Florence in a Mile
The Duomo, the David, the bridge — a straight walk through the heart of Florence, with the one insane true story behind every icon. Where the Renaissance started, and why any of it is still here.
What You'll Experience
Plan your walk
Know the route before you buy
- Starts at
- Introduction
- Ends at
- The Reveal
- Walking plan
- 1h · ~0.9 miles
- Schedule
- Start, pause, and resume anytime
Included in the app
- Professional narration
- GPS-triggered stops
- Downloadable tour audio
- Ask the Historian Q&A
- Optional end-of-tour reveal
- All 12 story stops
A taste of what you'll hear
12 stops, each with its own story. Here's a preview.
"You're in Florence. A city small enough to cross on foot in twenty minutes, where a banker with no official title ran the whole place for thirty years, where the greatest art museum on earth was built..."
"You'll probably spot the line before you spot the statue. Under this open-sided market loggia sits a life-sized bronze boar, mid-crouch, with a small queue of people taking turns rubbing its nose."
"You made it. From a seventeen-foot marble teenager at the top of town all the way down to a bridge full of diamonds over the river. One mile, about seven centuries. Nicely done. Let's settle up."
Tour itinerary
Every stop on this walk
Explore the route before you go. Each stop has its own story preview, location details, and place in the larger tour.
- 11IntroductionYou're in Florence. A city small enough to cross on foot in twenty minutes, where a banker with no official title ran the whole place for...43.7770, 11.2594 Read this stop
- 22Galleria dell'Accademia — The DavidYou made it to the Accademia. Walk to the end of the long hall, past a row of half-carved figures fighting their way out of raw stone, and...43.7770, 11.2594 Read this stop
- 33Palazzo Medici RiccardiThat fortress of a building on the corner — heavy rough-cut stone at the bottom, smoother floors stacked above — is the Palazzo Medici...43.7752, 11.2570 Read this stop
- 44The Duomo — Santa Maria del FioreNow you're right underneath it. The Duomo — Santa Maria del Fiore — wrapped in green, white, and pink marble, with a bell tower beside it in...43.7731, 11.2560 Read this stop
- 55The Baptistery of San Giovanni — The Gates of ParadiseRight in front of the cathedral sits a smaller, eight-sided building with doors that look like solid gold.43.7730, 11.2551 Read this stop
- 66OrsanmicheleWalking down toward the river, you pass a tall, square, blank-walled building with statues standing in niches all around the outside.43.7709, 11.2549 Read this stop
- 77Il Porcellino — Mercato NuovoYou'll probably spot the line before you spot the statue. Under this open-sided market loggia sits a life-sized bronze boar, mid-crouch,...43.7703, 11.2537 Read this stop
- 88Piazza della SignoriaYou've walked into the Piazza della Signoria — the main square, the political heart of Florence for seven hundred years, and, as a bonus,...43.7696, 11.2558 Read this stop
- 99Palazzo VecchioRight on the square is a blocky stone fortress with a tall, off-center tower jabbing up from one corner.43.7693, 11.2560 Read this stop
- 1010The Uffizi GalleryYou're standing at the mouth of a long, narrow courtyard that runs down toward the river, framed by two matching wings and lined with...43.7678, 11.2553 Read this stop
- 1111Ponte VecchioYou've reached the Arno, and the bridge in front of you is wearing buildings. Little shops cling to both sides and hang out over the water...43.7680, 11.2531 Read this stop
- 1212The RevealYou made it. From a seventeen-foot marble teenager at the top of town all the way down to a bridge full of diamonds over the river.43.7680, 11.2531 Read this stop
Stories first
Every stop is built around people, conflict, ambition, and consequences—not a plaque read aloud.
Most of it is true. The extra mischief is just a wink at the end, but the story is what carries the walk.
Have questions? Just ask.
Curious about something you heard? Want to know more about a place? Ask us anything — we have a lot to say. It's more fun when it's a conversation.
Ready?
Download the app, head to the starting point, and press play. The stories start themselves.
Get the AppBefore you go
Quick answers
How much is this tour?
$9.99 as a one-time purchase in the iOS app. The Florence city pack is $14.99 and includes every currently available tour in the city.
Can I use it with spotty cell service?
Download the tour audio on Wi-Fi before leaving. Cached narration plays without streaming; map tiles and other online features may still need a connection.
Do I have to start at a specific time?
No. Start when it suits you, pause for a detour or meal, and resume later. Check the opening hours of any venue you personally plan to enter.
Are admission tickets included?
The purchase covers the Bad Historian audio experience. Transportation, food, and admission to third-party attractions are not included.
Other Florence Tours
Piazza della Signoria
Blood on the Marble
A pope's murder plot at Mass, a preacher burned where he'd burned the city's art, a poet sentenced to the flames. Florence's beauty had a body count — and every crime is in the records.
Historic Center
Florence Dressed the World
The city that invented fashion twice — the medieval wool and silk guilds that funded the Renaissance, then Ferragamo, Gucci, Pucci, and the 1951 show that made 'Made in Italy.' Two inventions, six centuries apart, on the same small grid of streets.
Duomo
How to Build the Impossible
A reject block of marble became the David; a dome that shouldn't stand still holds; a 1401 contest built a genius by making him lose. A physics heist across the Renaissance, on foot, in about a mile.
San Lorenzo
The Family That Owned Florence
The Medici started as bankers and ended up owning a republic, a papacy, and immortality — four popes, two queens of France, a secret half-mile skybridge over the whole city. And the last of them gave every masterpiece to Florence forever, on one condition: none of it could ever leave.
Florence in a Mile
$9.99 · one-time