• Private Tour
• Instantly Confirmed
• Carbon Neutral

Curious to know more about Florence’s history? Join a local history expert on an insightful tour that will show you a side of the city that can’t be found in any book. This experience will open your eyes to the past and origins of Florence from a local perspective as you learn about the famous Medici Family.

Destination

Florence, Italy

Category

City Highlight Tours

Duration

3 hours

Transport mode

Walking tour

Available languages

Español, English, Italiano, Deutsch, Français, Português, 中文

Included

• Private Guide
• All Withlocals Tours are Carbon Neutral

Excluded

• Entrance to Attractions
• Please note that during the high season
• availability for the Pitti Palace is limited

What you can expect

Choose your local

Get to know these 18 passionate locals, each bringing unique perspectives and talents. Choose your favorite, check their availability, and book to create an unforgettable adventure tailored to you.

This is the plan

Check out the plan below to see what you'll get up to with your local host. Feel free to personalize this offer with the host of your choice.

1. Meeting point

   Meet at Beside the Column of Abundance - Florence to start your journey

   View on Maps

2. Itinerary

   This is what our experience could look like, but it’s not set in stone! Once you book, you can chat directly with your host to make small tweaks to suit your preferences.

3. Famous Historical Families

   Your history tour in Florence will focus on the famous Medici Family. Learn the impacts, insights and hear stories related to this historic event from your knowledgeable host. Discover the city as you retrace history and go in-depth on the effects this part of history has on Florence

4. Historical Highlights

   Check out main landmarks related to the theme of your history tour and connect their relevance through fantastic stories and facts from your expert local host

5. Hidden Treasures

   During your tour, you’ll also uncover hidden gems that will show you a different perspective of history as you know it, something you can’t easily find in a history book!

6. Storytelling Journey

   As you discover the historical side of Florence, you’ll be able to go back in time thanks to the amazing stories and storytelling skills of your local host. Feel free to ask any questions and feel as if you are relieving history in the present time

7. Make it yours

   Want to tweak the itinerary? Book directly & chat afterwards with your host to adjust highlights, skip stops, or make small changes to fit your preferences.

   Book risk-free: Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund.

   Need something special? Personalize your experience for more time, alternative locations or a completely tailored plan.

Flexible cancellation policy

• Feel confident booking

  Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund. Even up to 7 days before your experience, you’ll receive a refund, minus the service fee.

• Change of plans?

  Reschedule your experience to a date and time that works best for you.

• Loved by travelers worldwide

  Simple and flexible – your plans, your way.

Reviews from guests

Leslie

(About local Martina)

11 February 2025

I had an incredible time on the History of Florence: Famous Medici Family & sprinkles of the local artesians I wanted to see with Martina through Withlocals. From the start, Martina was both professional and friendly, creating a relaxed atmosphere while sharing her vast knowledge. She expertly tailored the tour to match my interests, which made the experience even more personal and engaging. Martina brought the story of Florence and the Medici family to life, diving deep into the history, culture, architecture, and daily life of the time. I learned so much and had a fantastic time doing it. I highly recommend Martina for anyone looking for an unforgettable tour in Florence!History of Florence- Martina is #1!!

jameela🇰🇼 Kuwait

(About local Michele)

12 January 2025

We had a wonderful time being taken around Florence with Michelle. He was very comfortable and genuine with tons of interesting information about the history of the city and great food recommendations. Michelle is a kind soul and is definitely someone we’d like to see coming back in the futureMore Than We Expected

Andrew🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Federica)

28 November 2024

We had an absolutely brilliant tour of Florence, focusing on the history and role of the Medici family with Federica. Federica is everything you would want from a tour guide, knowledgeable, kind, patient, pragmatic and fun. The Medici tour had a tremendous structure and was very informative and Federica brought insights and knowledge that you would not get from a guide book. The whole experience was faultless and we thought we got excellent value from the tour. Fantastic Tour

Unknown

(About local Federica)

15 October 2024

Had a great tour, thank you!Florence walk

Jenny🇨🇦 Canada

(About local Martina)

25 September 2024

Martina was everything you would expect from a well informed guide.punctual,flexible and very pleasant experience.would highly recommend Charming and wellinformed

Warren🇺🇸 United States

(About local Martina)

8 September 2024

This is our first experience With Locals, and we couldn't be happier. Martina made our introduction to Florence such a joy. She was welcoming, gracious, and engaging. Her descriptions of what we were seeing as we traversed between the Duomo and PonteVecchio made us feel at home in her town, and she introduced us to the proprietor of a traditional paper shop who introduced beautiful paper making techniques. You will love your time spent with Martina :-) Warm welcome to Florence

Trish🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Laura)

17 August 2024

Our family of five thoroughly enjoyed our time with Laura. She was so knowledgable, with her wealth of experience in her day job as an archeologist and passion for history. We learned so much and Laura brought the past to life for us with humour and fun. I thoroughly recommend her as your guide. You won’t be disappointed. Wonderful time with Laura

Maria

(About local Andrea)

11 July 2024

Andrea was the perfect guide for Florence. Although I have been to the city a number of times with my family, I look at Florence with different eyes after my tour. Andrea was knowledgable, kind, charming and quintessentially Italian. I highly recommend.The perfect guide!

Jodie🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Maja)

4 July 2024

Maja had a lot to deal with with my crazy family and many different interests to cater to. She did a wonderful job of keeping us all happy and engaged on our tour of Florence. She had a wealth of fascinating information and was able to answer all my Dad’s crazy question with a good sense of humour. We were all delighted with our experience with Maja. Friendly and adaptable

Alison🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Laura)

19 May 2024

Laura is extremely knowledgeable, full of fascinating stories about the historic families of Florence. It wasn't our first time in Florence and we've read guide books, but Laura was able to tell us much more, and more interesting things than dry facts. She is very personable and it was a pleasure to spend the time with her; we highly recommend this tour, so pleased we chose it. Thank you LauraSuperb insightful tour

Lynn🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Laura)

29 April 2024

An amazing morning with Laura who brought medieval and renaissance Florence to life in all its glory. She knows her city inside out and at the end of the tour, you feel you almost know the colourful citizens of the past. A highly recommended tour.Informative, educational but mainly fun!

Fareed🇺🇸 United States

(About local Michele)

8 April 2024

Michele did a phenomenal job of providing us a Florence family tour. He provided lots of colorful facts and stories from the time Florence began as Roman city to the modern times and how it evolved. He also provided us a walking tour and had great tips on trying Gelato and other fun things to eat. Now we know how to correctly pronounce pistachio the Italian way and we got an understanding of Pinocchio 😊. I highly recommend spending a day with Michele! Extremely engaging first tour

Alexander🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Federica)

1 April 2024

Vielen Dank Federica für Deine tolle Tour durch Florenz, Du konntest uns aber auch unseren drei jugendlichen Kindern immer wieder neue Informationen, Tipps und Einblicke geben.Schöne Familientour durch Florenz

Ingrid🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Laura)

9 February 2024

Laura was fantastic! In the last 40 years I've visited Florence 31 times already yet Laura still and unexpectedly showed me things I hadn't seen before. She has great knowledge of the city and it's history and habits, she's very kind and open, it's a fantastic experience!Fantastic

Michele🇺🇸 United States

(About local Piero)

3 November 2023

Piero was fantastic! He was able to answer all of questions about Florence. He had cool stories about historical events. He adjusted his tour (and his waking pace) to suit our needs. Nice guy. Super knowledgeable.

MEIR🇺🇸 United States

(About local Piero)

4 October 2023

Piero is very knowledgeable. We would gladly do another tour with him!Florence walking highlights

Adrian🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Omar )

29 September 2023

We spent a lovely morning in the knowledgable and passionate company that was Omar. Being a proud Florentine showed as he guided us through the history of Florence with local insight. Great introduction to Florence

Mary Jo

(About local Piero)

27 September 2023

We booked with Piero for the Historical Families tour, and we couldn't have been more pleased. My son (age 30) loves Ancient Roman history, but didn't know a lot about Florence, the Medicis or other Florentine historical figures. I myself have loved learning about Florence and its background, but definitely can always know more! Piero didn't disappoint. We took an easy walk through the city, with Piero pointing out where history was made, and how these people shaped the city. At one point he told a story, and we were captivated, waiting for the end of the plot! That's what kind of tour it was: Interesting, entertaining and all around quite lovely. My son learned all about the city, and its affect on the Renaissance, too. He was impressed. (And who doesn't want to treat their kid to something that impresses them?) Thank you, Piero. So worth the time and money! Amazing tour!

Karine🇺🇸 United States

(About local Martina)

10 September 2023

Our tour of Florence with Marty was incredible! She was very knowledgeable. We saw things we would have never known about. She let us set the pace and ask question after historical question. Her “wardrobe of knowledge “ appears to be infinite. She navigated streets, helped with interaction with vendors, and kept us hydrated. I cannot recommend her any higher. The time together was the highlight of my trip to Italy and if I was staying longer, I’d do it all over again tomorrow. Incredible!

Reg🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Dina)

4 September 2023

Our walking tour with Dina was Brilliant. Brilliant because we learnt about the history of Florence but in a way that was fun and informative. Dina’s historical knowledge and passion brought the stories to life. We would have missed so much if Dina had not been there to explain to us the significance and meaning. But the tour was not all historical we particularly enjoyed being shown local professional artists at their work and going to a traditional market which sold everything, the sights and smells were amazing. So without Dina we would have missed so much that Florence has to offer from its past and present. Spending time with Dina will be one of the best things you can do in Florence because of her knowledge, passion and desire to help make your visit to Florence brilliant. Our tour with Dina was an absolute delight. Brilliant, fun tour

ariajalali🇺🇸 United States

(About local Federica)

17 August 2023

Federica is so knowledgeable and so pleasant and fun. We had such a great time with her. She even went out of her way to customize the tour to keep us cool for it during the 100 degree weather ! Incredible

Aernout🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Michele)

27 July 2023

We had a wonderful morning with Michele. He is a born story-teller and brought us back to the centuries of the de Medici family in Florence. Not too many dates and names, but stories to make us understand the intelligence, power, friendships, religion, intrigue and love for art of this famous family. All whilst walking in the center of the city and pointing out good local restaurants, shops and drinking a cappucino. Michele also gave us tips for our next stop in Tuscany. Thank you Michele for a lovely morning!A great storyteller

Dominique🇧🇪 Belgium

(About local Laura)

26 July 2023

We hadden 3 interessante uren met gids Laura. Ze gaf heel veel info over Firenze. We waren met 2, zodat ze goed rekening kon houden met het lawaai in de stad. Ze toonde ook de werking van de drinkfonteintjes. Ze toonde ook haar betrokkenheid op haar stad door een illegaal gokspel op straat aan de politie te rapporteren. We kregen een mooi en interessant overzicht van het leven in Firenze in de 15de eeuw, de politiek tussen de verschillende families.Firenze van binnenuit

Corinne🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local alessandra)

21 July 2023

We spent a very enjoyable morning with Alessandra walking through the streets of Florence and hearing the stories of the families and powerful people who shaped the city and its architecture. Alessandra is extremely knowledgeable about history and was happy to answer all our questions and adapt the tour to our interests. We loved discovering areas of the city that we wouldn’t have otherwise known about. Wonderfully insightful tour guide

Lynne🇺🇸 United States

(About local Virginia)

19 May 2023

Virginia was very, very good. She took me to wonderful places, including a few not often visited. I have been traveling for 10 days and am very tired. I sometimes use a cane and was very attuned to my needs. Pls thank her on my behalf. lbc

Shin🇺🇸 United States

(About local Chiara)

2 May 2023

Chiara was so amazing, thank you for a wonderful tour of Florence! This is exactly what we were looking for, she is very knowledgeable and friendly, and this was by far the best tour we had on our vacation! Can't recommend Chiara enough!Absolutely wonderful!

Unknown

(About local Valentina)

15 March 2023

What an incredible afternoon in Florence with Valentina! She not only was so incredibly knowledgeable and shared fantastic spots and streets with us, but was very kind and personable with us. She answered everything we asked her with grace, and really enjoyed her company. Would absolutely recommend With Locals and especially Valentina!Valentina was the best!

Katarina🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Valentina)

5 March 2023

Valentina Shared her in-depth knowledge with us and made our tour very special. She has a great way to communicate with people.Valentina is a star

Unknown

(About local Laura)

8 January 2023

Janessa🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Michele)

5 January 2023

We had a fabulous time touring Florence with Michele. He was an incredible story teller and I learned so much. He was great with our 7 year old daughter. I would definitely tour Florence with Michele in the future!Exceptional Experience

mschiavoni🇺🇸 United States

(About local Laura)

17 November 2022

Laura provided exactly what we asked

Margaret 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Piero)

22 October 2022

This is the second tour we have done with Piero and both have been excellent. This time we asked to start at a restaurant where we had been having lunch. It wasn’t in a main tourist street so Piero had studied that area specially in order to tell us about the social history and show features that we would certainly have missed. His English is excellent and he made our tour amusing, informative and colourful.

Anna🇺🇸 United States

(About local Laura)

14 October 2022

My husband, son and I had a wonderful historical tour with Laura. Her knowledge of the the history of Florence, obvious passion for the architecture and art of her city, and pride of being born and raised as a Florentine,… made for an incredibly enriching experience. We have all been to Florence on several occasions, so we were looking for a tour that went deeper into the historical aspects of the city. She is a brilliant woman whose depth of knowledge was apparent. She also was open about much of modern Italian life, which I loved learning. On a personal note, she is just a kind and caring person. I would not hesitate to book your next tour with her. Fantastic Afternoon with Laura

Reinhard🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Maja)

21 September 2022

Wir hatten das Vergnügen mit Maja eine dreistündige Tour zu erleben! Spannende, historische, florentinische Geschichten/Orte/Kunstwerke wurden von Maja auf professionelle Art an uns übermittelt! Wir kommen wieder u wissen heute schon mit wem wir Florenz weiter erforschen!Zehn

SHANE🇮🇹 Italy

(About local Giulia)

20 September 2022

Giulia was an amazing tour guide. With her years of experience and extensive education on Florence history made our visit fun and educational. Giuliana has an amazing personality and we definitely will work with her again on our next visit! It is also impressive that she speaks 4 languages!Fun in Florence with Giulia

Unknown

(About local Martina)

7 September 2022

Wonderful!!! I recommend this tour 120%. She is knowledgable, never in a hurry and takes you to great places you would not see otherwise. GREAT!!!Wonderful ❤️❤️

Carmen🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

(About local Martina)

1 September 2022

Having a tour with Martina feels like spending an afternoon with an old friend. Our tour was relaxed and filled with interesting facts and experiences from start to finish. Can't recommend Martina enough

Julia🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Maja)

7 August 2022

Maja hat uns an unserem ersten Tag durch das Zentrum von Florenz geführt wie eine Freundin und wir haben so unseren ersten Eindruck direkt mit vielen Informationen und Anekdoten aufgefüllt bekommen. Maja weiß unheimlich viel und es machte uns allen Spaß, ihr zuzuhören. Sie hat so viel erzählt und gezeigt und die Zeit verging eigentlich zu schnell. Sicher hätten wir noch ein paar Stunden mehr mit ihr verbringen mögen! Es war toll! Eine fantastische Tour

Linda🇨🇦 Canada

(About local Ivana)

24 July 2022

Piero was amazing! Very knowledge and very interesting. Would highly recommend a tour with him!Piero

Jane🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Michele)

12 July 2022

Michele was a very engaging guide, knowledgeable and with a good sense of humour. He made our visit to Florence more meaningful and we learnt a lot about the history, the buildings and key families and individuals from the renaissance. He also gave us good suggestions re museums, bars and restaurants. We would thoroughly recommend the tourA morning in Florence

Robin🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Laura)

21 June 2022

Laura adjusted our tour to our previous vist and to the warm weather, which was greatly appreciated. We got to know all there is about a developing city in the middle ages and the important players who had a role in that. It gave a good understanding of Florence as it is today. Thank you, Laura!!Knowledgable and sweet

Kenneth🇮🇪 Ireland

(About local Federica)

17 June 2022

Federica was a great guide. There were 5 of us including my mother who is 81. She adjusted the pace and managed to bring us to all the main attractions. We will have great memories of our day in Florence.Very knowledgeable and friendly

Cornelia🇨🇭 Switzerland

(About local Maja)

8 June 2022

Maja macht die alte Geschichte von Florenz lebendig! Tolle,spannende Führung! Maja macht dies mit ihrer fröhlichen Art und man spürt immer noch ihre echte Begeisterung für diese Stadt- unbedingt zu empfehlen!Wundervoll,Maja!

Johanna🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Valentina)

3 June 2022

We had a great time with Valentina, our Mrs. Renaissance. We learned so much about the Medici, the Renaissance and Florence that we never would have learned from a guidebook. It was an enjoyable three hours and Valentina was able to expertly answer any question, no matter how specific. We highly recommend a tour with Valentina. Great tour to explore Florence

Roxane🇺🇸 United States

(About local Maja)

7 May 2022

Mama was the perfect choice for me! I am a70 year old traveling alone. I have some health issues. With Maja we took it slowly with a few breaks. She was a perfect historian and guide. I learned a lot about Florence’s families. She also gave me information for the rest of my trip. We had a wonderful lunch at a cafe, just like a local. It was the best decision I’ve made. I truly feel I made a friend!Fabulous and very interesting

Kaj Peter🇫🇮 Finland

(About local Chiara)

2 April 2022

We had a very wonderful and pleasent tour with Chiara. She was very professional and took us trough the city and its history in an exellent way. She was able to answer all our questions and showed us places of interest. Chiara had a good sence of humor and an exellent knowledge of the history and culture of Firenze. We varmly recommend her.A professional with a sence of humor

Ana🇨🇭 Switzerland

(About local Valentina)

21 November 2021

Thank you Valentina for the wonderful time. Choosing a guide is not easy, especially when looking for an excellent storyteller. Valentina has a deep and vast knowledge of the history of Florence, without batting an eye, above all, the passion for what she does is what makes her so special. If you are a demanding person, choose Valentina.Thank you Valentina for the wonderful time.

Angelika🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Martina)

7 November 2021

Martina knows Florence and has the gift to convey her enthousiasm to others (even to teenagers)! Loved the tour she gave! One of the best guides ever

Margarita🇺🇸 United States

(About local Federica)

28 October 2021

Our family including teenage daughter agreed that the three hours dive to the history of Florence with Federica was the most interesting city tour we had during 10 days in Italy. We liked how the city was presented through the historical facts, personalities, and love stories. We enjoyed the gelato and the restaurant Federica recommended. Thank you, Federica, for great time and useful recommendations!

William🇺🇸 United States

(About local Ivana)

24 October 2021

This was exactly what we were looking for, history, politics and magnificent buildings. We loved Ivana, who was knowledgeable, warm and genuine. Perfect and well spent afternoon. Wonderful