1. When you want a coffee or a cappuccino, don’t sit at a table. Prices are usually 30% higher. Drink coffee like the Italians do, at the counter, as a quick shot. Hence the name espresso.

2. Tourist Information Offices, Public Toilets, and Water Fountains: If you need a map and material to get to know Florence or need advice on must-see spots, don’t hesitate to visit the tourist information centers. They offer all the necessary tourist information to enjoy Florence for free! The main ones are located at: –  Piazza Stazione 4, Via Cavour 1/r next to Palazzo Medici, Borgo Santa Croce 29/r.

Public toilets are few and charge (0.50/1€). Alternatively, it’s worth consuming something in a bar and asking to use the bathroom. Here is a list of public toilet addresses: Via Filippina, Piazza della Indipendenza, Piazza della Stazione, 45, Via del Monte alle Croci, 32, Borgo Santa Croce, 31r (next to the tourist information office), Piazza Lorenzo Ghiberti, 87R (inside the Sant’Ambrogio market).

You can find free, fresh, carbonated or non-carbonated water at numerous water fountains (drinking water dispensers) in the city; the most central one is in Piazza Signoria, on the wall of Palazzo Vecchio, behind the Neptune fountain. Here is a list of all water fountains.

3. When you need cash, avoid the yellow ATMs in restaurants and bars.They charge very high fees. Use ATMs near or inside banks: they have lower fees. Your credit card can open the bank doors, allowing you to use ATMs inside the banks even when they are closed.

4. To live like an Italian, don’t order cappuccino after noon. And don’t eat pizza at lunch.

5. At lunchtime, some restaurants offer set menus at good prices, even those that typically have medium-high prices, such as “Ostaria Cento Poveri.”

6. You can enjoy splendid views from the terraces of some Florentine bars without spending a fortune. Find a list in the Google Maps suggestions link; some may require reservations.

7.  Some Monuments are free throughout the year!

Access is always free to the Medici Villas (Petraia and Castello and others), Villa Corsini in Castello, the “Cenacoli” (the refectories of some churches with frescoes depicting the Last Supper, such as those of Sant’Apollonia, Andrea del Sarto, Ghirlandaio), the Medici Park of Pratolino, the monumental cemeteries, and the following museums: Casa Siviero, Casa Martelli, Chiostro dello Scalzo, Sala del Perugino, Auschwitz Memorial, Gino Bartali Cycling Museum, Officina Profumo Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella.

Among the churches that can be visited for free are: the Cathedral, the Basilica of Santo Spirito, San Miniato al Monte, Santa Felicita, Santa Trinita, SS.Annunziata, S. Salvatore in Ognissanti, SS. Apostoli.

If you like green spaces, there are many opportunities to experience/discover the city by strolling outdoors. Among the most beautiful free gardens are the Giardino dell’Orticultura, next to the Villa Fabbricotti garden, and the garden of the Stibbert Museum, all three not far from the city center. On either side of Piazzale Michelangelo, you will find two gardens: one is always open, the Giardino delle Rose, very panoramic and decorated with sculptures by the artist Folon, and the other is the Giardino degli Iris, which shows its beauty during the flowering season.