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What better way to take in the city than with a view of Florence's most iconic monuments or a panorama of the red rooftops of the city? The warm weather especially brings out the outdoor tables and chairs and livens up the city's favourite outdoor spots. With a drink in hand, it becomes even better. Florence has no shortage of bars with a view, from department store rooftops to a hillside garden, and each one suits a slightly different mood and time of day. Here is our guide to a seat with the best of them:
La Terrazza, Piazza Repubblica
Rinascente Department Store's rooftop cafe has a stunning position smack dab in the middle of Florence's centre. With views at all sides, the toughest choice here will be whether you want the table nearest the view of the Duomo, the archways of Piazza Repubblica, the Boboli gardens or the Palazzo Vecchio. While you do pay a premium for this terrace cafe, the views are worth it.
The full name is Caffè La Terrazza, and getting up there means the lift to the top floor of the department store, then a second, smaller lift the rest of the way. It's as much a coffee stop as a cocktail one, so there's no need to wait for evening to justify a visit. If a cocktail does appeal, the Negroni is generally credited as having been invented in Florence in the 1920s, which makes it a natural order with the Duomo in front of you.
Vip's Bar, Piazzale Michelangelo
Perched just under the north-west corner of Piazzale Michelangelo is this humble little outdoor cafe with sweeping views of the whole of Florence. The menu is limited, gelato, coffee, beer and pastries, but perfect for an inexpensive break with a breathtaking view.
What it lacks in menu it makes up for in position: the terrace sits just below the crowded main square, with a 180-degree sweep of the city that's just as good early in the morning, before the tour buses arrive, as it is after dark. The piazzale itself was designed by architect Giuseppe Poggi in 1869, as part of a citywide renewal when Florence briefly served as capital of Italy, and the bronze copy of Michelangelo's David at its centre was hauled up the hill by nine pairs of oxen in 1873. It's still the most photographed view in the city, decades later.
Sky Lounge, Hotel Continentale
A stone's throw from the Ponte Vecchio is this ultra-fashionable hotel with arguably the best bar in town. Only open from April to October, this swanky rooftop bar gives a good excuse to get dressed up and lounge about on its decks overlooking views of the Oltrarno and the southern hills, especially romantic at night when the church of San Miniato is lit up and the city sparkles like Christmas tree decorations.
The terrace sits atop the hotel's medieval Consorti tower, which is part of why the views reach as far as they do. The hotel itself belongs to the Ferragamo family's Lungarno Collection, and since the bar is genuinely weather-dependent, it's worth having a second option in mind for a rainy evening. Tables for non-guests are limited and reserved through the bar team directly, so it's worth calling ahead rather than showing up and hoping for a spot.
Bardini Terrace, Costa San Giorgio
It's a little bit exclusive because you need to buy a ticket for the Bardini Gardens to go in, but you'll be rewarded with a beautiful view of Florence from the grassy slopes of the ancient gardens, recently reopened after a long restoration. If you already have a ticket for the Boboli Gardens, the same ticket allows you entry to this museum and noble garden too. The two gardens sit right next to each other on the Oltrarno hillside, so it's easy enough to walk from one to the other on the same visit.
The garden takes its name from Stefano Bardini, an antique dealer who acquired the estate in 1913 and reshaped much of it before leaving it to the city on his death. Unlike Piazzale Michelangelo, there's no railing to fight for; the view opens up gradually as you climb the terraced slopes, with room to actually sit and take it in. The four hectares split into three distinct parts, a rural section with fruit trees and roses, a Baroque stairway lined with statues, and an English-style wood, and the wisteria pergola over the staircase is worth timing a spring visit around if you can.
A Few More Worth Knowing
Two newer rooftops are worth adding to the list. SE·STO on Arno, on top of the Westin Excelsior in Piazza Ognissanti, looks straight down the river toward the Ponte Vecchio. And 701 Rooftop Bar, on the seventh floor of the Gallery Hotel Art near the bridge, opened in 2024 with two terraces facing the Duomo, Giotto's Tower and Palazzo Vecchio, also part of the Lungarno Collection.
A few others round out the list depending on which part of the city you're in. Divina Terrazza, on top of the Grand Hotel Cavour on Via del Proconsolo, is covered and runs year-round with heat lamps in winter, framing the Bargello, the Duomo and Palazzo Vecchio, useful on the months when the open-air rooftops shut for the season. Empireo, at the Plaza Hotel Lucchesi on the eastern edge of the centre, faces west across the river, making it one of the better options for a sunset that isn't shared with half the city. And Picteau Bistrot & Bar, inside Hotel Lungarno on Borgo San Jacopo, has a terrace pointed straight at the Ponte Vecchio, close enough that the bridge feels like part of the room. Between the six of these and the four in the main list above, that's ten genuinely different bars with a view, spread across enough of the city that at least one of them should suit wherever the rest of your day already has you.
Addresses
La Terrazza, Rinascente, Piazza della Repubblica 1. Vip's Bar, Viale Giuseppe Poggi, near Piazzale Michelangelo. Sky Lounge, Hotel Continentale, Vicolo dell'Oro 6. Bardini Terrace, entrance on Costa San Giorgio (also Via de' Bardi 1). SE·STO on Arno, Westin Excelsior, Piazza Ognissanti 3. 701 Rooftop Bar, Vicolo dell'Oro 5. Divina Terrazza, Grand Hotel Cavour, Via del Proconsolo 3. Empireo, Plaza Hotel Lucchesi, Lungarno della Zecca Vecchia 38. Picteau, Hotel Lungarno, Borgo San Jacopo 14.
Between the four originals and the six added above, that's a genuinely wide spread across the city, hillside gardens, rooftop hotels, a department store terrace, close enough together that more than one can fit into the same afternoon and evening if you plan the route sensibly.
For evenings when a view matters less than the company at the table, our guide to after dinner spots in Florence covers more ground-level options. And if you'd rather explore the streets these terraces look down on before heading up, our private walking tour of Florence's historic center covers exactly that, the Duomo, the piazzas and the bridges that make up the view from every one of the ten spots above.
