Fiorentina tickets at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence

Fiorentina tickets: football and the Renaissance in one weekend

Florence is on everyone's list — for the Uffizi, the Duomo and the Ponte Vecchio. Far fewer visitors realise that twenty minutes' walk from the cathedral there is a Serie A club playing in a stadium that is itself a listed monument.

Founded in 1926, Fiorentina are woven into their city. La Viola play in a purple no other major club wears, and the singing comes from the Curva Fiesole behind the goal.

The Grande Fiorentina and what followed

The heroic years belong to the 1950s: the Grande Fiorentina won a first league title in 1956 and reached the European Cup final a year later. In 1961 the club became the first Italian side ever to win the Cup Winners' Cup, and a second championship followed in 1969, alongside several Coppa Italia successes. In later decades the purple shirt was worn by Gabriel Batistuta and Franck Ribéry.

The Stadio Artemio Franchi

The ground was designed in the early 1930s by Pier Luigi Nervi and counts among the most significant works of Italian modernism. Its exposed-concrete spiral staircases and slender Marathon Tower are protected monuments — a visit here is a piece of architectural history as much as a football match. The atmosphere is among the most intense in the league.

Calcio Storico: the city's other football

Visit Florence in June and you will find something that exists nowhere else: Calcio Storico, a centuries-old mix of football, rugby and wrestling contested between the four historic quarters on the Piazza Santa Croce. It is raw, loud and, for Florentines, a matter of civic honour — reason enough to time a trip around it.

Why the trip works

Few European cities combine sightseeing and a matchday so effortlessly. The Uffizi in the morning, the Boboli Gardens at midday, the stadium in the afternoon and a bistecca alla fiorentina in Santa Croce in the evening — the distances are short, everything sits within a few kilometres, and the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore is visible from almost anywhere.

Tickets and hotels

• Official Serie A tickets for home fixtures at the Franchi, including visits from Juventus, the Milan clubs and Napoli
• Hotels in the old town or in Campo di Marte near the ground
• Tickets on their own or as a complete package with accommodation, groups welcome

Getting there, and two Italian particularities

The stadium is in Campo di Marte, a short train ride or a half-hour walk from Santa Maria Novella station. Pisa and Bologna airports serve the region, and high-speed trains reach Rome and Milan in around ninety minutes.

Two things to note: Serie A kick-off times are confirmed only weeks in advance and range from Saturday lunchtime to Monday evening. And Italian tickets are personalised — we need the names of everyone travelling and will ask for them in good time.

More Italian destinations: Serie A overview and Coppa Italia.

How to book

Tell us the fixture, your travel dates and how many tickets you need. We will check tickets and hotels and come back with a firm offer.