Where to watch football in Florence

Florence is a football city — home to Fiorentina, the viola, and a cluster of Irish pubs that treat a big match like a public holiday. For a guaranteed screen and a crowd, start with the pubs below; they're the reliable core year-round. Florence watched the 2026 World Cup final in these places too — Spain beat Argentina 1–0 in extra time, Ferran Torres scoring deep in the second period of extra time (FIFA).

The Irish pubs — the reliable core

For a guaranteed screen and a crowd, the Irish and sports pubs are the safe bet — but book ahead for big evening fixtures, because they fill. Florence has a solid cluster of them across the centre: The Fiddler's Elbow by Santa Maria Novella, The Joshua Tree nearby, Finnegan up towards San Gallo, and — the two with the most screens between them — The Lion's Fountain in Santa Croce and the Red Garter on Via de' Benci, both of which take reservations and show everything.

These are the places to plan around for a big evening game. For the quarter of town each sits in, the Santa Croce walk covers the Lion's Fountain end. For a marquee tie in the centre, Hard Rock Cafe on Piazza della Repubblica also screens big matches on a giant screen with reservable seating (The Florentine).

Outdoors in summer

When the weather's right, the best way to watch is outside, by the river — but only in the summer months. The standout is Atollo, the open-air venue with a giant screen down on the Arno at Lungarno Aldo Moro — the most distinctive spot on this list. A smaller riverside option is Surf Ventura, over in San Niccolò on the south bank. Watching under the open sky with the river sliding past is a different thing from a dark pub, and in a Florentine July it's the obvious move when the fixture and the weather line up. Both are summer-only venues, so check their social pages the day of a match for the screening and any late-night hours.

The football calendar

Most of the year, football in Florence means Fiorentina and the pub circuit — not a city fan zone. ACF Fiorentina play home Serie A fixtures at Stadio Artemio Franchi in Campo di Marte, roughly August through May; tickets and season passes go through the club (ACF Fiorentina). The stadium has been an active building site since February 2024 — the Comune's renovation is targeting full completion for the 2029/30 season, with the first phase of structural work due by early 2027 (Comune di Firenze). Fiorentina has played on through the works so far at reduced capacity — but the club has warned that later phases could force it away from the Franchi for months at a time, so check the official site for where a match is actually being played before you buy.

Midweek, the Irish pubs above are where European nights and foreign-league fixtures land — Champions League ties, Premier League Saturdays, whatever subscription they've got. That's the ordinary rhythm. A summer World Cup or Euros is the exception: the pubs and riverside screens fill up, and the city briefly treats every knockout like a local derby — as it did for the 2026 final.

Watching it right

A few practical notes, honestly held. Because so many bars carry a screen subscription, a great many ordinary bars will have a match on — so if the pubs are full, a café bar may well have it on too. For evening kickoffs, reserve: the pubs above take bookings, and a warm-night fixture fills a place fast. For late kickoffs, which venues stay open is uncertain, so message the bar the same day rather than trusting a listing.

We haven't sat in these bars this week, so we won't pretend to report the atmosphere; what we can say is which places have the screens and take bookings, and that the river venues are the ones worth the walk in summer. Hungry before kickoff? See where to eat in Florence — one of our Florence guides.

Plan how to reach the venues → getting around Florence