Tuscany · Firenze
Fiesole
An Etruscan hilltop above Florence, still looking down on what later replaced it.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Fiesole is on our list
It holds Città dell'Olio and Comuni Virtuosi.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 24 min from Florence
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 13,809
- J9°
- F12°
- M14°
- A17°
- M21°
- J27°
- J31°
- A31°
- S25°
- O20°
- N14°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Fiesole was Viesul to the Etruscans and Faesulae to the Romans, who took it in 283 BC. Florence claimed it in 1125 and never let it go, which is the reverse of the usual order: the hill town came first, the valley city second, and the ridge has watched its own successor grow across the centuries since. The convent that crowns the highest point sits at 345 meters. Today the town functions as the hill seat of Florentine villas, the Villa Medici among them, so the relationship between Fiesole and Florence is not just historical but residential: those with means built upward, toward the older settlement, to look down on the newer one.
How to get there
From Bologna (BLQ), about 1 h 30 min by car.
Pisa (PSA) is about 1 h 44 min away.
By car from the center of Florence 24 min, Siena 1 h 27 min or Pisa 1 h 30 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Florence, Pisa or Bologna?
Coming by train into Firenze Santa Maria Novella? Fiesole is about 24 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Bologna airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Teatro Romano
Stone tiers set into the hillside below the cathedral, still used each summer for the Estate Fiesolana, so the seats fill for performances the way they once did in antiquity.
Cattedrale di San Romolo
Romanesque cathedral founded in 1028, flanked by a 42-meter bell tower, with a marble altar from 1273 and two Pietro Perugino frescoes.
Convento di San Francesco
Romanesque-Gothic Franciscan convent at the ridge's highest point, 345 meters, with cloisters and a panoramic view back over Florence.
Area Archeologica e Mura Etrusche
Etrusco-Roman temple, Roman baths and surviving Etruscan walls, the largest archaeological zone in the Florentine countryside.
Museo Bandini
Civic collection of medieval and Renaissance painting, della Robbia ceramics and Byzantine icons, founded from a private bequest in 1795.
From the guides
Where to eat and stay
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Serrae Villa FiesoleRistorante
Serrae Villa Fiesole holds one Michelin star and two Gambero Rosso forks (80/100).
Le Lance di FiesoleRistorante
A Gambero Rosso listing, at Le Lance di Fiesole.
Villa San Michele, A Belmond Hotel, FlorenceHotel
Villa San Michele, A Belmond Hotel, Florence holds one Michelin Key and a La Liste score of 90.5.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Fiesole meets both of our rules for a small town.
- 13,809 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Firenze, a city of 361,705, is 24 min by car. Closer than our 30 to 60 minutes: handy for everything, so check the town still keeps a life of its own.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 13,809, down 0.9% since 2015
- Nearest city Florence, 24 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Firenze, 5 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €2,250 to €3,400 per m² to buy, €6.20 to €9.60 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Commuter belt
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 11% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Florence airport (FLR), 23 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Florence, 24 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
11% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Ukraine and Peru, against 9% across Italy. 210 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United States, Germany and France. There are 271 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 14% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Florence province ranks 36th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Florence, 5 km as the crow flies, and it is a major one. The nearest children's emergency room is in Florence, 5 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Florence, 6 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Canadian School of Florence, 1 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Tuscany spends about €2,410 a month, €540 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €770 a year for water, on the Tuscany average. In Florence, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.29, a meal in a pizzeria €13.81 and a man's haircut €21.33.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 2% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 13% in a high or medium one. 15% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
ETRUSCAN ROOTS
Founded in the ninth century BC, a member of the Etruscan confederacy, with surviving polygonal walls on the north flank.
ROMAN THEATRE
Built in the first century AD with 19 tiers and a 34-meter diameter, still active as the venue for the summer Estate Fiesolana.
THE VIEW
The 295-meter ridge directly above Florence, with a panoramic view over the city.
Common questions
- What is Fiesole known for?
- Fiesole is an Etruscan hilltop above Florence, still looking down on what later replaced it.
- Where is Fiesole?
- Fiesole is a comune in the province of Firenze, in Tuscany, at 295 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Fiesole?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Florence (FLR), about 23 min by car.
- Can you get to Fiesole without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Florence to Fiesole?
- About 24 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Fiesole?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 16 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Fiesole?
- Magione, Monteprandone and Avigliana.
- How many people live in Fiesole?
- 13,809 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Fiesole a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Fiesole is a small town that meets both of our rules. The nearest city, Firenze, is 24 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Firenze, 5 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 11% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 295 m
- Population: 13,809
- Surface area: 42.19 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Fiesole appears in
- The best hill towns you can reach by train within 90 minutes of FlorenceNear Florencehill townby trainwithin 90 min6 towns · smallest 5,744 residents · closest 24 min away
- The best hill towns in the province of FirenzeFirenze provincehill town7 towns · smallest 3,438 residents
- The best hill towns worth staying overnight within 90 minutes of FlorenceNear Florencehill townwithin 90 minworth staying overnight7 towns · smallest 3,438 residents · closest 24 min away
- The best towns you can reach by train within an hour of FlorenceNear Florenceby trainwithin 60 min7 towns · smallest 4,402 residents · closest 24 min away
- The best olive oil towns within 90 minutes of FlorenceNear Florenceolive oilwithin 90 min8 towns · smallest 2,605 residents · closest 24 min away
- The best hidden hill towns within 90 minutes of FlorenceNear Florencehill townwithin 90 minhidden9 towns · smallest 2,605 residents · closest 24 min away
Featured on
Fiesole appears on this themed pick from our Collections:
Similar
Towns like Fiesole
What all six share with Fiesole: over 10,000 people · hill towns
- Written about. No. 60.
Magione
Province: Perugia
both inland, away from the coast · both have a railway station in the comune
Monteprandone
Province: Ascoli Piceno
both inland, away from the coast · both have a railway station in the comune
Avigliana
Province: Torino
both inland, away from the coast · both have a railway station in the comune
Isola del Liri
Province: Frosinone
both inland, away from the coast · both have a railway station in the comune
Bra
Province: Cuneo
both inland, away from the coast · both have a railway station in the comune
Borgo Valbelluna
Province: Belluno
Our guide
Our nearest guide, 38 km away
Arno Corridor: the towns, when to go, how to get there
The Arno Corridor guide came out of the letter. Letters from the towns we visit. Free.
Read the guide: The working road from Florence to the sea. 8 towns, the drive and train times, the months, where to eat and sleep.
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.