High fashion and craft tour

Duration

4 hours

Tour Type

Daily Tour

Group Size

10 people

Languages

Chinese, English, Italian

History of fashion and artisans’ tour in the Oltrarno district

Fashion today represents an important part of the travel experience and thanks to this art and craft tour, you can learn more about Florentine fashion and all the changes it has undergone over the centuries.

We will visit the Fashion Museum in Pitti Palace, we will discover small artisan shops where you can admire and buy unique objects made following ancient artisanal techniques and we will explore a characteristic leather or goldsmith workshop to see the artisans at work.

A perfect tour if you are not only interested in big Italian brands but also in small artisan shops of extraordinary quality and uniqueness, which can be completely customized according to your tastes. You can let me know what you like the most and I will select the shops, shops and museums that best suit you and your needs.

HIGHLIGHTS

Discover the history of Florentine fashion and craftsmanship.
Stroll around Florence Oltrarno, a historic Florentine district with enchanted beauty.
Visit Florence handcraft shops.
End your beautiful day in Florence with a typical tuscan aperitif.

Experiences

Expand All

The Costume Gallery Guided Tour

Our tour will begin in the magical rooms of Palazzo Pitti, the majestic Medici family residence, which, in 1952, hosted the first real fashion show and which is still used by some contemporary Italian designers to present their new collections. In a section of Pitti Palace, there is the Costume Gallery, the only national museum in Italy exclusively dedicated to the history of fashion, which collects precious costumes and historical clothes from the 17th to the 20th centuries, including those that belonged to some members of the Medici family.

Shopping Tour in Oltrarno

After the visit to the Costume Gallery, we will continue our walk in the Oltrarno district, a typical Florentine area less dominated by mass tourism where you will have the opportunity to admire numerous artisan shops, antique shops and local markets while I will tell you interesting stories and curious anecdotes about this neighborhood and its origins. If you want, we will take some time out for shopping and I will help you discover incredible and unique shops where you can buy the best Made in Florence products.

Jewelery and/or Leather Workshop

Among the most famous Tuscan artisan shops, we certainly include goldsmiths and leather goods manufacturers, whose techniques have been handed down from generation to generation since the Middle Ages. On this tour, we will choose together an artisan goldsmith or leather workshop to visit, where you can observe the artisans at work, learn about their history and discover all the secrets of their job. If you want, at the end of the tour and by booking it in advance, you can also participate yourself in the final stages of a jewel or a leather accessory making by putting into practice the artisan’s teachings so that you can take home with you a tangible memory of your experience in Florence.

Tuscan Aperitif

After visiting Florence museums and artisan shops, you can choose to end your day in Florence with a typical Italian aperitif, based on Tuscan wine and some snacks, to relax a bit and regain energy. The aperitif is Italians’ favorite moment and will be an excellent opportunity for you to immerse yourself in local customs and enjoy Florentine life style. You can choose to book your aperitif in a traditional Oltrarno bar very popular among locals or, for a more exclusive and romantic experience, on a panoramic terrace on the rooftop of a splendid Renaissance palace. Both locations are very characteristic and offer high quality cocktails and wines accompanied by tasty snacks and typical Tuscan foods. Tell me what you like and I'll give you some advices on the best bars in Florence.

SONY DSC

FAQs

The Costume Gallery is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 08.15 to 18.50
Full ticket: € 16,00
Reduced ticket (citizens of the European Union and Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein from 18 to 25 years old included): € 2,00
Free admission for under 18s, people with disabilities, students
Additional cost for early booking: € 3,00
With the same ticket for the Costume Gallery, you can also visit the Modern Art Gallery, the Treasury of the Grand Dukes and the Palatina Gallery.

Sure. There are so many fashion museums in Florence to be spoiled for choice.
For those who wish or in case of closure for rearrangement, you can replace the visit to the Costume Gallery with the one at the Gucci Museum or Ferragamo Museum or even combine several museums within the same tour.
Check the shopping experiences on the home page or contact me in private to get inspiration and customize your tour.

Sure. For those interested, with the same ticket and extending our tour by 1 hour and a half, we can also visit the Palatina Gallery, another section of Palazzo Pitti that houses collections of paintings by the Medici, Lorraine and royal families.

If you book a tour with me, I will take care of booking skip-the-line tickets for all museums or churches that we will visit together.

No, no experience is needed. The forwarding workshops can be organized according to your requests. We will choose together the type of workshop and the duration that are right for you.

Booking a guided tour with a local tour guide allows you to plan your visit in the best possible way, recommended and lead by an expert who knows the city very well and is more familiar with managing times and itineraries (museum reservations, skip-the-line tickets, alternative routes, tour customization, etc…).
It is also a great way to immerse yourself in the local culture, discovering not only historical and artistic information but also curious anecdotes and legends.

All my tours are customizable according to your requests and needs. Let me know what you like or what you are looking for and I will create a tailor-made tour for you.