Beyond the large Boboli Gardens, Florence is not known for its green spaces. However, the city has a lot of parks to visit, from the beautiful Rose Garden on the slopes below Piazzale Michelangelo to the lesser-known Stibbert Museum Garden slightly outside the city. I love spending time in these spaces so let’s discover the different Florence gardens together.

Florence is home to many beautiful parks and gardens, so take the opportunity during your visit to escape the busy city streets and enjoy some time in nature.

The Boboli Gardens are undoubtedly Florence’s grandest and most beautiful gardens, built and designed for the Medici family.

When the Medicis bought the Pitti Palace, it came with a huge area of land. As part of their renovations to the palace, the land was transformed into elegant gardens.

Over the centuries the gardens were added to and refined, before they were opened to the public in the 1700’s after the Medici family died out.

Sitting right behind Pitti Palace and just a short walk from Ponte Vecchio, the way the gardens are laid out gives us panoramic views over the city. Starting in the amphitheater behind the palace, the Boboli Gardens are arranged to be discovered.

Head up the hill to see the Fountain of Neptune before exploring the many pathways. These lead to all sorts of sculptures, fountains, grottoes and smaller gardens, all surrounded by trees and other plants.

Check the official website for the current opening hours, which change according to the season. These gardens are not free to enter, being part of the Pitti Palace complex, and there are various ticket options to combine your visit with the palace, Uffizi Galleries and Vasari Corridor.

The Boboli Gardens are just a 15-minute walk from Florence’s city center, across the River Arno.

Cascine Park, the Parco delle Cascine, is Florence’s largest green space. Found to the west of the city, stretching out along the north bank of the Arno River, it was originally a farming and hunting estate for Cosimo I de’Medici.

As it was primarily a practical space, most of the park is made up of trees and other plants, lawned areas and pathways.

However, there are a few relics from the park’s history still hidden in the greenery if you know where to look. See if you can spot the Pavoniere, small pavilions topped with a dome that were originally ornamental peacock cages, or the grey stone pyramid which was an ice house.

Cascine is a very popular place for locals, so you’ll see plenty of people walking their dogs, jogging along the river bank, sitting on one of the many benches and kids playing football in the grassy areas.

The park is open all the time for free so you can go whenever you want. I particularly enjoy setting up picnics here during the summer, as there is plenty of grassy areas and fresh air.

To get there, it’s a 15-minute taxi from Florence city center. You can also take a local bus, use Google Maps to find the best route from your starting point.

The Bardini Garden, Giardino Bardini, is another one of the most popular Florence gardens and one of my personal top choices.

Villa Bardini was first built in the 1600’s, going through many updates and alterations before Stefano Bardini, an antiques dealer, bought it in 1913. The villa gardens have also gone through many changes, with different elements of the garden being older than others.

Located in the Oltrarno neighborhood, this beautiful garden offers stunning views over the city which are just as impressive as the garden itself.

Stefano Bardini made a number of improvements to the garden, with his son inheriting the villa and continuing to live there until 1965. His son Ugo had no children so the Italian state took ownership in the 1980’s.

After a long period of neglect, the gardens and villa were subject to a huge restoration project, opening to the public in 2005 and 2007 respectively.

There are three sections of the gardens, an Italian garden with a 17th century Baroque staircase, an English garden with exotic plants and the orchard where the wisteria walkways are found.

The wisteria tunnel is what the Bardini Garden is most famous for. Nearly 70 meters long, the blooming lilac flowers in April through May and is absolutely magical in person.

There is a lot more to see than just the wisteria however so if you visit outside of this time, you won’t be missing out.

The Bardini Garden is open daily and there is a fee to enter. You don’t need to book in advance apart from when the wisteria is blooming, when the garden is filled with people wanting to see it for themselves.

You’ll find the Bardini Garden just a 10-minute walk from the historic center of Florence. It’s south of the Arno River, close to Piazzale Michelangelo.

The Florence Rose Garden, the Giardino delle Rose, is another one of the gardens near Piazzale Michelangelo.

Containing around 400 varieties of roses, as well as other trees and plants, the Rose Garden was created in the 1860’s by Giuseppe Poggi, who also designed Piazzale Michelangelo.

With its position just below Piazzale Michelangelo, the whole of Florence opens out in front of you, framed as if in a picture.

Stroll the weaving paths and admire the roses, but also keep an eye out for the Japanese Shorai oasis garden. This little pocket of the garden was gifted to Florence in 1998 by the city of Kyoto, a message of friendship between the cities which have been twinned for decades.

There are also ten bronze sculptures by Belgian artist Jean-Michel Folon dotted around the garden.

The Rose Garden is open daily, and it is completely free to enter so I always make a point to go inside when I’m nearby.  Of course the best time to visit is in May or June when the roses are blooming, but the garden is still lovely at other times of year.

To visit the Giardino delle Rose, it’s a 20-minute walk from the center of Florence, on the south side of the Arno River. You can also take a bus to Piazzale Michelangelo and then walk slightly downhill to the garden entrance.

The Iris Garden, Giardino dell’Iris, is located on the east side of Piazzale Michelangelo. The entire garden is devoted to irises, and it’s only open for around a month from late April.

Established in 1957 for a competition by the Italian Iris Society, the garden showcases one of the largest collections of irises in the world. This is very fitting considering the red iris features on Florence’s emblem (not a lily as many think) and has a long symbolic history in the city.

The irises are planted among ancient olive trees that originally dotted the hill, alongside paths that wind through the flowers. When the irises are in bloom they seem to cover the whole ground in a carpet of different colors, it’s truly one of my favorite things to do in spring.

When the Iris Garden is open, it is open daily and is free to go inside. Check out the official website to confirm the current year’s opening hours and times, as well as finding out more about the specific plants you’ll find here.

To visit, it’s a 25-minute walk from the city center to reach the main entrance or you can take a bus up the hill to Piazzale Michelangelo.

The Botanical Gardens of Florence is the third oldest botanical garden anywhere in the world (the other two are also in Italy, in Pisa and Padua). Founded in 1545 by Cosimo I de’Medici to grow and study medicinal plants, today it is home to around 5000 different plants.

Still a place of study and research, the garden is looked after by the University of Florence. There is a mix of plant types to see, including carnivorous plants, tropical and Mediterranean plants and a historical collection of medicinal plants.

The Botanical Garden is very pleasant to walk around, with an ornamental layout, greenhouses, trees, pots and fountains to explore. It’s not a huge space but there’s lots to see.

Opening hours vary according to the season so check their official website before visiting for the current timings, but they are always closed on Mondays. There is a small entrance fee to pay but it’s worth it for the pretty surroundings and quiet pathways.

To get to the garden, it’s about a 15-20 minute walk from the historic center of Florence or you can take one of the local buses that stop nearby.

Beyond the most well-known gardens and parks in Florence, there are numerous lesser-known green spaces which also deserve some attention.

You can explore these local favorites during your trip if you’re looking for more outdoor space:

Parco di Villa il Ventaglio

Parco di Villa Il Ventaglio is perched on the Forbici hill and is another historic garden in Florence.

Originally serving as a rest stop for traveling pilgrims, it was transformed into a romantic park in the early 19th century when the villa and land was purchased by Count Giuseppe Archinto. He hired Giuseppe Poggi (the same man who designed Piazzale Michelangelo) to renovate his new villa and garden, creating a system of terraces and walkways cutting across the hill.

Across these different levels the park has lawns, wooded paths, flowers, a hanging garden, hedge maze and a small lake.

It’s completely free to get into and is never busy so the park is a lovely spot to get away from the spring crowds. To visit, it’s a 15-minute taxi ride from Florence city center, or you can catch one of the buses that stop close by.

Parco Albereta-Anconella

You’ll find the Albereta-Anconella park to the east of Florence on the left side of the River Arno. As the second-largest park in the city after Cascine, the sprawling riverside space is a hub of activity. There is a football pitch, skating rink, basketball court, and a free-climbing wall.

It’s a great place for families, with picnic tables, a children’s playground, and two scenic ponds, plus a dedicated dog park.

Slightly outside the city center, this is the perfect park if you’re staying nearby and want to get out in the fresh air. It’s completely free to enter and is open all the time, plus getting there is easy. Multiple buses run along that side of the river or you can take a short taxi ride.

Stibbert Museum garden

The Stibbert Garden is a romantic English garden north of Florence, surrounding the museum of the same name. This museum was once the home of Frederick Stibbert, half English and half Italian, who lived here in the late 19th century.

He was exceptionally wealthy, inheriting a fortune when he was just 20 years old. Stibbert spent his life collecting all sorts of items, particularly arms and armour. His collection also included precious artworks, ceramics, religious artefacts, clothing and furniture – it’s an eclectic mix!

When Stibbert died he donated his villa and collection to Florence, along with the garden, to be shared with the public.

The gardens were as much a representation of Stibbert’s varied interests as his house was. Among the garden paths you’ll find stables, a lemon house, an Egyptian-style temple, a Hellenistic temple and various sculptures.

While you have to pay to go inside the museum (which is well worth it) the gardens themselves are free to enter. They are open every day except Thursday, although with different opening times, so check the official website for more details.

To reach the Stibbert gardens, it’s a half-hour walk from the center, or a 10-minute taxi.

Torrigiani Gardens

The Torrigiani Gardens are across the river in Florence, close to Piazza Santo Spirito, but they’re very much a hidden garden. This privately owned park is a really special space that only opens to visitors for private tours.

Originally established as a botanical garden, it was transformed in the 1800’s into an English-style park. Close to the Boboli Gardens, today it has large green spaces, a collection of rare plants, an amphitheatre, and an assortment of sculptures and statues.

You can only visit on a private tour or select special occasions when the gardens are opened, but they’re so lovely it’s a good idea to check if tours are available when you’re visiting.