Older than Florence
Fiesole was an Etruscan hill town of real importance long before Roman Florentia was laid out on the flat ground below it in 59 BC. Sections of the Etruscan walls survive, and the archaeological area holds a Roman theatre, baths and a temple, dug into the hillside with the valley behind them.
The theatre is still used for performances in summer, which is the best possible way to see it.
Florence eventually subdued and absorbed its older neighbour, and Fiesole became what it still is: the place wealthy Florentines went to escape the heat.
The view, and the walk down
The terrace by the church of San Francesco, up a steep lane from the main square, gives you the whole valley — Florence laid out below with the dome in the middle of it, and the hills behind.
⭐ Go in the late afternoon. The light on the city from up here at the end of the day is the reason to make the trip.
⭐ You can walk back down to Florence in about an hour by the old road through San Domenico. It is downhill the whole way, mostly quiet, and it is one of the nicest hours available near this city.
Why it is the easiest trip here
It is a city bus from the centre of Florence, about half an hour, on an ordinary urban ticket — not a rail fare and not a tour price. Nothing else on this list is that cheap or that simple.
That makes it the right answer on a day when the centre has become too much and you have half an afternoon.
⚠️ It is a real hill. The bus does the climbing, but the streets in Fiesole itself are steep.
⭐ The cheapest and easiest escape from the crowds in this entire list, and the only one that costs the same as a tram ride.
Fiesole in pictures
