Prato day trip from Florence
A day trip to Prato from Florence: the cathedral with Donatello's pulpit and Filippo Lippi's frescoes, the Textile Museum in an old wool mill, cantucci at Biscottificio Mattei, then the Palazzo Pretorio Museum after lunch, Santa Maria delle Carceri and the walls of the Castello dell'Imperatore. Every stop has a typical visit length.
How long do you have?
Map: 1 days
Prato in 1 day
Day 1
Prato Cathedral
Romanesque cathedral striped in green and white marble, with Donatello's corner pulpit outside and Filippo Lippi's frescoes of Salome's dance in the choir.
Prato Textile Museum
Italy's largest textile museum, in the old Campolmi wool mill inside the walls, showing how cloth made Prato rich, from medieval silks to modern fabrics.
Biscottificio Antonio Mattei
The bakery, open since 1858, that made Prato's almond biscotti famous, sold in its blue paper bags; buy a bag of cantucci.
Palazzo Pretorio Museum
Medieval palace on Piazza del Comune, now the city museum, with paintings by Filippo and Filippino Lippi and the story of the Sacred Girdle.
Santa Maria delle Carceri
Giuliano da Sangallo's Renaissance church on a Greek-cross plan, white and green outside, with Andrea della Robbia's terracotta medallions inside.
Castello dell'Imperatore
Frederick II's 13th-century castle, the only Swabian castle in central and northern Italy; walk its ramparts for views over the rooftops.
Watch: Prato
A one-minute look at the plan: every stop, day by day, with the map.
Getting there
Regional trains from Florence take about 20 to 30 minutes: get off at Prato Porta al Serraglio, a few minutes' walk from the cathedral, or at Prato Centrale, about 15 minutes' walk across the Bisenzio river. By car it is about half an hour, but the historic centre is a limited-traffic zone, so park outside the walls.
Staying in Florence? This day fits into those city plans, and in the Trip Builder it is one click under each of them.
When to go to Prato
Prato works all year as a city trip, with spring and autumn the most pleasant for walking the old town. Summer is hot, as in Florence, but much less crowded. On 8 September the city's festival brings a historic procession and the showing of the Sacred Girdle, which is also shown at Christmas and Easter.
Plan the rest of your trip
- Where to stay: hotels in Prato on Booking.com or Trip.com
- Skip-the-line tickets: museums and sights in Prato on Tiqets
- Tours and day trips: things to do in Prato on GetYourGuide
- Data on arrival: an eSIM for Italy from Airalo
Some of these are affiliate links: we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Tips for Prato
- The Palazzo Pretorio Museum and the Castello dell'Imperatore close on Tuesdays and the Textile Museum on Mondays; Wednesday to Sunday suits this plan best.
- The Sacred Girdle, the relic in the cathedral, is shown from Donatello's pulpit only on a few feast days a year, above all on 8 September with a historic procession.
- Filippo Lippi's frescoes in the cathedral's main chapel may need a separate ticket and can't be visited during Mass.
- Buy cantucci at Mattei to dip in vin santo, and try mortadella di Prato, flavoured with alchermes, and the pink, cream-filled pesche di Prato pastries.
- Just outside the walls, Via Pistoiese is the heart of Prato's Chinatown, one of Europe's largest Chinese communities, good for dumplings and noodles at dinner.
Make it your own
Open the guide in Andiamo Places to see every stop on a map with walking directions, move places between days, check opening hours for your dates, and add your own finds. After the trip, your photos become a journal and, if you like, a printed photo book.
Guides are made with the help of AI and public sources such as Wikipedia, and may contain errors. Opening hours and prices change, so check before you go. Spotted a wrong photo, a pin in the wrong place, a missing stop or a better one? Write to andiamotravelapp@gmail.com: the e-mail opens with this guide filled in.
Photo credits
- Castello dell'Imperatore: Sailko, CC BY 2.5
- Palazzo Pretorio Museum: No machine-readable author provided. Idéfix~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0
- Prato Cathedral: Massimilianogalardi, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Prato Textile Museum: Massimilianogalardi, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Santa Maria delle Carceri: Sailko, CC BY 3.0
Opening hours change; check before you go. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
