Europe

Florence, Italy

A comprehensive guide to the best places to run in Florence

Italy Florence Buildings Skyline City Urban

Birthplace of the Renaissance, Florence is the capital of Tuscany and a very popular tourist destination. The beautiful buildings, piazzas, historic bridges across the Arno river, gardens, and hillside setting make Florence a treat to visit. This all makes running in Florence very tempting. The big issue is crowds — if running in the historic center, we recommend going before 8am. One special note for runners: Florence is recognized as a world fashion capital, so bring your nicest running clothes (or buy some there!). If you’d like to have an in-person guided running experience in Florence, we highly recommend our friends at Go! Running Tours.

We’ve put together several great places to run in Florence, including a couple of historic ‘runseeing’ tours. Another highlight is the run up to the Piazzale Michelangelo. The tree-lined streets and paths of the Arno River, which flows east-west and divides Florence into the historic center to the north and the hillier, less crowded Oltrarno to the south, are a treat when not too crowded, and 3.5 km long Cascine Park is the largest green area in Florence. For a quick escape from crowded Florence, the hilly run to the Etruscan town of Fiesole is a treat. We’ve also put together a guide to some other running highlights in Tuscany — see below.

Getting around Florence is quite easy. There are buses and an expanding tram/light rail system.


Other Great Runs in Tuscany

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Some of our favorite runs in Florence, Italy

Arno River Run

A spectacular running experience, especially if you go early. Central section has wonderful tree-lined walkways with great... more...

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Gardens and Wellness Run

Florence, Italy

Just north of Florence in the Sesto area, create your own run in several small, pleasant parks: Villa Solara, Villa dei Marchesi Gerini, and Oliveta. Do a run through Sesto. Or combine the Asmana Wellness Center and Villa Montalvo And Ragnaia Park.
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Pistoia and Prato

Florence, Italy

The nearby towns of Pistoia and Prato are often part of a Florence itinerary. In Pistoia, run in Villoni Puccini, a lovely city park with ~3 km of paths. In Prato, nice path along the river, the Parco di Galceti, and hill running in Natural Protected Area of Monteferrato.
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Florence has hot summers and cool to mild, damp winters. Average high temperatures in summer are near 32C (90F), although nights dip to 16C (low 60s). In winter, high temperatures average 10C (50F), and lows are just above freezing. Summers are fairly dry and most of the rainfall occurs in winter. It can snow occasionally.

Florence is a very popular destination for visitors. For access to the best running, try to stay near the Arno River, which has paths and also is centrally located for other runs. On the south side of the river, near Piazzale Michaelangelo and the Pritti Palace, is also good running. If staying somewhere central, best to run early to beat the crowds.

STORES

Irun Firenze is the main independent running store in Florence. There are also outlets for Asics, New Balance, and Puma on the outskirts.

L’isolotto delle sport” is one  of the stores preferred by Florentine runners. It is not in the city center but is ruled by a family of runners and when you go there you can be sure that you’ll get the best advice on any kind of running gear even if you don’t buy anything!

If you are in Florence city center then the easiest choice is Game7Athletics which is right on the side on the Cathedral. This is a large store in which you can find all the best known brands.

GROUP RUNS

The best bet for group running is Firenze Corre, which has lots going on and does group runs throughout the year.

From our friends at Go! Running Tours.

Florence Marathon on the last Sunday of November. Our marathon is the second for importance in Italy, after Rome, each year 10.000 runners from all over the world come to Florence for this great occasion.

Florence Half Marathon on the first Sunday of April. The half marathon starts from the incredible square in front of Santa Croce basilica and on the race day you can chose between the half marathon, a relay (10.5. km each) or a 8 Km run, and April is usually a perfect season to run in Florence!

Guarda Firenze in May and the oldest night run in Italy, the “Notturna di San Giovanni” that the next June 22th will celebrate its 80th edition! These are also organised by the Florence Marathon organisation.