Florence has been crowned Europe’s best city in Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards 2025. Nearly 180,000 readers voted in 2025, evaluating cities on their beauty, attractions, culture, food, friendliness, and service.
- Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards explained
- Why Florence topped Travel + Leisure’s 2025 award
- Florence’s most famous attractions to prioritise in 2025
- Eating well in Florence: best Tuscan dishes and standout restaurants
- Where locals shop in Florence: unique stores and artisan workshops
- High‑end shopping in Florence: Via de’ Tornabuoni and beyond
- Study and student life in Florence
- Living in Florence as a foreigner
Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards explained
Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards are annual readers’ choice rankings. Votes are cast based on criteria such as sights and landmarks, culture, cuisine, friendliness, value, and overall experience. Readers’ polls reflect traveller experience more than expert audits, and scores vary year on year as travel patterns shift.
Why Florence topped Travel + Leisure’s 2025 award
Beauty in Florence is architectural harmony and urban drama. Brunelleschi’s dome punctuates a terracotta cityscape, the Arno’s light at golden hour, cloisters and piazzas in blue-grey sandstone, with the cathedral bell ringing above it all.
In the Europe category for 2025, Florence has taken top spot thanks to a few enduring strengths, followed closely by Seville and Granada in Spain:
A density of art and architecture that’s hard to match
Culture sits at arm’s length wherever you turn — the Uffizi and Accademia, Medici chapels, and church façades that double as open‑air lessons in art history. The city boasts the Duomo’s iconic dome, the Ponte Vecchio’s river span and a historic centre that is one of Italy's top UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
A small footprint and strong liveability for visitors
Florence also works on the ground. The historic centre is walkable, and the traffic restrictions keep the core largely car‑free.
Culinary depth and craftsmanship
Typical restaurants, or trattorie, serve hearty ribollita and bistecca, wine bars pour Chianti Classico, and there are plenty of must-try classic Italian pasta dishes on the menu. Oltrarno artisans still craft leather goods, marbled paper, and jewellery by hand.
Florence’s most famous attractions to prioritise in 2025
Start with the Duomo complex: the cathedral’s nave and frescoed cupola are the crowning jewel, with the baptistery’s mosaics and Giotto’s campanile completing the set.
The Uffizi Galleries reward a half‑day if you like to linger; book a timed entry and pace yourself through Botticelli, Leonardo and Caravaggio.
The Accademia is a shorter hit for Michelangelo’s David, while Palazzo Vecchio gives palace intrigue and tower views.
Ponte Vecchio is still a living symbol of the city, and Boboli Gardens behind Palazzo Pitti offer green respite with sculptures and hillside vistas.
Once you've got your fix of the city's top historical landmarks, explore some non-touristy things to do in Florence to escape the crowds.
Neighbourhoods to wander for that quintessential Florence feel
- Oltrarno and Santo Spirito: across the river, you’ll find artisan workshops behind discreet doorways, piazza life, casual trattorie and wine bars. Look for signs of on‑site production like tools, leather offcuts or marbling baths.
- San Niccolò and Piazzale Michelangelo: a villagey quarter that climbs the hill to classic skyline views. Early morning or after sunset feels calm, with cobbled lanes, small galleries and café terraces tucked under medieval towers.
- Santa Croce and Sant’Ambrogio: Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio has produce and prepared bites, while the streets around Via dei Macci hide bakeries and enotecas.
Eating well in Florence: best Tuscan dishes and standout restaurants
Tuscan cooking is sturdy, seasonal and full of flavour. Look for ribollita (a thick bread and vegetable stew), pappa al pomodoro (tomato‑bread soup), pappardelle al cinghiale (a typical Italian pasta dish from the region) and bistecca alla fiorentina cooked rare over embers.
Being the home of gelato, it's hard not to visit the city without going in search of the best ice cream in Florence. There are plenty of candidates, including parlours that are now institutions, as well as new businesses playing with innovative flavours.
Where locals shop in Florence: unique stores and artisan workshops
Florence still does craft properly. Leather goods, marbled paper, goldsmithing, ceramics from Montelupo, wood inlay and bookbinding are worth a look. To separate craft from trinkets, ask about materials, origin, and whether the workshop produces on-site. Certifications, workbenches in view and slight irregularities are usually good signs of handwork.
The Oltrarno’s side streets hold small, often family‑run workshops, while Via Maggio is strong for antiques, San Lorenzo has leather markets and stalls, and Mercato Centrale pairs grocery shopping with an upstairs food hall.
High‑end shopping in Florence: Via de’ Tornabuoni and beyond
Via de’ Tornabuoni is the luxury corridor, with Italian heritage maisons and international flagships set in Renaissance palazzi. Via della Vigna Nuova and the streets around Piazza Santa Trinita add smaller designer boutiques and refined multi‑brands. Seasonal sales usually land twice a year by regional calendar, and non‑EU travellers can claim tax refunds on qualifying purchases.
Study and student life in Florence
Studying abroad in Florence works well because the city itself becomes a classroom — galleries, archives and churches are within walking reach, and language schools fit easily around studies.
Budgets stretch further with shared flats in Florence's student‑friendly areas and a routine built on market shopping and cheap eats like schiacciata and lampredotto.
Living in Florence as a foreigner
If you’re thinking about living in Florence, you'll find the city is compact and walkable. There's the craft‑rich Oltrarno and lively Santo Spirito for creatives, foodie corners around Sant’Ambrogio and Santa Croce, and calmer residential pockets like Campo di Marte for more space and parks. Learn a bit of Italian and you’ll slide into a rhythm of market shopping, café mornings and easy tram links in no time.
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