What to Do at Easter in Florence with Children
April in Florence is the month the city remembers it is beautiful. The wisteria is out on the Oltrarno walls, the temperatures are mild enough to sit outside for lunch, and the Duomo is lit by a kind of morning light you simply do not get in July. For families with children, Easter in Florence is also genuinely eventful: there is a civic ceremony unlike anything else in Italy, the museums are running full holiday programmes, and the shoulder-season crowd levels make the whole city more breathable.
This guide covers the Scoppio del Carro in useful detail, the family activities running over the Easter weekend, the most practical day trips within reach, and strategies for the rainy days that April in Florence makes statistically likely.
The Scoppio del Carro: How to See It Properly
The Scoppio del Carro - literally the Explosion of the Cart - is Florence’s defining Easter ceremony, documented in civic records since the fifteenth century. On Easter Sunday morning, an elaborately decorated ceremonial cart called the Brindellone (approximately nine metres tall, pulled by two pairs of white oxen) is drawn through the city from a repository near Porta al Prato, through the historic streets, to Piazza del Duomo.
Once positioned in front of the cathedral, the cart is connected by a long wire to the high altar inside. During the Easter Sunday Mass, at the moment of the Gloria, a mechanical dove (the colombina) is ignited at the altar and travels along the wire through the cathedral door, across the piazza, and into the cart, triggering a display of fireworks and rockets that erupts from the Brindellone for around fifteen to twenty minutes. The crowd in the piazza - which can number several thousand - responds with a sound that is half cheer, half genuine startlement.
For children this is spectacular. The noise is real and loud: the rockets crack, there is smoke, there is chaos, and it all takes place in broad daylight in the centre of the city. Children who are sensitive to sudden loud sounds should be warned beforehand. Ear defenders are a reasonable precaution for children under five.
Positioning matters. The piazza fills from 09:00 onwards. The ceremony begins at 11:00 and the fireworks typically ignite around 11:30. For a decent view without arriving impractically early, aim to be in position by 09:30. The best positions are along Via dei Servi (approach from the north) or Via del Proconsolo (approach from the east), both of which give a lateral view of the cart with slightly more room than the front-on crush directly before the cathedral.
Entry to the piazza is completely free. No tickets, no booking. The ceremony is attended by the Archbishop of Florence, city officials, a historic flag-throwing troupe, and musicians in period costume. The procession of the cart through the streets before reaching the piazza is worth watching too if you can position yourself along the route.
Family Events Over the Easter Weekend
The Scoppio is the centrepiece, but the Easter weekend in Florence has other components worth building into your plans.
The Museo dei Ragazzi at Palazzo Vecchio runs special Easter programming for children between five and fourteen. These sessions often focus on the historical traditions of the Medici Easter - the religious and civic ceremonies that accompanied the season in Renaissance Florence. Themes and formats change by year; check the Palazzo Vecchio website in March for the confirmed 2026 Easter programme. Booking in advance is strongly advised, as English-language slots during holiday periods fill quickly.
The Fierucola artisan market in Piazza Santissima Annunziata typically falls on the third Sunday of each month. When this coincides with Easter Sunday or Easter Monday, it makes a natural complement to the Scoppio - organic food producers, handmade crafts, natural textiles, and local honey, set in one of the most harmonious squares in Florence. Entry is free.
Easter Monday (Pasquetta) is a national public holiday in Italy, and the tradition is clear: you go outside. The Parco delle Cascine becomes a gathering place for the entire city, with Florentine families picnicking on the grass from mid-morning. This is one of the better opportunities to observe local family life rather than the tourist layer of the city. Pack a lunch, take the tram to the “Cascine” stop, and settle under the plane trees. The atmosphere is relaxed and genuinely welcoming of visiting families.
Day Trips That Work Over Easter
Four days in Florence for Easter - Good Friday through Easter Monday - is the standard family visit length. Building at least one day trip into that schedule gives the holiday variety and manages the inevitable moment when everyone needs a change of scene.
Fiesole is the simplest and most immediate option. The hilltop town sits 8 km above Florence, accessible by bus line 7 from Piazza San Marco in about twenty-five minutes. The bus fare is 1.70 euros per adult; children under six travel free. Fiesole has a well-preserved Roman amphitheatre and archaeological museum - combined entry is approximately 10 euros per adult, free for EU children under 18. The town’s main square has excellent views across the valley to Florence, and there are cafes and restaurants for lunch. The whole excursion requires about half a day and suits children from age six upwards.
Certaldo offers something different: a medieval hilltop town associated with Giovanni Boccaccio, author of the Decameron. It is about 35 km southwest of Florence, reachable by train from Santa Maria Novella in around thirty minutes. The upper town (Certaldo Alto) is accessed by a small funicular railway from the lower town - this alone is exciting for children. Return funicular fare is around 2 euros per person. The upper town is compact, atmospheric, and manageable in a couple of hours.
Arezzo, 80 km southeast of Florence, is reached by fast train in forty to fifty minutes. Return adult tickets cost approximately 14 euros. Arezzo’s historic centre is mostly traffic-free, the pace is manageable with children, and the Basilica di San Francesco contains Piero della Francesca’s fresco cycle of the Legend of the True Cross - one of the defining works of the Italian Renaissance and genuinely interesting to children between ten and fourteen who are old enough to engage with visual storytelling at that level. The city also has a well-regarded antique market in Piazza Grande, typically running on the first weekend of the month.
What to Do When It Rains
April in Florence averages eight to ten rainy days. Over a four-day Easter break, expect at least one day where the weather makes outdoor plans impractical. Having a clear indoor agenda ready removes the particular stress of improvising with wet, disappointed children.
Palazzo Vecchio and the Museo dei Ragazzi fill a morning completely. The palace itself is large, the rooms are extraordinary, and the children’s guided visit is the kind of experience that children remember years later. Pre-book the English-language slot and arrive on time.
The Museo di Storia Naturale at La Specola, on Via Romana 17 in the Oltrarno, is a one to two-hour visit that is genuinely unusual. The zoological collection includes an enormous range of taxidermied animals from around the world, and the 18th-century anatomical wax models in the upper galleries are - depending on the age and disposition of your children - either fascinating or disturbing or both. Entry costs 6 euros per adult with reduced rates for children. No booking required.
The Mercato Centrale on Via dell’Ariento, a ten-minute walk from Santa Maria Novella station, is an excellent rainy-day resource that requires no planning. The upper floor food hall is entirely covered, has seating for several hundred people, and serves everything from Florentine tripe to pizza to fresh pasta to craft beer. It is open until midnight and perfectly comfortable for an extended, unhurried lunch lasting ninety minutes or two hours.
Palazzo Strozzi, the major Renaissance palace on Piazza degli Strozzi, hosts temporary exhibitions of consistently high quality. If the spring 2026 programme includes a family-relevant exhibition, it is worth two hours. Check the Palazzo Strozzi website for the 2026 programme when planning your trip.
Families visiting Florence at Easter book early at Charlotte - availability over the holiday weekend fills in February and March. The position on Via Guido Monaco, five minutes from Santa Maria Novella station and twenty minutes’ walk from Piazza del Duomo, makes the logistics of Easter Sunday morning considerably less stressful.
