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Florence or Venice? An honest comparison
The short answer
Pick Florence for a fuller stay: more museums, better-value food and easy Tuscan day trips, and it is cheaper on our numbers. Pick Venice for a short, romantic stay of two or three nights in a city with no cars, where the canals themselves are the attraction. Most people should give Florence more days and Venice fewer.
Florence: suits couples, honeymooners and art lovers who want Renaissance museums, Tuscan food and countryside within an hour.
Venice: suits couples and photographers who want a short, atmospheric stay on the canals, best enjoyed early morning and evening.
Side by side
| Florence | Venice | |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-range day* | €194 | €220 |
| Budget day* | €107 | €117 |
| Value for money | ●●●●●Mid-range about €194 per day | ●●●●●Mid-range about €220 per day, plus a day-tripper fee on peak days |
| Crowds (5 = calm) | ●●●●●Small centre, heavy tourist flows all year | ●●●●●Day-trippers and cruise crowds overwhelm San Marco and Rialto |
| Food | ●●●●●Bistecca, lampredotto, markets and good-value trattorias | ●●●●●Excellent cicchetti and seafood, but many tourist-trap menus |
| Nightlife | ●●●●●Wine bars and Santo Spirito; quiet by Italian standards | ●●●●●Bacari close early; evenings are calm and romantic |
| Family-friendly | ●●●●●Art-heavy, but Boboli Gardens and the Duomo climb help | ●●●●●Boats delight kids; bridges and steps are hard with strollers |
| Getting around | ●●●●●Compact, flat centre, easy on foot | ●●●●●Walking only plus pricey vaporetto boats; easy to get lost |
| Best months | Sep, Oct | Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct |
| Warmest / coolest | Jul 33°C / Jan 10°C | Jul 29°C / Jan 8°C |
| Known for | Michelangelo's David, Uffizi Gallery, Ponte Vecchio, pici pasta in Oltrarno | Gondolas on Grand Canal, Rialto Bridge, St. Mark's Basilica, Murano glassblowers |
* Per person per day with two sharing a room: bed, food, sights and local transport, from our Florence and Venice day-cost tables (approximate 2026 prices; other currencies converted at recent rates). Ratings are our editorial judgement.
Which one should you pick?
Pick Florence if…
- you want great museums and art across several days
- you plan day trips to Siena, Pisa or Chianti
- you want lower daily costs
- you prefer food markets and trattorias to set tourist menus
Pick Venice if…
- you want a short, romantic break of two or three nights
- you want a city without cars or scooters
- you plan Murano, Burano and the lagoon islands
- you are a photographer who will be out at dawn
Weather month by month
| Month | Florence high / rainy days | Venice high / rainy days |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 10°C · 11 | 8°C · 8 |
| Feb | 13°C · 7 | 9°C · 3 |
| Mar | 16°C · 6 | 13°C · 4 |
| Apr | 18°C · 12 | 15°C · 9 |
| May | 23°C · 13 | 21°C · 13 |
| Jun | 30°C · 7 | 26°C · 6 |
| Jul | 33°C · 4 | 29°C · 9 |
| Aug | 32°C · 7 | 28°C · 8 |
| Sep | 27°C · 8 | 25°C · 8 |
| Oct | 23°C · 8 | 20°C · 6 |
| Nov | 16°C · 15 | 13°C · 12 |
| Dec | 13°C · 16 | 9°C · 8 |
Average daily high and number of rainy days. Copernicus ERA5, 2021–2023.
What you will eat
Florence
Florentine T-bone steak · Tripe sandwich · Bread and vegetable soup · Bread and tomato soup · Flat bread stuffed with cured meat · Fried dough
Where: Mercato Centrale (San Lorenzo), Sant'Ambrogio Market, Oltrarno (Santo Spirito and San Frediano), Sant'Ambrogio and Santa Croce
Venice
Venetian bar snacks · Creamed salt cod · Sweet-sour sardines · Cuttlefish in its ink · Thick pasta with anchovy sauce · Venetian-style liver
Where: Rialto Market (Pescheria and Erberia), Cannaregio (Fondamenta della Misericordia and Ormesini), Campo Santa Margherita (Dorsoduro), Around the Rialto market (San Polo)
Doing both in one trip
6 days: 4 in Florence + 2 in Venice
Start in Florence and finish in Venice, so your last nights are the romantic ones; Venice Marco Polo airport has plenty of flights home.
Getting between them: High-speed trains from Firenze Santa Maria Novella to Venezia Santa Lucia take about 2 h 05; Santa Lucia station is on the Grand Canal itself. Book ahead for lower fares. Distance about 203 km as the crow flies. Check current timetables.
- Day 1–2: Florence — Duomo, Uffizi, Accademia, Ponte Vecchio and Oltrarno
- Day 3: Day trip to Siena or Chianti
- Day 4: Morning in Florence, afternoon train to Venice, evening walk on quiet canals
- Day 5–6: San Marco early, Rialto Market, cicchetti in Cannaregio, Murano and Burano
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Common questions
Is Florence or Venice cheaper?
Florence is cheaper on our numbers: about €194 per person per day at mid-range against about €220 for Venice. Hotels in Venice are especially expensive because space is limited, and vaporetto tickets add up quickly. Venice also charges day-trippers an access fee on selected peak days, though overnight guests are exempt and pay the city tourist tax instead.
How many days do I need in Venice?
Two full days, ideally with two or three nights, is enough for most visitors: one for San Marco, the Doge's Palace and Rialto, and one for wandering Cannaregio or Dorsoduro and the lagoon islands. Staying overnight matters more than staying long, because the city is calmest early morning and after the day-trippers leave in the evening.
How long is the train from Florence to Venice?
High-speed trains take about 2 h 05 from Firenze Santa Maria Novella to Venezia Santa Lucia. Make sure your ticket is to Santa Lucia, not Venezia Mestre on the mainland. Santa Lucia opens straight onto the Grand Canal, where water buses and water taxis wait, so plan your luggage for walking over bridges.
When is the best time to visit Florence and Venice?
September and October are the best months for both: warm but past the peak heat, with slightly fewer crowds. Venice is also lovely in June, but July and August are hot and very busy. From autumn into winter, Venice can see acqua alta high tides, which are usually manageable but worth checking before you pack.