Churches in Florence: which cost money, which are free, and the hours and dress rules for each

💡 The Short Version: The cathedral and San Miniato al Monte are free. Santa Croce is €10, San Lorenzo €9 and Santa Maria Novella €7.50. The cathedral is closed on Sundays, Santa Croce opens at 14:00 and Santa Maria Novella at 13:00 on Sundays, and San Lorenzo does not open for visits. Cover your shoulders and knees: the cathedral and the Baptistery turn away flip-flops, bare shoulders and bare legs above the knee, and Santa Croce lends disposable robes. Buy at the churches’ own ticket offices or sites. Or book: a guided Santa Croce experiencead is from €49.90.

Prices and hours

Prices and hours are from each church’s own site.

Santa Croce

€10 · Monday to Saturday 9:30 to 17:30, Sunday from 14:00 · Largo Bargellini

The Franciscan church of Santa Croce is where the Florentines buried the people they honoured. Michelangelo’s tomb (designed by Vasari, 1564 to 1576), Galileo’s and Machiavelli’s are in the church, with Canova’s monument to Alfieri and a cenotaph to Dante, who is buried in Ravenna. Giotto’s Stories of Saint Francis in the Bardi Chapel are visible again after four years of restoration. The whole site takes roughly 50 minutes, according to the church. Ages 12 to 17 and university students pay €6, and under-12s, Florence residents and Firenze Card holders enter free. Booking online adds €1 a ticket, and an audio guide is €4 online and €6 on site. Your ticket gets a reduced price at Casa Buonarroti, Casa Vasari, the Horne Museum and the Museo Galileo.

Santa Croce’s front on Piazza Santa Croce. Photo: Rhododendrites, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Entry to the basilica is free, 14:00 to 17:30, on 8 November, 20 December and 26 December 2026. The Sunday timetable also applies on the religious holidays of 1 November and 8 December.

Florence: 1.5-hour Santa Croce Guided Experiencead is from €49.90 and Santa Croce Church Tour with Entry Ticketad is from €48, against €10 for the church alone.

Santa Maria Novella

€7.50 · closes at 17:30 · Piazza Santa Maria Novella 18

One ticket at the Santa Maria Novella ticket office covers the basilica, the museum and the cloisters, with no booking needed. The basilica has Masaccio’s Trinity, Giotto’s crucifix, Brunelleschi’s crucifix and the Tornabuoni Chapel painted by Ghirlandaio. The museum has the Cloister of the Dead, the Green Cloister, the Spanish Chapel, the Ubriachi Chapel and the Refectory. Ages 11 to 18 pay €5, and under-11s and Florence residents enter free. Visitors are asked to wear suitable clothes, and bulky luggage is not allowed.

The front of Santa Maria Novella. Photo: Suicasmo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

San Lorenzo

€9 · Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 17:30 · Piazza San Lorenzo

The San Lorenzo basilica complex covers the basilica, Brunelleschi’s Old Sacristy, the cloisters, the treasury museum, the crypt and the monumental undergrounds. The Medici Chapels and the Medici Library next door are separate tickets: see Medici Chapels and San Lorenzo. Flash and tripods are banned.

San Miniato al Monte

Free · Monday to Saturday 9:30 to 13:00 and 15:30 to 19:00 · Via delle Porte Sante 34

The abbey of San Miniato al Monte is on the hill above Piazzale Michelangelo. Entry is free and needs no reservation, for individuals or groups. The monks sing vespers in Latin and Gregorian chant every afternoon at 18:30, and Mass at 18:00 on weekdays and 17:30 on Sundays is also in Latin and chant. The basilica is closed to visitors during services. From the Santa Maria Novella station, bus 12 goes to Piazzale Michelangelo.

The marble front of San Miniato al Monte. Photo: Yair Haklai, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Dress rules

What to see

1. Santa Croce: Giotto’s Bardi Chapel, then the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli.
2. Santa Maria Novella: the Trinity and the Green Cloister.
3. San Miniato: the evening chant, with Florence below.
4. The cathedral: free, with the dress code. See Duomo tickets.

What to skip: the San Lorenzo basilica ticket, if the Medici Chapels are your only Medici stop. They are a separate ticket.

Best views in Florence puts San Miniato with the viewpoints, and Florence museums covers the secular museums. What to book before you go to Florence has the closed-day table, and Florence in one or two days fits Sunday’s late openings. Firenze Card: is it worth it? says whether the card pays for Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella, and where to stay in Florence compares the areas.