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Florence or Kyoto?

Florence and Kyoto side by side: recommended length, best time, daily budget, highlights and which one suits whom.

The tiled dome of the Duomo in Florence

Italy

Florence

A city you can walk. A museum does not have to take the whole day.

Country
Italy
Recommended length
2 days
Best time
May and September
Daily budget
110–170 €
Language
Italian
Currency
Euro (€)

Highlights

  • One museum, a long walk
  • An Oltrarno afternoon
  • A shared table in the evening

Neighbourhoods

  • Oltrarno — Around Santo Spirito is the right address for the evening.
  • Santa Croce — A breath away from the Duomo crowds, with a simpler walk home at night.

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Wooden houses and a pagoda in Kyoto

Japan

Kyoto

The crowd starts at eight. You leave at seven.

Country
Japan
Recommended length
3 days
Best time
Early April and November
Daily budget
120–190 €
Language
Japanese
Currency
Japanese yen (¥)

Highlights

  • Torii gates before eight
  • One night in a ryokan
  • An afternoon market

Neighbourhoods

  • Gion — People talk about it for the evening photograph. The morning is gentler.
  • Arashiyama — Take the bamboo grove early. In the afternoon the riverbank is emptier.

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Which one for whom?

Why Florence?

The Duomo is your compass. Florence itself slows down across the river, among the workshops.

Florence looks small, and the day disappears, because every corner calls you through another door. Choose one museum and leave the rest for the next trip.

Why Kyoto?

A temple path wants a morning. Keep the afternoon for a neighborhood, and end early at a ryokan table.

Kyoto pays you more clearly than most cities for an early start. You can walk the lower gates of Fushimi Inari before eight. Those same steps at noon are a different sport.

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More tools

01Do I need a visa?Where Turkish passport holders go visa-free, with a visa on arrival, or with an e-visa.Open →02Budget calculatorPick days, people and pace; see the group total and the per-person figure.Open →03When to goA month-by-month calendar. Which month for which country, which country for which month.Open →05Trip routesRoutes the editors built day by day, with length, pace and an estimated budget.Open →