The dark side of Florence - Mysteries and Legends

Badge of ExcellenceFlorence, Italy

Renaissance Tales Ticket for Walking Tour

From $3.28

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

1 hour 45 minutes
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Overview

Go beyond the boring group walking tours and head straight for the good stuff: the dark side. On this walking tour, you’ll meet up with your local guide and explore Florence’s lurid past, hearing tales of ghosts, scandalous murders, wild betrayals, and strange curiosities, all connected to gorgeous spots around the city. No guidebooks here—and yet every story will be 100% true.

Easy meetup with your guide at Piazza della Santissima Annunziata
See the Piazza del Duomo, Via del Campanile, Piazza della Signoria, and so much more
Learn wild, strange, and dark tales behind some of the city's most iconic sites
Get access to a local guide for insider knowledge, tips, and more

What's Included

Licensed Guide

Tips - Pay what you want to reward your tour guide's effort -
Some people tip from 10€ to 50
Entry/Admission - Chiesa di San Marco
Entry/Admission - Chiesa di Santissima Annunziata
Entry/Admission - Battistero di San Giovanni
Entry/Admission - Gallerie Degli Uffizi
Entry/Admission - Palazzo Vecchio

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Piazza della Santissima Annunziata, Firenze FI, Italy
Meeting point : Equestrian Monument of Ferdinando I (Right in the center of the square) Look for our GREEN UMBRELLAS

Start time

07:15 PM

End point

Ponte Vecchio, 50125 Firenze FI, Italy

What To Expect

Piazza Della Santissima Annunziata

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Via dei Servi

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Piazza del Duomo

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Via del Campanile

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Museo Nazionale del Bargello

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Piazza della Signoria

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Via dei Georgofili

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Ponte Vecchio

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate

Wheelchair accessible
Tip based tour
It's not recommended for who are under 18 years of age
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 25 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

5.0

1,269 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 1,269 reviews

A good evening doing something a bit different from the normal tours

Janet_G, Apr 2024

A good enthusiastic guide. We enjoyed hearing about the darker side of Florence and learning more about the history and culture surrounding the city

Most interesting

Nick_S, Apr 2024

This is the most interesting and informative part of Palazzo Vecchio experience. It actually allows you visit all rooms of the palace, not only secret passages.

Not my cup of tea

Robert_L, Apr 2024

I’ll be honest, I bailed on the tour about 30 minutes in because it just wasn’t what I was expecting. We stood in the same spot for those 30 minutes, and I think I tuned out maybe 5 minutes in. Maybe the others who stuck around had a great time, but it wasn’t my vibe.

Engaging Tour - Must Do!

Caroline_J, Apr 2024

We loved our experience on this tour. It lasted way longer than we expected, and went beyond any expectations! Antonio was our guide, story telling was fantastic; he was so passionate and definitely kept everyone’s attention during the entire tour. It was difficult to hear the speaker at some points, but that was due to the city traffic. Once it went more into the night it was fine to hear the tour through the speaker. We absolutely loved it and would do it again! Highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Florence.

Fun Evening Tour

Kara_S, Mar 2024

We had a great tour with Francesca. It was fun and informative. She was great. The stories were interesting and gave us a better idea of the city.

Amazing!

Mike_B, Mar 2024

Francesca did amazing job telling stories. It was great to hear the dark side She was great! Say walk, easy to hear.

Perfect evening tour.

Sue_d, Mar 2024

Francesca was knowledgeable, kind and entertaining. She made the stories of Florence come to life. It was such a pleasure to walk down the street today with a friend who moved here and tell some Of the stories even she did not know. We learned so much and it made us love this beautiful city even more.

Frightful history

Gregory_G, Mar 2024

Angela provided a wonderful tour! Stories of murder, lost love, torture and ghosts. The city was an amazing backdrop for these stories and added weight to the history. The walk was easy and fun in spite of the rain. Thanks again Angela!

Great tour, great guide!

Kelley_C, Mar 2024

Small group tour allowed for intimate walk through the city. Plenty of stories. Tour guide (Francesca) was terrific and kind. The rainy weather added to the experience.

a wonderful and fun way to spend an evening in Florece

Vlada_V, Feb 2024

Our guide was Jacopo, a wonderful and engaging storyteller. He walked us through the dark streets of Florence (it was after seven) and shared his knowledge of major and not-so-major historic events, anecdotes, and legends of the city. This added a lot to our understanding of why Tuscany and Florence in particular are so special. Would recommend this tour with Jacopo.

Fantastic Introduction

RuthAnne_M, Jan 2024

Loved the guide and her ability to make the sights and history come to life. I’m looking forward to revisiting many of the locations in the coming days.

Not quite what we were expecting

Alix_B, Jan 2024

This tour is not quite as we were expecting. We thought we'd go on a tour around Florence hearing about legends and mysteries, as described in the name of the tour. But we spent all the time in a square being told about what happened in the buildings that surrounded it. It was reasonably difficult to hear the guide as there were lots of people around her and you could only hear if you pushed to the front. The other thing we found out when we arrived at the meeting place, was that the price we paid for the tour only covered the guides booking fees and was asking us to give donations for their time and expertise. This extra cost should have been documented in the tour information. We lost interest and got fed up of not being able to hear properly, so we left the tour after about 20 minutes, and found a nice bar nearby and had drinks instead.

Excellent tour

Patricia_J, Jan 2024

Our tour guide was incredible. He was an excellent orator. He was very kind and definitely knew the stories of Florence!

Enjoyable.

tricia_m, Dec 2023

Fun! Interesting! Would recommend especially for families with teens. Fun way to se Florence at night.

This is a great tour - definitely a must do!

Kristin_S, Dec 2023

Our tour guide (in English) was amazing! I've been to Florence many times before and learned all new stories of my favorite city.

It's ok

Tami_F, Nov 2023

Fun enough. If you have nothing to do, go. If you have something else to do, do that. If you go, please consider tipping your guide. The company doesn't pay the guides and claims it's too expensive to due to the cut that Viator takes.

greatest tour you can take in Florence

Mariam_J, Nov 2023

the guide was amazing, told very interesting stories and it really was the highlight of our journey!highly recommend

The information was...

Cyra_S, Nov 2023

The information was somewhat interesting but the guide was very difficult to understand. Unfortunately, his English wasn’t very good

A must-do!

Ella_S, Nov 2023

Excellent tour with interesting and unusual stories from Florence - great if you’re bored of the traditional factual walking tour!

Interesting and informative tour

Jeanette_C, Nov 2023

We really enjoyed this tour. It included a good blend of historical facts, local legends and some ghost stories which kept us interested and engaged. The guide was easy to understand, funny and open to answering questions. The walk wasn't too far but covered enough ground to give us a flavour of Florence's past. The tour ended near Ponte Vecchio (bridge) which was ideal because it was a beautiful moonlit night so we took a stroll over the bridge to end our evening. This tour stacked up against many of our expensive tours that went on too long or provided too much historical detail. It was also much less busy after dark as most of the day-time tourists were gone. Highly recommend this tour as something a bit different and worthwhile.

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