Florence’s most beautiful gardens
Relax in the heart of Florence
Florence is of course the birthplace of the Renaissance and famous around the world for its art and culture, the home of good food and lyrical poetry, and a top destination for luxury shopping.
If you’ve had your fill of museums, sites, and tours and fancy a breath of fresh air, then you should visit one of the many gardens in the city.
Just as each street corner of Florence is like a work of art, so too are our parks and gardens, often studied carefully by great minds for their history, culture, and unique charm...
If you feel like a break from historic palaces and museums, choose one of the gardens we recommended here by the staff at Ponte Vecchio Suites. Each one is a true oasis of tranquility, offering you a chance to relax right in the city.
Boboli Gardens
The Boboli Gardens are probably the best-known park in Florence. They’re certainly the ones with the best pedigree, for many years it was home to the Medici family. With a unique mixture of art, architecture, and nature, this green space is beloved by Florentines as well as visitors from around the world. There are several entrances into it, the main one being through the courtyard of the Pitti Palace – which is almost an outdoor extension of the palace.
Due its superb location, the Boboli Gardens is an ideal spot to take a break and breathe some fresh air while you work your way between all the museums housed within the Pitti Palace. Like an open-air museum, this huge park which was developed over four centuries by the Medici family, has many statues, sculptures, fountains, and architectural features, all reflecting perfect Florentine style. Highlights to look out for are the Fountain of the Ocean by Giambologna and Buontalenti’s Grotto. Have a rest at the 18th-century tower or the frescoed Coffee House tower or at the Palazzina della Meridiana (Meridian House).
Bardini Gardens
The park of the Villa Bardini is a beautiful mélange of statues, fragrant wisteria, and brightly-colored English gardens. Its unique layout and terracing make it worth a visit even just for the superb city views. From this green lung in the heart of the Oltrarno which leads down along the Costa San Giorgio to the Arno, you can take in the full skyline – the Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, and the monumental church of Santa Croce.
You can get to the Bardini Gardens from Via de’ Bardi or Costa San Giorgio, and it’s suitable for visiting with children; though there are steps, there are plenty of flat parts.
Rose Garden
For the ultimate romantic stroll in central Florence, you can’t beat the Rose Garden. Whether you’re here for the sweet fragrance of roses, heading up or down to Piazzale Michelangelo, or simply for the wonderful views over Florence, you’ll get full value out of the charm of this wonderful terrace overlooking the city.
It is open all year but we strongly recommend a visit in Spring. Between May and July more than 350 rose varieties bloom, including many rare and historic types, all filling the garden with an amazing atmosphere. In among the flowers and bushes you can also enjoy 12 superb sculptures by Jean-Michel Folon.
Iris Garden
The iris - or giglio as it is known in Florence - is the much beloved symbol of this Renaissance city. So it’s only natural that Florence would host one of the few gardens in the world devoted solely to this beautiful, delicate flower. If you’re visiting Florence in springtime, you can walk through the paths of these fragrant petals, at other times of the year it can only be visited by appointment. The Iris Garden is in fact open only for about twenty days each year, during the flowering season, and it hosts as many as 2,000 varieties. The garden extends along the right side of Piazzale Michelangelo (the Rose Garden is on the other side) and offers a magnificent view over the city that lies beneath.
Botanic Garden
Just north of the center of Florence, the Botanic Garden is worth a visit for its unique feeling of another era, like the elegant Art Nouveau greenhouse of the Roster Tepidarium, and the Renaissance-era loggia.
Enjoy some shade from the summer sun under this loggia, and then take in a very special view of the city from the Orti di Parnasso. Relax in this green oasis close to the center of Florence and observe some amazing plant varieties and many wonderful scents.