Florence Marathon 2026: route, registration and what to see

1. The race weekend, day by day

Piazza del Duomo, the starting point

Marathon sold out Sunday 29 November 12°C average high 27 to 29 November

The weekend revolves around the Duomo. The marathon starts at 8:30 am from Piazza del Duomo, after a gathering at 8:00 am. According to the official marathon page, runners access the start “gabbie” pens between 7:00 and 8:00 am. The 10 km starts at 8:45 am from Via Tornabuoni and finishes on the Piazza del Duomo. The days before are for bib collection, the Saturday charity relay and the family run.

Highlights

• A start and finish in the historic centre, close to the most visited monuments.
• Four races over two days: a 3 km family run and a team relay on Saturday, then the marathon and the 10 km on Sunday.
• A popular-race atmosphere, with bands and crowds along the course, according to runners’ accounts and guides. Reviews are rare: a single first-hand review finds the crowd lively and the place enjoyable, and rates the whole event fairly average, on a very small sample.

Pixidia tip: don’t drive on Sunday 29 November. In 2025, many central streets were closed until mid-afternoon and several bus lines were cut in the morning. The 2026 traffic plan had not been published at the time of checking.

For the companion who isn’t running, a 3.5-hour walking food tour of the San Lorenzo district runs from 27 to 30 November, according to the Viator listing checked on 23 October 2026. It also runs on race Sunday, when the only slot is at 10:30 am, while the centre is closed for the race.

Florence San Lorenzo Food Tour by Secret Food Tours €196 for 2 adults, or €98 per person (checked on 23 October 2026 for 2 adults, no guarantee for any given date). Slots available 27, 28, 29 and 30 November 2026 · ★ 5.0 (90 reviews)

Book my slot

The official programme is summarised in the table below. Bib collection times are those in the rules, detailed in section 4.

Source: official Firenze Marathon site, home, marathon and 10 km pages, checked on 23 October 2026.

To follow the race from a distance, WatchAthletics offered a live tracking page in 2024 and 2025. For 2026, no live coverage has been confirmed at the time of checking.

2. Registration: a sold-out marathon, some options still open

Marathon sold out, 10 km still open

Marathon: €69 to €109 Race sold out 10 km: €25 or €30 Minimum age 20

The marathon is sold out. The official page shows “sold out”, and Corriere dello Sport announced the sell-out on 15 October 2026. The 10 km, capped at 3,000 participants, was still open when we checked. The 3 × 7 km “Fiorentina Charity Run” relay, organised with ACF Fiorentina on Saturday 28 November at 10:30 am, was reported as open by the press on 31 July 2026: check the ACF Fiorentina page to confirm.

The published fees for the 2026 marathon range from €69 to €109 depending on the registration period. The dates of each price tier have not been checked: they are in the official brochure. A news site mentions a waiting list and bibs resold for €100: the organiser confirms nothing of the kind, so be wary.

Entry conditions (for a future edition)

• Minimum age: 20 according to the official 2026 brochure. Some guides say 18: that information is wrong or out of date.
• Medical certificate: a certificate of fitness for competitive athletics, valid on race day, is downloaded from the ENDU account.
• Non-resident runner: a certificate issued in your own country is accepted, provided you attach the required tests: a urine test, a resting ECG, an exercise ECG and a spirometry test.
• Non-licensed French runner: the exact document to provide, RUN CARD or simple certificate, is not specified in the texts we consulted. This case is not confirmed, so there is no procedure to start for this year.

An automated reply mentioned a liability waiver for running without a certificate. No official text we consulted confirms it: don’t count on it.

Source: official Firenze Marathon site, 2026 brochure and marathon page, checked on 23 October 2026.

3. The course, km by km

A flat course along the Arno

42.195 km About 60 m of elevation gain 6-hour limit Checkpoint at 4:15, km 30

The official course starts at the Piazza del Duomo, runs through the centre via Via Cavour, Piazza Santa Croce and Piazza della Signoria, then returns to the Duomo. At km 5, runners reach the Cascine by the Ponte alle Mosse. They then come back along the Lungarni, cross the Ponte Vecchio via Via Guicciardini and follow the Arno westward. The course passes the athletics stadium at km 30, returns over the Cavalcavia dell’Affrico at km 35, then follows the Lungarno Vespucci at km 40 before heading back to the centre. The official course page gives the finish as Via dei Pecori, not the Piazza del Duomo that most guides cite.

Highlights

• A flat course, with some cobbles in the historic centre.
• Several crossings of the Arno: the wind can be cold in November, especially at the start.
• The 4:15 checkpoint at km 30 means averaging about 8 min 30 s per km over the first 30.

Pixidia tip: to stay under the 4:15 cut-off, settle into a steady pace from the start. Pacemakers are announced between 2:55 and 5:30: to be confirmed in the brochure, but useful if you’re aiming for a specific time.

Source: Firenze Marathon course page, cut-offs and pacemakers according to marathons.fr, checked on 23 October 2026.

For spectators, the best spots cited by guides and runners’ accounts are Piazza Santa Croce, Piazza della Signoria, the Ponte Vecchio, the banks of the Arno and the Cascine at km 5. The central squares fill up from 8:00 am. Runners who drop out are bussed back to Santa Maria Novella station.

For the companion, the first runners arrive around 11:15 am and the last around 2:30 pm, according to 2025 times (indicative for 2026). In 2025, a cloakroom was set up on Piazza Santa Maria Novella, and toilets were provided at the water stations and at the finish (to be confirmed for 2026). Set a meeting point before the start: the centre is closed to traffic on the morning of the race.

4. Bib collection: the expo at Stazione Leopolda

Bibs are collected at Stazione Leopolda, Viale Fratelli Rosselli 5, in Florence. The official rules give these hours:

• Friday 27 November, 10:00 am to 7:30 pm;
• Saturday 28 November, 9:00 am to 7:30 pm.

Finishers and marathons.fr announce openings half an hour later. The rules prevail, but check the expo page before you go. The organiser’s “La maratona” page still shows 22 and 23 November, dates that don’t match the 2026 calendar: ignore them.

To collect a bib, you need photo ID, the registration confirmation letter and the documents required by the rules. As the marathon is sold out, this step mainly concerns runners who are already registered.

5. What to see around, late November

Florence beyond the race: museums, monuments and hills

Tickets €10 to €29 Monday 30: major museums closed Duomo, Uffizi, Pitti Few visitors

Late November brings fewer visitors to Florence than the rest of the year, according to Florence Tourism. The museums are calmer, as long as you avoid the morning of Sunday 29, when the centre is closed for the race. Saturday 28 is the easiest day for indoor visits.

Pixidia tip: book your time slot in advance, and choose the Sunday afternoon if you can. On Monday 30 November, the Uffizi, the Accademia and the Boboli Gardens are closed, and the Bargello has been closed on Mondays since 15 March 2026 (secondary source). The Pitti Palace is listed as closed on Mondays, to be confirmed: plan something else for that day.

The Uffizi Gallery and the Pitti Palace

The Uffizi Gallery opens Tuesday to Sunday, 8:15 am to 6:30 pm, and is closed on Mondays (official notice from November 2025; 2026 schedule to be confirmed). Tickets cost €25 on site and €29 online. Entry from 4 pm is offered at €16, according to the official Uffizi and Boboli page. The Pitti Palace costs €16 on site and €19 online. November 2026 hours for the palace still need to be reconfirmed.

The Boboli Gardens: closed on Monday 30 November

The Boboli Gardens open from 8:15 am to 4:30 pm in November, with last entry one hour before closing. They cost €10 on site and €13 online. The combined Pitti and Boboli ticket costs €22 on site and €25 online, which is cheaper than the two tickets bought separately (€26 on site, €32 online). The gardens are closed on Monday 30 November 2026, the first and last Monday of the month, as confirmed by the official Boboli site, checked on 23 October 2026.

The Duomo, the bell tower and the Accademia

Entry to the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral is free, but the dome, the bell tower, the baptistery and the museum require a paid ticket. Hours and prices for these could not be checked on a readable official source at the time of checking: confirm them before you go. Giotto’s bell tower has been under restoration since 9 March 2026, for about four years.

The Accademia gallery, home of Michelangelo’s David, is closed on Mondays. A third-party source says a timed booking is mandatory, while other pages recommend one: the official site prevails, so check before you go.

Oltrarno, hills and day trips

Across the Arno, Piazza Santo Spirito hosts a food market, and Piazzale Michelangelo offers a view over the city, with the church of San Miniato al Monte at the top of the hill. For a day trip to Siena or San Gimignano, buses leave from Via Santa Caterina da Siena, near Santa Maria Novella station, with a change at Poggibonsi. The journey takes 70 to 80 minutes. Siena is also reachable by train in about an hour. On Sunday 29 November, avoid leaving the centre by bus in the morning. For private tours in the region, see our selection of private tours in Tuscany.

Source: official Uffizi and Boboli site, checked on 23 October 2026.

6. Getting to Florence

• By train. There is no direct train between Paris and Florence. You have to change in Milan or Turin, for a journey of 9 h 20 to 12 h 30 depending on connections (Seat61, Everyrail).
• By air. Our sources don’t confirm a direct flight between Paris and Florence. Compare flights, which often involve a connection.
• From the airport. The bus leaves from Piazza della Stazione about every 30 minutes, costs €6 one way and takes 25 minutes. This fare comes from an undated guide: reconfirm it before you travel.
• Trams and buses. A single urban ticket costs €2.00 from 1 August 2026 (Magenta Florence).

On race day, traffic is the real obstacle. No 2026 traffic order had been published at the time of checking. In 2025, streets around the centre were closed until mid-afternoon, and bus lines, including lines 1, 8, 14 and 17, were cut in the morning and early afternoon. The tram runs a limited service. Don’t drive: the Scudo Verde, the environmental limited-traffic zone, is active 24 hours a day, Sundays included.

7. Weather and what to wear

Late November: cool, with possible rain

12.0°C average high 3.6°C average low Rain one day in three Late November

Open-Meteo’s historical data for 27 to 30 November, from 2015 to 2025, gives average highs of 12.0°C and average lows of 3.6°C. It rained more than 1 mm in about 30% of cases. Guides give other feel-like ranges: 12 to 15°C by day and 6 to 9°C in the evening according to Rough Guides, 13 to 17°C by day and 5 to 7°C at night according to Florence Tourism. These are not the same measures as the averages in the table.

Highlights

• A warm coat, a jumper, a scarf and a hat, according to Florence Tourism.
• Waterproof shoes and a small umbrella.
• Swings of 10 to 15°C between morning and afternoon: dress in layers.

Pixidia tip: the marathon starts at 8:30 am, in cool weather. Bring a warm-up layer you can leave at the start.

Source: Open-Meteo, climate archive, calculated 23 October 2026. Forecasts for 2026 are modelled trends, not observations.

8. Budget: the costs to know

Most of the weekend’s cost depends on accommodation. The fixed costs, though, are known: the table below lists them, with the status of each price.

Source: organiser (2026 brochure), official Uffizi and Boboli site, Magenta Florence and Viator, checked on 23 October 2026.

For accommodation, the official brochure offers hotel packages through Destination Florence, including the night, breakfast, a sports dinner and bib collection. The tourist tax is not included. For a 4-star hotel, the rough figures checked are about €215 for a double room and €300 for a single, with a €20 supplement from 15 October to 20 November 2026. A second set of figures, about €256 for a single room and €200.50 for a double, could not be read reliably in the brochure table. These amounts still need to be confirmed on the booking page. The terms set a 50% penalty between 60 and 30 days before arrival, then 100% at 29 days or fewer. Third-party pages report strong demand for this weekend: book early.

Points to check before you go

• Marathon registration is non-refundable. Stated in the official 2026 brochure (checked 23 October 2026).