5 to 8.9 million visitors have reached the city each year. The number is expected to grow to 10 million in 2025, as a result of the Jubilee taking place in Rome. The vast majority of tourists are concentrated within the 5 sq kms (3.1 sq miles) that make up Florence’s UNESCO-listed historic core; however, the impacts of such traffic extend well beyond the limits of the former city walls. It is undeniable that tourism makes up a substantial source of revenue for Florence, but the benefits provided by the industry are far from evenly spread across the local community.

Are tourists contributing to the housing crisis in Florence?

It would be easy to call out travelers for viewing Florence as a Disneyfied playground where glasses of Chianti magically appear from holes in walls and bucketloads of sweet, colorful, dripping gelato fuel power walks between medieval churches and leather bag stalls, but this would distract from the core of the issue – housing. The most viral TikTok trend is harmless compared with the impact that the tourism industry is having on the chances of securing long-term housing for people who live and work in the city.  

At the root of this crisis is the rise of digital booking platforms and short-term apartment rentals. According to Inside Airbnb, an independent data analysis project that gathers information on Airbnb’s impact on cities worldwide, there are currently 12,703 active rental properties in the city. This makes Florence one of the world’s top cities on the Airbnb’s-per-inhabitant scale. Just a handful of property managers control the bulk of these apartments. With average nightly prices surpassing €200, it’s easy to see why property owners prefer renting to tourists over long-term residents.

According to the yearly report on the quality of life in Italian cities by financial publication Il Sole 24 Ore, in 2024 Florence became the third most expensive city in the country to rent or buy a house (after Rome and Venice) based on average income. Any property search engine will show that most rental prices in central areas now surpass the average local salaries, especially those of the thousands of hospitality workers employed by the growing number of cafes, bars and restaurants in the inner city. With over 200 food and drink establishments per square kilometer, articles defining Florence’s UNESCO area as a “tourist feeding mill” have become a regular appearance on local news. As the price of more and more property is measured on its revenue potential, the people sustaining the tourism industry are finding it ever more challenging to sustain their own living in the city.

Should you feel guilty for booking an Airbnb in Florence? There are alternatives to short-term apartment rentals – Florence offers many heritage hotels, family-run B&Bs and independent hostels. By marketing sought-after real estate to a global audience, digital platforms like Airnbnb have only intensified an issue that existed before the internet, and will continue to exist unless stricter rules are put into place by local authorities.

Reasons to be optimistic about tourism management in Florence

Compared with other European countries, Italy has been slow in regulating short-term rentals. When the requirement to obtain an authorization code to operate short-term rentals was introduced last year, it turned out that at least 20% of “apartments” previously available in Florence on digital platforms were not even legitimate living spaces, but converted offices, storage rooms, or shops.

In 2025, the city council voted again in favor of a set of laws to regulate short-term rentals. New rules are now at their final stage of implementation and are likely to come into place in the near future. Once finalized, new short-term rentals won’t be allowed to open in Florence’s UNESCO area and the many microapartments (below 28 sq m/ 92 sq ft) that have been built for short-term tourists by fractioning larger houses won’t be able to operate as vacation rentals. 

It is too early to say whether such laws will be enough to burst the property speculation bubble, but they do appear like a much-awaited step in the right direction. 

Am I part of the problem?

Back to the Grand Tour: a big difference compared with the time when British and German aristocrats traveled here is that where people would have once spent months in Italy in an attempt to grasp the local culture, most visitors now spend only a couple of days in Florence. 

Staying somewhere for just a few days means that your chances of genuine encounters with locals and local culture are reduced – in a world of fast-paced travel, there is simply not enough time to build relationships or explore. This also means that hit-and-go visitors tend to concentrate around a few big, bucket-list attractions, leaving many worthy sights almost unnoticed.

How to avoid the high-season crowd in Florence

From the traveler’s perspective, Florence is not so different from other major tourist destinations. Crowds and lines are the price to pay to stand below Michelangelo’s majestic David, to climb on top of Brunelleschi’s dome or to see Botticelli’s Primavera, especially if you are visiting between April and October. For the most part, it’s a price worth paying. But visit places like the Archaeological Museum, Stibbert Museum or Stefano Bardini Museum, and you’ll hardly find anyone there.

With a surface of only 5 sq kms (3.1 sq miles), it can feel difficult to avoid the masses altogether in the UNESCO-listed area of Florence, but you’ll be surprised to find out that even in such a small space, the great majority of people stick to a few streets and attractions. There are over 60 museums and galleries in Florence and its immediate surroundings, but most first-time visitors tend to visit only the five biggest. The streets that link San Lorenzo’s Mercato Centrale with the Duomo and Piazza della Signoria are the busiest during the day. Move toward the edges of the old city, in neighborhoods like Santo Spirito and Sant’Ambrogio, and you’ll leave most tourists behind to find markets, bars and cafes that still gather a largely resident community.

It’s worth keeping in mind that tourism flows in the city are seasonal and concentrated in the months between April and October, when days are longer and the chances of good weather are highest. If you are coming to see the Renaissance masterpieces that furnish the historical centre, consider visiting in winter – most of the original artworks are preserved indoors anyway. To better distribute the flow of visitors, big museums – such as the Uffizi and Palazzo Pitti – offer discounts for people who enter before 9am.

Tips for visiting Florence (the right way)

Florence is now at a critical juncture where decisive action is necessary to ensure a sustainable future for the city. Overtourism is a political issue and individual travelers can’t be held responsible for the mismanagement of global travel trends. Solutions can only be implemented at a governmental level – as long as this does not happen, there is little you can do, so you might as well enjoy your trip! Here are just a few things to consider when joining the millions who come to Florence every year.

Don’t trash the place (someone else is paying to clean up)

A 2025 report has shown that Florentine households produce, on average, 60% more trash than those in the rest of central Tuscany. This is not reckless behavior; households include short-term rentals that host hundreds of people each year and whose footprint is usually higher than that of permanent residents. Waste management taxes, however, are measured based on the size of the house, meaning that those who stay pay to clean up for those who leave as well.

As part of the new regulations currently being implemented all short-term rentals will have to provide English-language information on recycling best practices. Keep an eye out for the checklist next time you are in Florence. 

Remember “authenticity” is a marketing term

One of the visible results of overtourism is the loss of small shops and services that have historically catered to the local population, substituted by big brands and businesses designed to lure high-spending visitors. As the old is replaced by the new, any store, restaurant, cafe or tour vaguely echoing some allegedly endangered traditional values is now labeled “authentic.”

Perhaps disappointingly, no one goes about their daily life thinking of this as authentic. This is a made-up concept that has managed to catch on in a city that is so visibly commodified. Travelers hoping to experience an interaction – with a place, a flavor, a person – that doesn’t feel like another transaction, be aware: you are often being sold a simulation. 

Rather than seeking businesses that claim to be guardians of old traditions, it is perhaps a good idea to support the many smaller, independent operations run by owners who keep new ideas flowing into the city – whether they’re “traditional” or not. The Firenze Creativa network, officially supported by the city council, gathers over 70 artisans active in the city – from artists reinventing the ancient Florentine mosaic craft to decorative terrarium makers – and help maintain the city’s character diverse and alive. Browse through the Firenze Creativa map to discover the makers keeping Florence’s contemporary culture alive.

In Santa Croce, a neighborhood that has historically functioned as a centre of artisanship in the city, a group of local independent specialty shop owners, designers and craftspeople has joined forces to produce the Not For Tourist Map, which helps you find 15 stores, ateliers and artists studios that aim to offer an alternative to the many established brands that have taken over the area. The map is available in paper only, look out for it in shops and cafes in Santa Croce.

Choose tours with a social impact

A good guide can help you gain a better understanding of the place you are visiting, but a good local guide can transform tourism into a force for good. This is what cooperative Stazione Utopia aims to do with its EU-supported Amir project. Started in 2018, Amir offers a training program for people with migrant backgrounds to become certified tour guides in some of Florence’s most important cultural institutions.

Active in 25 museums, monuments and churches around the city, the tours organized by Stazione Utopia function as a tool for integration in a city that is known for being difficult to integrate into. Amir’s guides, however, are not just another service for tourists arriving in the city – the project trains guides who specialize in narrative tours that shed light on often neglected aspects of the city’s history. Especially worthy of attention are the series of Uncomfortable Tours, run (usually during the summer) as part of the Amir project, which range from walking tours that offer insight into the colonial history of Florence to dialogues with the city’s Islamic community.

Seek out alternative itineraries

Who determines what is a monument and what isn’t? Institutional art trails move millions of people from gallery to gallery, but alternative ways of experiencing Florence exist. In 2019, independent association Unusual Address developed a map to highlight the monumental trees that have stood in Florence and its surroundings for over a century.

Often overshadowed by the city’s photogenic architecture, these centenary trees tell the botanical story of Florence and offer the opportunity to observe the city from a new perspective and celebrate the city’s heritage outside its commercial network. Build your itinerary through the map available for free download on Unusual Address’ blog and in paper form in various locations around the city.

Stay longer and explore more 

Thanks to the democratization of travel, exploring the world is no longer an activity exclusively reserved for the elites, but as the flow of tourists increases, it’s worth keeping in mind that 70% of people who travel to Italy stick to 1% of the country’s territory. There is much to be discovered beyond the most photographed famous sites, if you take the time to do so.

Large investments are being put toward building cycling routes through Florence and in Tuscany more broadly, offering an opportunity to encounter places that have long been neglected by tourism flows. The Ciclovia dell’Arno, stretching along the Arno River across 57 municipalities (including Florence), is nearing completion, and the Terre di Pisa Bike Trail, covering 535kms (332 miles) in Pisa’s province, is launching in 2025. The Tuscan section of the Via Francigena historic pilgrim route, cutting through the region north to south, is also doable by bike, as is the now popular route of L’Eroica in the Chianti area.