# Boboli Gardens, Florence > The Boboli Gardens are a huge hillside park behind Palazzo Pitti, laid out by the Medici in the 16th century and a model for the Italian garden. There's an amphitheatre with an Egyptian obelisk, Buontalenti's fantastical grotto, cypress avenues, fountains and statues, and the upper terraces look out over all of Florence. Entry is paid; allow 1.5 to 2 hours. Web page: https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/boboli-gardens - City: [Florence](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence), Italy - YesGo score: 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 1 h 45 min - With kids: Fine with kids - Entry: Paid; includes the Bardini Garden - Opening hours: By day, longer in summer - Highlights: Amphitheatre, Buontalenti Grotto, Isolotto, view - Footwear: Comfortable — slopes and gravel - Time needed: 1.5–2 hours - Location: Behind Palazzo Pitti, Oltrarno - Coordinates: 43.76180, 11.24661 - Facts checked: 11.11.2026 ## Key facts - **c. 1550** — laid out for Cosimo I and Eleonora of Toledo (source: English Wikipedia) - **Tribolo** — first designer; Ammannati and Buontalenti continued (source: English Wikipedia) - **1583–1593** — Bernardo Buontalenti built the Grotto (source: English Wikipedia) - **Egypt** — the amphitheatre obelisk was brought from Egypt by the Romans (source: English Wikipedia) - **18th c.** — the Kaffeehaus pavilion was built on the hill (source: English Wikipedia) ## History of the Boboli Gardens In the mid-16th century Duke **Cosimo I de' Medici** and his wife **Eleonora of Toledo** bought [Palazzo Pitti](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/palazzo-pitti) on the south bank of the Arno. Behind it rose the Boboli hill, with a stone quarry, and around **1550** the architect **Niccolò Tribolo** began turning it into a garden. **Bartolomeo Ammannati** and **Bernardo Buontalenti** took over after him, and the garden kept growing for another two centuries. Boboli became one of the first and best-known **Italian gardens**, with geometric avenues, terraces, clipped hedges, grottoes and statues set among the greenery, a model later copied at royal palaces across Europe. It was the Medici's party ground, with plays, fireworks and lavish receptions. Today it's a large park with museum status where you can walk for hours. It's cool in the heat, full of shady paths and benches, and in places you'll hardly meet anyone, though the Ponte Vecchio crowds are only ten minutes away. ## The amphitheatre and upper terraces Right behind the palace is the **amphitheatre**, a vast green bowl with stone tiers where the Medici staged shows. In the middle stands an **Egyptian obelisk**, taken to Rome in antiquity and to Florence in the 18th century, along with a large granite basin from Roman baths. From the amphitheatre a path climbs to the **Neptune fountain**, a bronze sea god in a pond, and higher still to the statue of **Abundance** and the upper terraces. Up here is the **Kaffeehaus**, an elegant 18th-century pavilion, and nearby, in a small courtyard, the **Porcelain Museum**. The top of the garden gives a panorama of Florence's rooftops, the cathedral dome and the surrounding hills, and it's well worth the climb. ## What to see in the Boboli Gardens - **Amphitheatre and obelisk** — right behind Palazzo Pitti. - **Buontalenti Grotto** — a fairy-tale cave with statues. - **Neptune fountain** — a pond on the hillside. - **Kaffeehaus** — a pavilion with city views. - **The Viottolone** — a long cypress avenue down the slope. - **The Isolotto** — an island fountain in a pond. - **Bacchino fountain** — a comic statue on a turtle by the exit. > **One ticket, two gardens** A Boboli ticket usually includes the neighbouring Bardini Garden, with a lovely terraced stairway and views of the Ponte Vecchio and the Duomo. You can reach it through the upper part of Boboli. In spring the Bardini wisteria is in bloom, one of the most photogenic sights in Florence. ## The Buontalenti Grotto and the Viottolone Near the exit to Palazzo Pitti, on the left, hides the **Grotto** built by **Bernardo Buontalenti** in **1583–1593**. Outside it looks like a façade of stalactites; inside, like a cave from a fairy tale, its walls covered in artificial rock, shells and painted animals. In the far chamber stands Giambologna's marble **Venus**. Visitors go in in small groups at set times. From the middle of the garden the **Viottolone** runs downhill, a long straight avenue between walls of cypress and oak with statues along the sides. It leads to the **Isolotto**, an oval pond with an island and the Ocean fountain, surrounded by lemon trees in pots, with ducks on the water. It's the quietest part of the garden, almost free of tourists. ## How to get to the Boboli Gardens 1. The main entrance is through the courtyard of **Palazzo Pitti**. 2. From the [Ponte Vecchio](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/ponte-vecchio), 7 minutes on foot. 3. There's another entrance by Porta Romana, at the bottom of the garden. 4. The [Vasari Corridor](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/vasari-corridor) exits straight into the garden by the grotto. ## Tips for your walk The garden is large and hilly, with gravel paths and slopes, so wear comfortable shoes and bring water. In summer come in the morning or towards evening; the open terraces get hot at midday. A café near the Kaffeehaus sometimes opens, but don't count on it. Short on time? Do a quick loop: amphitheatre, Neptune fountain, the top terrace for the view and back via the Buontalenti Grotto, about an hour. With children, the lower avenues down to the Isolotto are best: shade, ducks and room to run. The garden closes an hour before sunset in winter and later in summer, so check the time. ## Before you go Tick off what's ready — your ticks are saved in this browser. - [ ] Buy a Boboli and Bardini ticket - [ ] Wear comfortable shoes and bring water - [ ] Climb to the top terrace for the view - [ ] Look into the Buontalenti Grotto - [ ] Walk down the Viottolone to the Isolotto ## Florence's parks and gardens: compare and choose Gardens and parks in Florence rated by YesGo. - [Boboli Gardens](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/boboli-gardens) — YesGo score 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 45 min · Paid ## The south bank in a day Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens, then Santo Spirito and the Brancacci Chapel. 1. [Palazzo Pitti](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/palazzo-pitti) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · Paid 2. [Boboli Gardens](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/boboli-gardens) — YesGo score 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 45 min · Paid 3. [Santo Spirito](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/santo-spirito) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 40 min · Free 4. [Brancacci Chapel](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/brancacci-chapel) — YesGo score 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Paid, timed entry ## Don't mix it up The Boboli Gardens and Palazzo Pitti are one residence but separate tickets: the palace museums and the garden are sold apart or on a combined pass. Piazzale Michelangelo is a free viewpoint on another hill further east. ## Tips - Enter through the Palazzo Pitti courtyard. - Comfortable shoes and water. - Best view from the top terrace. - The Bardini Garden is on the same ticket. ## Questions ### What is there to see in the Boboli Gardens? The amphitheatre with its Egyptian obelisk, the Buontalenti Grotto, the Neptune fountain, the Kaffeehaus, the Viottolone avenue and the Isolotto pond. ### How much are Boboli Gardens tickets? Entry is paid, usually together with the Bardini Garden; there's also a combined pass with Palazzo Pitti. Check prices on the Uffizi site. ### Where is the entrance to the Boboli Gardens? The main entrance is through the Palazzo Pitti courtyard; there's another by Porta Romana. ### How long do you need in the Boboli Gardens? 1.5 to 2 hours; a short loop with the view takes about an hour. ### Are the Boboli Gardens good for children? Yes, there's plenty of shade, space and paths, though steep slopes and gravel are hard work with a buggy. ## How we checked History and sights from English Wikipedia. Prices and hours weren't confirmed with an official source — hence the 'checking' badge. ## Sources - English Wikipedia: Boboli Gardens and Buontalenti Grotto - Official Uffizi Galleries site, uffizi.it --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.