Florence Hotels & Resorts

Appreciate the exquisite garden architecture of Florence on a half-day tour of the city's ancient heart. On this private tour, you’ll tour Florence's parks and secret gardens with expert insight from your guide. You’ll visit the Gardens Giardino de’ Semplici, a botanical garden created for medicinal plants in 1545 that’s among the oldest gardens in the world. A visit to Boboli Garden shows you the classic Italian garden style, dotted with ancient and Renaissance statues and beautiful grottos and fountains. You’ll stop for a delightfully authentic Tuscan lunch served with wine.

• Duration: half day
• Time: 10am to 3pm
• Daily departures from Florence
• Operates year-round
• Private experience

Taste the best of Florence’s food and famous Chianti on a half-day private tour. Your experience begins by walking through the old Florentine traditional winemakers, peeking into the city’s wine windows. These small arched windows were first used to serve food and wine during the bubonic plague in the 17th century and give insight and historical context into Florence’s long winemaking history. Some expert insight and the opportunity to taste wine follow on a visit to a palace of the Renaissance. You’ll join a professional wine-tasting session with the local gastronomic specialities and local canapes.

• Daily departures from Florence
• Operates year-round
• Private experience

Delve into the lives of the famous Medici family on an illuminating morning, reliving the splendour of 15th-century Florence on a private walking tour. The legacy of the Medici family is found in Florence’s monuments, piazzas and historic buildings. On a private tour, you’ll be let in on the family secrets and their stories of love and hate as you hear about Lorenzo the Magnificent and other family members as you walk through the most beautiful streets of the city, including the Duomo Square, the characteristic district of San Lorenzo with Palazzo Medici and Piazza Della Signoria, up to the Ponte Vecchio. Your walk concludes with an aperitif in one of the cafés in the centre of this beautiful city

• Duration: half day
• Time: 9.30am to 12.30pm
• Daily departures from Florence
• Operates year-round
• Private experience

Dedicate two hours to learning how to make authentic Italian gelato from the experts in the heart of Florence. Over a memorable morning, you’ll meet a master gelato-maker at an authentic family-run gelateria in the centre of Florence to learn the art of making delicious ice cream. Hear the secrets of genuine Italian gelato and learn how fresh, seasonal ingredients are the only way to make the perfect flavours.

• Duration: 2 hours
• Time: 10am to midday
• Daily departures from Florence
• Operates year-round
• Group experience

The skilled craftsmanship in Florence is world-renowned. Join a half-day walking tour to discover two of the city’s most famous crafts: leather and perfume. Your tour begins with a visit to the Florentine Leather School in the Santa Croce district to learn about the history of the work procedures and the Gilding and watch a demonstration of craft techniques. Next, you’ll visit a perfume laboratory where intoxicating aromas fill the air, and you’ll have the chance to shop for your favourite scents.

• Duration: half day
• Time: 10am to 1pm
• Daily departures from Florence
• Operates year-round
• Private experience

Spend an evening learning how to create traditional Italian dishes and enjoy them with wine over a memorable dinner. During a private cooking lesson in a palace in Florence, you’ll create a menu you’ve decided on in advance. Under the expert guidance of a chef, you’ll get an introduction to traditional Italian dishes along with the appropriate pairing of wines. After preparing the dishes, you’ll sit to enjoy your meal paired with wine.

• Duration: evening
• Time: 4pm to 7.30pm
• Daily departures from Florence
• Operates year-round
• Private experience

Join a half-day or evening group cooking class at a country wine estate in the rolling hills around San Gimignano. On arrival, you’ll be welcomed by the winery staff and the chef for a walk in the vegetable garden to choose and harvest the seasonal vegetables for the dishes. Led by Italian chefs, you’ll prepare a delicious four-course menu in the open air, using only the freshest ingredients for homemade pasta, typical sauces, meat, and dessert. The menu may vary by season and will be paired with a selection of wines from the estate.

• Duration: half day or evening
• Times: 10am to 1pm or 5pm to 8pm • Daily departures on self-drives from Florence
• Operates year-round
• Group experience