Giardino delle Rose
The same panorama as Piazzale Michelangelo, one terrace lower and with a fraction of the people. Free, with roses from May and bronze figures by Folon through the grounds.
- Area
- San Niccolo
- Address
- Viale Giuseppe Poggi 2
- Laid out
- 1865, by Giuseppe Poggi
- Roses
- Several hundred varieties, in bloom May and June
- Entry
- Free, daily from 9:00 until sunset
- Checked
- August 2026
- Go for
- The same panorama as Piazzale Michelangelo, from a terraced rose garden just below it, free and usually calm.
- Skip if
- You want the roses specifically and it is not late spring. The rest of the garden is open all year, the bloom is not.
What everybody agrees on
Read across public reviews on Google and TripAdvisor plus Italian city writing in September 2026.
- Nearly all
The view is the same one people queue for above, and here there is space to sit down with it.
- Most
Free entry surprises people, given where it is and what it looks out on.
- Most
The Folon sculptures are the second reason to come. A dozen bronze figures placed among the rose beds, including a cat asleep on the grass.
- Often
There is a small Japanese garden inside, given to Florence by Kyoto.
- Some
The full bloom is short. Outside May and June it is a pleasant terraced garden rather than a rose garden.
What to order
Come down here from the Piazzale rather than up from the river. You arrive at the top of the terraces and the city opens below you as you descend.
Before you go
- Getting there
- Just below Piazzale Michelangelo, or fifteen minutes on foot up from Ponte alle Grazie.
- Best time
- May and June for the roses, late afternoon any month for the light.
- Closes
- At sunset, so it is not a place for the blue hour.
It sits on the walk up from San Niccolo, just below the Piazzale, and almost everyone walks past the gate without noticing it. The view is framed by greenery instead of souvenir stalls, which changes the photograph and the experience. Roses peak in May, but the terraces work year round and there is grass to sit on.