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Boboli Gardens

  • Florence, Tuscany, Italy

Last updated: 27 March, 2024

Laid out on the hill that stretches up behind the Pitti Palace, this 16th-century former playground for the Medici family is one of the most beautiful gardens in Italy.

This shady green oasis makes a wonderful escape on a hot, summer’s day and is criss-crossed by pathways, dotted with fountains and scattered with lichen-covered statues.

At the top is the walled Giardino del Cavaliere with wonderful views over the rural outskirts of Florence. Walk down via the Neptune fountain and the amphitheatre which was built to hold Medici court spectacles.

Don’t miss

Don’t miss the Grotta di Buontalenti and the famous Mannerist statue of Cosimo I’s dwarf riding a turtle.

Logistics

Price from: £5
Minimum age: 0
Age suitable: 13+
When: All year around

Getting there & doing it

The garden is a 20-minute walk from Santa Maria Novella train station.

Most tourists stick to the area of the garden around the main Pitti Palace entrance; anyone wandering further afield to the lower garden is likely to find themselves with local Mums and their bambini and the odd Boboli cat.

When to do it

The gardens are open all year round, seven days a week. It’s closed on the first and last Mondays of the month from November until May.

The garden is particularly magical early in the morning; it opens at 8.15am.

Who to go with: organised tours

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Our selection of the best Viator tours of this attraction or activity

  • Florence

In the company of an expert fluently English speaking, licensed guide, you will visit first the breathtaking Palatina Gallery, with splendid paintings by Raffaello, Tiziano, Artemisia Gentileschi, Van Dyck, Rubens, Caravaggio and then, after a short break, the wonderful Boboli Gardens, one of the first examples of socalled Italian Renaissance garden. Pitti Palace is the most splendid example of a Renaissance private palace. Enlarged through the centuries, it has maintened its external aspect absolutely unchanged, while the inner rooms do show different styles, depending on the families living in it: from the Pitti and Medici families to the Habsburg and Savoy family. An extraordinary hub of rooms so richly decorated with priceless paintings, furniture, frescoes and statues, revealing the immense passion for arts all members of the Medici family cultivated, whwere we can truly sense how power and imagination can interact.

Price €98

Min age 6

Rating 4.80 / 5 [165 ratings]

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  • Florence

Pitti Palace at the time was the largest residence in Florence and also the most magnificent. Its ceilings are Amazing, with frescoes and stuccos, its rooms are rich in famous paintings, sculptures and secret corners.  Boboli monumental gardens are the best example in the world of an Italian garden.

Price €230

Min age 0

Rating 4.55 / 5 [34 ratings]

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  • Florence

Come and visit the last Medici residence in Florence with a private local guide. The museum takes place through the daily life of the Grand Dukes of the Medici family, from Cosimo I to the last descendants (early 700s), Ferdinando, Gian Gastone and in the end Anna Maria Luisa also called the Electress Palatine to whom the museum is dedicated. In addition to the civic and political function of the rooms, the museum also houses a private collection of paintings, ancient statues, Florentine furniture and mosaics of great beauty and historical importance. Not to mention the frescoes that decorate the ceilings and walls. Main attractions of the building: - Galleria Palatina - Real apartments - Gallery of Modern Art - Treasure of the Grand Dukes - Museum of Fashion and Costume At the end of the guided tour of the Pitti Palace, the guide will give you the entrance to the Boboli Gardens

Price €149

Min age 0

Rating 4.95 / 5 [23 ratings]

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  • Florence

Learn about the Medici family on a visit to the two palaces where they once lived: Palazzo Vecchio and Palazzo Pitti with Boboli gardens. The private tour is about 4 hours and tickets are NOT included in the price. Meet your guide at the lobby of your hotel and from there start your visit of Florence discovering the Medici's dinasty and their palaces.

Price €150

Min age 0

Rating 5 / 5 [13 ratings]

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