Bardini Garden in Florence

We can never know Florence well enough, there is always a hidden corner to discover in the Renaissance city. Here’s one of Florence’s lesser-known places to visit: the Bardini Garden. With one of the most beautiful views of the city, the Bardini Garden is close to the more famous Boboli (and there is a cumulative ticket to enter both!).

Until January 31st 2011 there is a special exhibition of wood scuptures by Giuseppe Gavazzi called “La Grande Madre”. “There is a perfect match between location and exhibition,” says Damiano Meola, one of the members of the Voglio Vivere Così Social Media Team. He recommends it, especially on these hot sunny days: “Stop at the cafeteria and have a cup of coffee while you enjoy the great panorama”. Below you can view his pictures. 

Bardini Garden History

The history of the garden helps explain why it’s not really all that well known, not even to Florentines. If we named gardens and palaces after their first owners, this would be the “Mozzi Garden”, for it was annexed to the Mozzi palace back in the 13th century. A later member of the Mozzi family in the 18th century installed a Baroque staircase (still extant) and had the garden done in that style. It was bought by Stefano Bardini, the famous antiques dealer whose villa is now the nearby Bardini Museum (the entrance is across the street). Bardini left the museum to the state and the garden to his son, who donated that to the state after his death in the 1960s. But for the following 40 years it fell into terrible disrepair! Thanks to the involvement of a bank and the creation of a foundation to deal with it, in 2000 they started restoring the garden and it only reopened to the public last year. The extensive restoration project aimed to preserve the earlier versions of the garden and to allign it with Tuscan traditions of landscape design as well as to plant elements like camellias, Viburnum, hydrangeas, glycines, and rose trees of various species.

Bardini Garden Photos

Practical Information

Where: The entrance to the Bardini Garden is in Via dei Bardi 1 rosso or Costa San Giorgio 2.
For further information visit the official website of the Bardini Garden.

How to get there

On foot – it’s about 15 minutes walking from Santa Maria Novella train station

By Bus -  take one of these buses: 23, 12, D or C3.
If you want to check out the bus itineraries visit Ataf website.

Opening hours Bardini Garden is open every day from:
8.15 am- 4.30 pm (November, December, January, February)
8.15 am – 5.30 pm (March)
8.15 am – 6.30 pm (April, May, September, October)
8.15 am  – 7.30 pm (June, July, August)

Closed only on the first and last Monday of the Month, on January 1st, May 1st and December 25th

Prices

Prices to the Boboli Gardens:

Adults: Euro 7,00
Reduced: Euro 3,50 (European Union citizens aged 18 – 25 on presentation of a document)
Free Entry (click here to learn more)
Combined tickets (click here to learn more)

Information

Bookshop – Costa San Giorgio 2, phone (+39) 055 2638599
Bookshop – Via dei Bardi 1 rosso, phone (+39) 055 2346988

Reservations

Reservations shouldn’t ever be really necessary but if you should so desire you can do so via Firenze Musei:
phone: (+39) 055 294883 or (+39) 055 290112
from Monday to Friday: 8.30 am -6.30 pm, Saturday 8.30 am -12.30 pm.
Reservation cost: € 3,00

Check out the video of the Bardini Garden by FlipFlorence!