Florence Boat Tour on the Arno

No Gondolas in Florence

Florence has no gondolas. The gondola belongs to Venice and its lagoon, and it never worked the Arno. Some sellers still market their trips as a ride on a Florentine gondola: one of them titles its page "Florence Boat tour on Florentine Gondola" for a trip on the local sand-diggers' boat.

That boat is the barchetto, flat-bottomed and pushed along with a long pole, and it is a different craft with a different history. The four cruises we list are a third thing again: modern electric boats run by a company called Arnoboat. None of them is a gondola, and none of them pretends to be.

If a gondola is what you picture, the commentary cruise is the plain way onto the water, and the rest of this page tells you what the ride is really like.

The Barchetto and the Renaioli

The renaioli were the workers who dug sand and gravel from the bed of the Arno, material that went into building Florence. Their flat boats are the barchetti. The Cultural Association I Renaioli has kept the historic boats sailing since 1995, and it calls the result thirty years of history on the Arno.

Each winter a shipwright and a caulker maintain the fleet, so the boats are working craft kept alive rather than props. The association sells its own group and private trips and gift vouchers through its own booking system, which we do not sell. Its prices sit behind that system and are not printed here.

The history, in the association's own words, is on the Renaioli site.

What a Flat Bottom Means for You

The barchetto has a flat bottom because it had to work shallow water between the weirs. The Renaioli say their boats glide without rocking and call them suitable for people who suffer from seasickness. The same stretch of river carries the electric boats of our listings, and it is a still pool held between two weirs, not open water.

If you have avoided boat trips because of your stomach, this is about the gentlest water a city can offer. Wear flat shoes rather than packing a motion-sickness remedy, and read the practical section for children, wheelchairs and dogs.

The Two Weirs

A pescaia is a weir, a low dam across the river, and the two at either end of the centre are why a boat trip is possible at all. Between the Pescaia di San Niccolò upstream and the Pescaia di Santa Rosa downstream, the Arno becomes a long calm pool, deep enough to pole and still enough for a violinist to play. The Renaioli route starts near Ponte alle Grazie, runs west under the bridges of the historic centre, turns at Ponte alla Carraia and comes back to the pier.

The listings for our cruises name the same three bridges on their way: Ponte Vecchio, Ponte Santa Trinita and Ponte alla Carraia. You never leave this stretch, so choose the boat for what happens aboard as much as for the view.

In the order the Renaioli list them, these are the sights between the pier and the turn. Each looks different from the water, because the street never shows you a bridge from underneath.

• The Uffizi riverfront. The gallery's river side faces the water, and from a low boat you see its length at once instead of through the crowd in the courtyard. Pair the trip with the Uffizi on dry land.
• The Vasari Corridor. The raised passage crosses the river on top of Ponte Vecchio, and from below you see how it threads over the shops. Our Vasari Corridor page covers the inside.
• Ponte Vecchio. Built about 1339 to 1345, Florence's oldest bridge and the only one spared in the Second World War, left to goldsmiths and jewellers by a 1565 decree. More on Ponte Vecchio.
• Santi Apostoli and Palazzo Corsini. The church and the palace line the stretch west of Ponte Vecchio, and the Renaioli name both as sights from the water.
• Ponte Santa Trinita. Its four Seasons statues were added in 1608 for the wedding of Cosimo II. The bridge was blown up on 3 to 4 August 1944 and rebuilt by 1958, and Spring's head was only recovered from the Arno in 1961.
• San Frediano. The boat runs along the San Frediano bank on the south side before the turn. San Frediano and the Oltrarno has the neighbourhood.
• Ponte alla Carraia. The turning point, after which the boat heads back east to the pier near Ponte alle Grazie.

Five Months a Year

The Renaioli's season runs 1 May to 30 September, Monday to Sunday, and their boats do not sail from October to April. They sail six one-hour slots a day: 10:00, 11:00, 17:00, 18:00, 19:00 and 20:00, so there is nothing in the midday heat. Their trip is 45 minutes of navigation plus 15 minutes of boarding and getting off, one hour in total, and it returns to the same dock.

Small boats carry 8 passengers and large boats 14, and bigger groups can sail several boats side by side on a shorter agreed route. Our listings run 50 minutes on the three standard cruises and 75 minutes on the picnic lunch cruise. Their departure times are on each listing's calendar.

The Rain Rule and Other Cancellations

The Renaioli rule is short and worth knowing before you book. If it is sunny one hour before departure, the trip goes. If rain starts within one hour of departure, the trip is rescheduled, and you can move it up to 72 hours before your slot through the confirmation email.

A sudden downpour mid-trip means the boat shelters under a bridge and waits. Strong wind, a sudden change in water level from riverbed works, or a flood can also stop sailings. On the four cruises we list, the rule that is printed is free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start, and no weather policy is stated.

If your stay is short, book an early day so a cancellation still leaves room. The river's worst day is on the 1966 flood page.

Pick your hour by light and by who is with you. The slots are the Renaioli's, the notes are ours.

The Gate at Piazza Mentana

The four cruises we list board at Lungarno Diaz by Piazza Mentana, in front of Hotel Balestri on the river side. Look for the black gate with the Arnoboat sign. Boarding is a short descent to the pontoon, which the listings rate as easy.

The Renaioli board by the same square, in front of the large gate on the river side marked by a coloured sign. Their way down is the wide paved driveway of the Società Canottieri, then a short grassy stretch with a handrail a few metres long, then a certified dock, and a deckhand helps everyone aboard. Check which gate your confirmation names, because the two are different operators.

On Foot From the Uffizi

From Piazzale degli Uffizi, walk to the river and turn left along the Lungarno. The first square you reach is Piazza dei Giudici, and the second is Piazza Mentana. On our estimate that is about three minutes.

The route is flat and runs along the river the whole way. If you are doing the Uffizi the same day, a late-afternoon visit followed by an evening sailing works well, because the gallery exit and the pier are this close. Arrive a few minutes early: the Renaioli count boarding inside the hour, and the listings name no separate boarding window.

By Bus or by Car

Three bus lines stop close by: the electric C1 at Diaz or Galleria degli Uffizi, and the electric C3 and bus 23 at Benci or Corso dei Tintori. A city ticket costs €2 (about $2) and lasts 90 minutes on buses and trams, and our page on bus tickets explains where to buy one. If you drive, the pier is inside the ZTL, the restricted traffic zone, so park outside it.

The nearest car park is Sant'Ambrogio on Piazza Ghiberti, 15 minutes on foot via Piazza Santa Croce or two stops on the C3 to Corso dei Tintori. Beccaria and Murate are the other car parks the Renaioli suggest.

Seasickness, Pregnancy and What to Wear

The Renaioli say their flat-bottomed boats glide without rocking and suit people who suffer from seasickness. Their farthest point is about 25 minutes by river from the dock near Ponte alle Grazie, so you are never far from the pier, which is the figure to weigh if you are pregnant. There is no dress code.

Flat shoes are recommended for the descent, parasols are on board, and evenings on the river can be cool, so bring a windbreaker to the last two slots. Our listings rate the boarding as easy but publish no advice on pregnancy or seasickness, so ask through the listing if either matters to you.

Children and Safety

On the Renaioli boats every seat has two certified life jackets, and life jackets are mandatory for school-age children. Children under 15 sit inside the boat with an adult, and a fire extinguisher and a first-aid kit are aboard. Among the cruises we list, the picnic lunch cruise is the family one, because a children's menu with stuffed schiacciata comes with the basket and the 75 minutes give slow eaters time.

On the aperitivo cruise, under-18s get a non-alcoholic drink instead of wine. Our Florence with kids page puts the boat into a full family day.

Wheelchairs and Dogs

The Renaioli crew help with the transfer from wheelchair to boat, and the wheelchair is stored under cover during the trip. The one hard condition is that the passenger must be able to sit without back support, so judge that honestly before you book. Small dogs are welcome on their private trips only, all dogs must be leashed, and large dogs muzzled.

The four listings we sell state nothing on wheelchair access or dogs, so ask the operator through the listing before booking either. Our accessibility page covers the rest of the city, where kerbs and cobbles are the harder problem.

Bringing Your Own Aperitivo

The Renaioli do no catering. Their guests may bring their own aperitivo aboard, or have a basket delivered to the boat if it is arranged in advance. Among our listings, the aperitivo cruise includes the drink: white wine and local products supplied by La Prosciutteria, with soft music on board.

The picnic lunch cruise goes further, with crostini, pappa al pomodoro, cured meats and cheese, then Vin Santo and cantucci. If you would rather assemble your own basket for a Renaioli trip, the Mercato Centrale is the city's big food market. Food is not included on the commentary or concert cruises, so eat before or after.

First Trip, or a Night Out

First-timers should take the commentary cruise at €24 (about $28). It is the cheapest of the four, it runs 50 minutes, and the commentary in English and Italian names what you pass, which makes the rest of your walks make more sense. Couples aiming at dusk should take the aperitivo cruise or the concert cruise, both €35 (about $41), on an evening departure.

The concert cruise has the most reviews of any Arno trip we list, 4,280 of them, at 4.8. The commentary cruise sits lower at 4.3, so pick it for the facts, not for the mood.

Families and Longer Trips

Families should take the picnic lunch cruise at €39 (about $46), the only one of the four longer than an hour at 75 minutes, with a children's menu available. Its 4.7 rests on only 8 reviews, so treat it as promising rather than proven. A lunch sailing also misses the evening rush entirely.

Groups larger than one boat can go to the Renaioli, who sail several boats side by side on a shorter agreed route. For everything else on the water and off it, see every Florence tour compared, and for music on land, opera and concerts in Florence.

The Free Alternatives

The best river views cost nothing. Walk across Ponte Vecchio and along the Lungarni at dusk, when the water goes still. Climb to Piazzale Michelangelo at sunset for the whole bend of the river at once, the view the boat gives you in pieces.

On Ponte Santa Trinita the four Seasons statues from 1608 stand at the corners, close enough to read the story of Spring's lost head. Our free things to do page has more, and if the weather turns, the rainy day page collects the indoor options.

An Evening Concert on Land

If you wanted the boat for the music, the evening is still possible on land. Our opera and concerts page covers the church recitals, the opera house and an evening classical concert of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Bach, Mozart and Pachelbel at Chiesa di Santo Stefano or the Zeffirelli Museum. That concert is listed at €35 (about $41), the same as the concert cruise, and cancels free up to 24 hours before.

It is not the river, but it is the same quiet hour. For what else is on while you are in town, see the events calendar.