Florence Gay Travel Guide 2025

Upcoming Events in Florence

|  18 – 26 October 2025
Florence Biennale 2025: commercial exposition of contemporary art and design, held every two years. Also known as Biennale Internazionale d'Arte Contemporanea e Design di Firenze.
 @ Fortezza da Basso (Viale Filippo Strozzi 1)
-›  www.florencebiennale.org
-›  instagram.com/florencebiennale
|  26 – 30 November 2025
Florence Queer Festival 2025: annual international LGBTIQ+ film and arts festival.
 @ Cinema La Compagnia (Via Camillo Cavour 50/r)
-›  florencequeerfestival.it

Accommodation Tip

Florence, TSH Florence Lavagnini
Hotel. ****, from 80 €
Modern, trendy hotel with air-conditioned rooms and collaboration area.
Roof terrace with bar, pool, gym room and fantastic views of Florence.
@ Viale Spartaco Lavagnini 70-72
Florence 50129

About Florence

David statue in Florence

Florence, a centre of medieval trade and finance and long ruled by the Medici family, was the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, represented by names such as Botticelli, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.
Florence is world-famous especially for its art and architecture and has been one of the most visited cities in Italy and Europe for centuries.

The downside of this popularity is that thousands of tourists push through the narrow streets day by day.
Our tip: In the evening – when most of the tourist groups and busses have left the city center – the streets and piazzas of Florence are much more enjoyable. Piazza di Santa Croce, Piazza della Signoria and cutie David are still admirable after sunset.
Ponte Vecchio has more atmosphere at night without all the jewelry shacks and may be the perfect end of a romantic walk along the river. And by all means try the delicious Tuscan cuisine – but avoid the gastronomic tourist traps along the main sights and tourist paths.

Although Florence had the first gay disco in Italy (back in 1974), the gay bars and clubs in Florence are rather small in number and size. Some of the reasons are the rather conservative atmosphere in Florence, the real estate prices within the city and the poor parking opportunities (most guys live in the area around Florence).

P.S.: In case you wonder about the ›r‹ in many street numbers on the following pages: Street addresses in Florence have a double numbering system with red and black numbers. The ›r‹ stands for ›rosso‹ (red).