Florence Vs Venice: Which Fits Your Itinerary Better?

Rome, Florence and Venice often make it to the top of people’s bucket list when they travel to Italy. Sometimes you just can’t see it all. Making a choice between the cities is really hard especially if you haven’t been there before. Today let’s try and weigh the options and see when it it is Florence vs Venice, which one of the cities ranks higher on the must see list.

Florence and Venice are different types of cities. They have totally different types of vibes and probably appeal to two different sets of people. Which is why I’m going to talk about the pros and cons of each location just as I did when I talked about Rome vs Venice and Rome vs Florence. That way you get the chance to make the decision for yourself and not based on what I like as a traveler.

If you do have questions at the end of this post then just drop me a comment below. I’ll try to get back to you as soon as possible.

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. Read my disclaimer for further information.

Florence Vs Venice: Transport

Let’s start with a discussion on the transport system to and in both the cities. I’m going to discuss what its like to get to the city and what its like to move around it. I’ll also include what its like to drive to it because parking and other challenges do play a role.

Airports

When it comes to Florence, it is easy to get to the city because it is well connected by air to countries around Europe. Not so well with countries outside it. You would have to take a transit flight to get to it. The same goes for Venice which puts then on par as far as air travel goes.

Both Venice and Florence are also connected by rail so that’s another area in which they are pretty much equal.

Transport In The Cities

When it comes to getting around the cities, you will slowly start seeing the difference between Florence and Venice. Florence has good footpaths, the city is compact and walkable. Its easy to get from one location to another by foot. Attractions aren’t very spread out so you don’t get exhausted like you would in Rome. If you want to give your feet a bit of a rest then you can use the public transport system which includes both buses and trams.

Venice on the other hand is very different. Given that Venice is a combination of canals and islands, getting around is trickier. One thing that I want to point out is that Venice is walkable. You can walk everywhere. The issue is that if you want to cross a canal, you may have to walk a long way to a bridge. That’s where the gondolas come along. For a small price, you can cross the canal and resume your walk which is very practical.

Ferries to the islands can get expensive depending on what you want to do and if you want to take a gondola ride for the experience, that’s also pretty expensive at times. But it is an experience.

Florence vs Venice in relation to public transport: I would say Florence though given the landscape Venice does the best it can.

Driving To The City

Florence has many zones in the city which you cannot drive in without a permit. This makes entering Florence very challenging with a car. What we did was book a parking in the center of the city which handled all our permits for us. This enabled us to enter rather hassle free. Though we were still constantly worried about getting to the parking lot because one wrong turn would have meant a fine.

Venice is car free. You cannot drive into Venice. There is a huge parking lot where you can park your car and then walk into the city. We chose to stay outside Venice and take the bus instead. Both cities aren’t the greatest places to drive into.

Florence Vs Venice by car: I preferred Venice because of the large parking space and the relative hassle free in which we entered.

Florence Vs Venice: Sights In The City

Again as far as the sights in the city go, both Florence and Venice are very different from each other. Venice is known for its canals and its gondolas. Florence is known as the open air museum of Italy. A place where you can take a turn and see another thing of beauty.

Venice

The views in Venice are unbeatable if you love the iconic canals. What I do need to emphasize on is that these tiny roads and canals of Venice are packed to the brim with tourists which means that a part of the charm is lost. This however should not surprise you because Venice has been dealing with a lot of over tourism in the past years.

In addition to the canals and the iconic views, Venice also has its islands which are worth exploring if the weather is good. The Dodge palace, Saint Marks square and Saint Mark’s basilica feature on the top things to do in Venice. There is a lot more around the city with smaller buildings, parks, the promenade (super crowded) etc that are really interesting.

Florence

Florence has its own share of over tourism. The city does handle it better that Venice in some ways but not completely. Getting into the Duomo could take you over an hour and the line extends right around the building. Booking any of the attractions in Florence has to be done way in advance which means that you have to plan in advance too.

Florence has so many great museums which show the work of many Italian artists, sculpturers and academicians. Music is another thing that caught our ear when we were in the city. It is a beautiful places and one that I highly recommend seeing.

Venice vs Florence for the sights: Hard choice but if you love art and music Florence is probably the place for you. Venice is more about canals and the views.

Florence Vs Venice: The Expenses

One thing that you have to really consider when visiting Italy is the budget. Most of the big cities in Italy are expensive. Florence and Venice are no exceptions to this rule. Both Florence and Venice are expensive but I found that the prices in Venice were much higher. We found plenty of free things to do in Florence and these were considerably less in Venice. Luckily we had expected that.

There are a couple of things that you should consider when it comes to the costs in Florence and Venice.

Accommodation

Accommodation in both the cities is expensive. Though I feel as if it is much easier to find something budget friendly in Florence or on its outskirts when compared to Venice. If you want budget accommodation in Venice you need to stay outside the city and travel in each day. Its not impossible or hard. Its just a difference.

Florence vs Venice for accommodation: Florence wins this round.

Food

Florence definitely has a lot of better budget friendly options when it comes to eating out so Florence wins on this round too. But let’s talk about food a little in detail and not just associated to the costs. Because let’s face it, sometimes its worth paying extra.

Venice Vs Florence: The Food Scene

The culinary styles change as you move across Italy. Florence and Venice are great examples of this. Venice has a lot of seafood on its menu which comes as no surprise because Venice is right on the coast. There are a number of restaurants where you can enjoy the local cuisine but note that they can get costly.

Florence on the other hand is well known for its wine and various types of local cuisine. You will find that a lot of vegetables are used in its cooking. Meat, pasta, bread and a variety of desserts made their way to our table time and again. We were never disappointed.

The problem with Florence is that the best places are always booked out so make a reservation and don’t hope to get a table when you walk in.

Food in Florence Vs Venice: I personally prefer Florence because the food was excellent everywhere.

Venice Vs Florence: Day Trips

Is Italy worth visiting? Weighing the pros and cons.

I always consider day trips when I visit a city because that allows me to pack a little extra into my trip. Which is one of the reasons why I’m including it in this post too.

Florence has a great location when it comes to its day trips. One of the most popular day trips is to the Tuscan hills. Another one is to Pisa. But there is a lot more that you can do from the city. The great part is that you don’t have to plan everything on your own if you don’t want to. There are tons of tours that take you to different locations. Here are some examples:

Half day tour to Pisa
Cinque Terre & Pisa Day Trip
Chianti Wineries Tour with Wine Tasting
San Gimignano and Siena day trip

Venice is generally a place that people head to for day trips and not the other way around. This is largely because its pretty expensive to pay for accommodation in Venice. But if you don’t mind that and want to use Venice as a base, there are a number of places that you can head to. Again there are tours that take you there. Here are some examples.

Florence Vs Venice: Safety

Both Venice and Florence are safe but I felt much safer in Florence for some reason. Generally speaking both cities have issues with pickpocketing which is why I always advise keeping your valuables safe and close. Both are crowded cities so keep your children close by.

Venice does have issues with flooding so it is important to keep an eye on the weather reports too.

Florence vs Venice for safety: No clear winner on this one.

Florence Vs Venice: Accessibility

Accessibility is something that I have realized is an important consideration when visiting a city. Before when we traveled, we never paid much attention to it. After we started carrying our kids around or pushing a stroller, it slowly became more and more apparent how much thought people put into their trips especially if they have mobility issues.

Venice is walkable but it has loads of bridges and you have to get on a boat to cross across in parts so that makes accessibility difficult. The good news is that you can take a water taxi or a vaporetti to the main part of Venice which makes it doable but a bit more expensive.

Florence on the other hand is very accessible. You have great walking paths. Cobblestones do pose a problem when trying to push the stroller but it is manageable.

Florence vs Venice for accessibility: Florence wins

Comparison Charts Between Different Types Of Travel

When it comes to comparing different cities, I find that tables give you a quick visual idea of what works for different travel styles. That’s why I’m going to do it for Florence vs Venice too. Let’s cover what we saw already.

Safety	Both
Food	Florence
Transport	Florence
Accessibility	Florence
Architecture	Both
Views	Venice
Museums	Florence
Budget Friendly	Both are expensive (Florence has more budget options)
Day Trips	Both
Historical structures	Both

As you can see in the above table, Florence does rank high on many things but that does not necessarily mean that it is the go to choice between Florence vs Venice. You may enjoy Venice more if its the views you are looking for. That’s just one example.

Let’s take a look at the different types of travel now and see how the Florence vs Venice fairs.

Families	Florence
Couples	Both
History Lovers	Both
Foodies	Florence
Wine Lovers	Florence
Budget Travel	Florence
Luxury travel	Both
Long Stay (3 or more days)	Florence
First time in Italy	Both

Again you can see that Florence does better with certain target groups. The thing about Venice is that it is beautiful but the sheer amount of people that visit it daily have put a lot of stress on the city. Which means that the prices have risen and the infrastructure cannot keep up.

They even introduced a tourist tax that you should pay before you enter which does make getting in and out something that you need to think about. It has not deterred the crowds though. Many make it here for just a day or as part of a day trip. Which I understand because we did that too. In fact we had three days to spend in Venice and chose to visit for just a day.

I loved it for the day that we were there. I loved that I checked it off my list but it isn’t a city I would spend long in. I just don’t like the crowds. That could however be different for you.

Now after typing for a couple of hours and trying to put everything I witnessed in a single post, I have just let out a sigh. I hope this has helped you in making your decision. Know in the question of Florence vs Venice only you can decide what works best for you. Make your choice based on your interests, likes and dislikes, travel style and budget.