Cafeography
Florence · Duomo & Centro Storico

Cafés in Duomo & Centro Storico

Gilli, Paszkowski and the Giubbe Rosse on Piazza della Repubblica, Rivoire on the Signoria and Scudieri by the Baptistery.

Photo: Ramaz Bluashvili, Pexels License

This is the core of the walled city, from the Baptistery and Brunelleschi's dome down Via dei Calzaiuoli to Piazza della Signoria and the Uffizi. Work on the cathedral began in 1296; Brunelleschi raised the dome between 1420 and 1436, and the marble façade facing the Baptistery dates only from 1876–1887.1

Most of Florence's historic cafés sit within a few hundred meters of one another. Caffè Gilli is at Via Roma 1r, Caffè Concerto Paszkowski and the Giubbe Rosse share Piazza della Repubblica, Rivoire is at Piazza della Signoria 5r, and Caffè Scudieri faces the Baptistery from Piazza di San Giovanni 19r.

Local tip: If you live in Florence or one of the six neighboring towns, bring an ID card to Rivoire: the counter espresso is €1 for residents.6

At a glance

54Cafés listed
6With opening hours
07:00Earliest opening
00:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Bar caffè Gocce's Florence, from 07:00 (Daily 07:00–00:00).
  • Closes latest: Amblé, until 00:00 (Tue–Wed 17:30–23:00 · Thu–Sun 12:00–00:00).
  • Most common features: outdoor seating (19%), partial wheelchair access (15%), indoor seating (9%).

Ben Caffè

  • Via delle Oche 7
  • Daily 07:30–14:30
  • 055 238 2133
  • Partial wheelchair access
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Coffee chains in Duomo & Centro Storico

Piazza della Repubblica and its three cafés

The square sits on the Roman forum and on the Mercato Vecchio, the medieval market where Cosimo I later confined the city's Jews to a ghetto. Most of it was cleared between 1885 and 1895, and it carried the name Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II until after the Second World War.2

Gilli started out on Via dei Calzaiuoli and moved twice before settling, by the 1910s, on its corner of Via Roma inside Palazzo Levi; Ruth Orkin's 1951 photograph American Girl in Italy was taken in front of it.3 The Giubbe Rosse took its name in 1910 from the red jackets of its waiters, and Montale, Papini and Soffici wrote at its tables.4

It closed in 2019 and reopened in late June 2024 as Il Caffè Letterario Giubbe Rosse.4 Ardengo Soffici and Filippo Tommaso Marinetti were also regulars at Gilli, where a group of penniless bohemians earned the nickname Caffè dei fachiri.3 RED Feltrinelli, a bookshop with a café, is across the square at number 26r.

Scudieri, Rivoire and the Signoria

Scudieri has stood on the corner of Via de' Cerretani since 1939, and its counter is known for croissants, mignon pastries and biscotti.5 Café de la Paix, Caffé Duomo, Don Nino and Smalzi Firenze are on Piazza del Duomo itself, and L'opera, at number 62r, has tables outside.

Since 1 October 2025 it has charged residents of Florence, Fiesole, Scandicci, Impruneta, Bagno a Ripoli, Sesto Fiorentino and Campi Bisenzio €1 for an espresso at the counter, on showing an ID card; its general director Marco Fallani said the aim was to bring Florentines back to a center they had come to avoid.6 Caffè Perseo is on the same square at number 16r.

Coffee with a view of the dome

The Biblioteca delle Oblate, at Via dell'Oriuolo 24–26, occupies a 14th-century complex once run by the Oblate, women who worked at the nearby hospital of Santa Maria Nuova; the library moved in in 1953 and reopened in its present form on 25 May 2007.7 From its rooftop terrace, the altana, you look straight at the dome.7

Its Caffeteria delle Oblate opens Tuesday from 09:00 to 20:00, Wednesday to Friday until 22:30 and Saturday from 10:00 to 22:30; on Monday it opens only from 14:00 to 19:00. Gran Caffè Cattedrale is a few doors along Via dell'Oriuolo at number 61.

Side streets and opening hours

Away from the squares, the side streets have smaller bars. Ben Caffè has two counters, on Via Santa Margherita by the Casa di Dante museum and on Via delle Oche, both open daily 07:30–14:30, and its Via Santa Margherita branch serves flat whites and cortados alongside vegan breakfast options.8 Shake Cafe on Via del Corso opens daily 08:00–19:00.

For later hours, Bar Caffè Gocce's on Via Panzani runs daily until midnight, and Amblé, in the small Piazzetta dei Del Bene, stays open until 00:00 from Thursday to Sunday. Caffetteria Bartolini, on Piazzale degli Uffizi, keeps museum hours, 09:20–18:00.

Sources

  1. Florence Cathedral, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Piazza della Repubblica, Florence, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. Caffè Gilli, Wikipedia (Italian), accessed October 2026
  4. Caffè Giubbe Rosse, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  5. Le migliori colazioni in centro a Firenze, Firenze Made in Tuscany (December 9, 2024), accessed October 2026
  6. Caffè a 1 euro per i residenti di Firenze: la soluzione di Rivoire per i rincari sulla tazzina (Massimo De Marco), Dissapore (October 2, 2025), accessed October 2026
  7. Biblioteca delle Oblate, Wikipedia (Italian), accessed October 2026
  8. The best specialty cafés in Florence, the city for coffee lovers (Michela Becchi), Gambero Rosso International (February 16, 2024), accessed October 2026
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In Duomo & Centro Storico, also browse: Outdoor seating Pasticcerie Open late Vegan & vegetarian Wi-Fi

FAQ

Duomo & Centro Storico cafés: questions

Which historic cafés are on Piazza della Repubblica in Florence?

Caffè Gilli, on the corner of Via Roma inside Palazzo Levi, Caffè Concerto Paszkowski and the Giubbe Rosse, which took its name in 1910 from its waiters' red jackets. The Giubbe Rosse closed in 2019 and reopened in June 2024 as Il Caffè Letterario Giubbe Rosse. RED Feltrinelli has a bookshop café on the same square.

Where can you drink coffee with a view of the Duomo in Florence?

At the Caffeteria delle Oblate, inside the Biblioteca delle Oblate on Via dell'Oriuolo. The library occupies a 14th-century complex and has a rooftop terrace, the altana, facing the dome. The café opens Tuesday to Saturday, until 22:30 from Wednesday, and only in the afternoon on Mondays.

How much is an espresso at Rivoire on Piazza della Signoria in Florence for residents?

Since 1 October 2025, €1 at the counter for residents of Florence, Fiesole, Scandicci, Impruneta, Bagno a Ripoli, Sesto Fiorentino and Campi Bisenzio, on showing an ID card. Rivoire, a chocolate house, opened near Palazzo Vecchio in 1872.

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