When To Visit Piazzale Michelangelo

Piazzale Michelangelo is the place to go to for the iconic views of Florence. But at what time of the day is it best to go to get the best pictures? Morning or Afternoon?

Piazzale Michelangelo, which is translated as Michelangelo Square, is found a short walk from the Old Town of Florence. You will walk across the River Arno to the Southern bank of the river and on the way have great views of the famous Ponte Vecchio. Most of Florence's sights are found on the northern bank of the river. If you cross the river at Ponte Alle Grazie, the best and shortest route, you have about 800 meters (0.5 miles) of stairs to climb to get to the top.

It's quite tiresome, but the reward is definitely worth it! You can also follow the road for a less steep ascent, but you then have to walk almost 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles). I recommend taking the shortcut through the stairs. If you really don't want to walk there is the possibility of taking an Uber or bus there (or your car if you have one, this is not recommended though). If you take the bus, the closest bus stop for Line 13, which stops at Piazzale Michelangelo, from the center of Old Town is found at Piazza Cesare Beccaria in the Eastern part of the city.

To get the best pictures of Piazzale Michelangelo I recommend going there in the morning, or at noon, as the sun will then be behind you. If you go in the afternoon you will have the sun behind the city and it will be much harder to take pictures.

I was up there at noon and the conditions for great pictures were almost perfect. The amount of people there was not too much either, which definitely was the case for all the other main spots of Florence.

Sunset is also a popular time to visit Piazzale Michelangelo, so you might consider walking up there twice. Once in the morning to get the best pictures, and then again in the evening to view the beautiful sunset and just enjoy the moment.