Prato travel guide
Donatello's pulpit, cantucci and Europe's textile district
Tuscany's second city, about 15 km from Florence, built on the textile trade and home to a large Chinese community. It has a striped cathedral with Lippi frescoes and an outdoor Donatello pulpit, plus the original cantucci biscuits. One day covers the centre; stay longer to use it as a calmer base for Florence in spring or autumn. Prices are high.
Only about 15 km from Florence, Prato is Tuscany's second city and has lived off cloth since the Middle Ages. Its textile district is now the largest in Europe, much of it Chinese-run; the city has one of Italy's biggest Chinese communities. Few tourists stay, which is the point. It is calmer and cheaper than Florence, with frequent trains for day trips.
The cathedral of Santo Stefano is the sight to see. Its facade is striped in pale stone and green Prato marble, and on the corner hangs an outdoor pulpit by Michelozzo and Donatello, built to display the relic of the Virgin's girdle. Inside, Filippo Lippi's frescoes in the main chapel include the Dance of Salome. Also within the walls are the Castello dell'Imperatore, built for Frederick II, and the Museo del Tessuto, which tells the textile story.
Cantucci come from here: hard almond biscuits made for dipping in vin santo, sold in every bakery. On 8 September the city holds its main festival, when a costumed procession winds through the centre before the girdle is shown from the outdoor pulpit. For an evening out, the Teatro Metastasio, built in 1830, stages opera, plays and concerts.
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A striped cathedral with Lippi and Donatello, a Swabian castle, a textile museum and the original cantucci.
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Best time to visit Prato
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Mild days for the old town and day trips to Florence.
Hot inland; plan sightseeing for the mornings.
The city's festival, with a costumed procession and the girdle shown from the pulpit.
On 8 September a costumed procession crosses the centre and the Virgin's girdle is shown from the cathedral's outdoor pulpit.
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Getting there
Peretola tram, Pisa trains and three Prato stations
Prato is close to two airports. Florence's Amerigo Vespucci (FLR) at Peretola is nearest; the T2 tram runs from the terminal to Firenze Santa Maria Novella in about 20 minutes, and regional trains from there reach Prato in under half an hour.
- Florence airport
- T2 tram to Santa Maria Novella, then a regional train to Prato
- Prato Porta al Serraglio
- The station closest to the old town, five minutes from Piazza del Duomo
- Pisa airport
- Trains via Florence or along the Lucca and Pistoia line
- Prato has three stations.
- By car, the A11 exits are Prato Est and Prato Ovest.
- Leave the car outside the old centre; walls, narrow streets and pedestrian zones make driving and parking there a struggle.
Where to stay
Inside the hexagon of walls or by the Bisenzio and Prato Centrale
Prato works well as a cheaper alternative to sleeping in Florence, and its hotel stock is aimed at business visitors to the textile district, so weekends can bring better rates than weekdays. The medieval walls enclose a compact six-sided centre where every sight is within a 15-minute walk.
- Inside the walls
- Guesthouses and small hotels around Piazza del Duomo and the Castello dell'Imperatore; quiet at night, but hard to reach by car
- Near Porta al Serraglio
- On the northern edge of the old town with its own station, a five-minute walk to the cathedral; the best mix of sights and trains
- Prato Centrale
- Across the Bisenzio river east of the walls, handy for fast trains to Florence and Bologna, about 15 minutes' walk from the Duomo
- Along Via Pistoiese
- Just outside the walls in the Chinese quarter; good food on the doorstep, few hotels and a gritty feel
- Choose between waking up next to the Duomo and being on the platform for Florence in a few minutes.
- Weekday stays clash with textile trade buyers; compare Friday and Saturday rates before you book.
Getting around
Inside the walls on foot, Autolinee Toscane buses beyond
The walled centre is best seen on foot. For anything further, Autolinee Toscane, which took over local buses across Tuscany in 2021, runs the city routes and the regional lines to Florence and the surrounding towns; check the current line numbers on its website or app before you travel.
- City buses
- Autolinee Toscane urban routes, plus regional lines to Florence
- Taxis
- Ranks at Piazza Duomo, Piazza Stazione and Via Cavour
- If you are heading straight to the Duomo, get off the train at Porta al Serraglio, the station closest to the old town.
Know before you go
What makes Prato worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- Donatello's outdoor pulpit on the corner of the Duomo, with its dancing children.
- Filippo Lippi's Dance of Salome in the cathedral's main chapel.
- Cantucci dipped in vin santo, in the town they come from.
Good to know
- The Sacred Girdle comes out only on a few feast days, the biggest being 8 September; on other days you see the empty pulpit.
- Via Pistoiese wakes up in the evening, just outside Porta Pistoiese, when its Chinese restaurants and grocers are at their busiest.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Prato, month by month
Month-by-month climate figures for Prato are being researched.
Lippi's frescoes, Frederick II's castle and the textile museum
One day in Prato covers the walled centre on foot from Porta al Serraglio station. See Donatello's outdoor pulpit and Filippo Lippi's frescoes in the cathedral of Santo Stefano, the Castello dell'Imperatore built for Frederick II, and the Museo del Tessuto, which tells the story of the city's cloth trade.
Morning: get off the train at Prato Porta al Serraglio, five minutes from Piazza del Duomo. Start at the cathedral of Santo Stefano: look up at Donatello's outdoor pulpit on the corner of the facade, then go inside for Filippo Lippi's frescoes in the main chapel. The Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, in the Bishop's Palace next door, holds more of the cathedral's treasures.
Midday: walk across the old centre to the Castello dell'Imperatore, the square-walled castle built for Frederick II, and have lunch nearby.
Afternoon: spend an hour at the Museo del Tessuto to understand the cloth trade that built the city, from the medieval merchant Datini to today's fast-fashion workshops. Buy a bag of cantucci before you leave. Evening: catch a show at the Teatro Metastasio, or, with time before dark, make the short trip south to Poggio a Caiano and its Medici villa. Florence is a short train ride away if you are using Prato as a base.
Cantucci, pink mortadella and alchermes peaches
Prato's best-known food is cantucci, twice-baked almond biscuits dunked in vin santo. Also look for mortadella di Prato, coloured pink with alchermes liqueur, and pesche di Prato, peach-shaped pastries soaked in the same liqueur. Old-centre trattorie cost less than Florence, and Via Pistoiese has the city's Chinese restaurants and grocers.
Prato's best-known food fits in a paper bag. Cantucci, also sold as biscotti di Prato, are twice-baked almond biscuits, hard enough to need dunking; the local way is in a glass of vin santo, the amber Tuscan dessert wine, at the end of a meal.
Look also for mortadella di Prato, a spiced pork sausage coloured pink with alchermes liqueur, and the pesche di Prato, soft pastries soaked in the same liqueur and shaped like peaches. Both are hard to find outside the city.
For sit-down meals, the trattorie and pizzerie of the old centre are cheaper than their Florentine equivalents. Along Via Pistoiese, the heart of the Chinese community, restaurants and grocers serve a very different Prato, and it is worth an evening for that alone.
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How we research our Prato travel guide
Prato has three railway stations and a tram link toward Florence airport, and their details, with Autolinee Toscane bus lines, are updated when numbers change. References are the Comune di Prato website and Italia.it.
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Checked against trusted sources:
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Prato.
Getting there
About 15 to 17 km, a short regional train ride or a trip on an Autolinee Toscane regional bus.
Yes. The T2 tram runs from Florence airport to Santa Maria Novella in about 20 minutes, and regional trains from there reach Prato in under half an hour. Flying into Pisa (PSA) means a train via Florence or along the Lucca and Pistoia line.
Prato is close to two airports. Florence's Amerigo Vespucci (FLR) at Peretola is nearest; the T2 tram runs from the terminal to Firenze Santa Maria Novella in about 20 minutes, and regional trains from there reach Prato in under half an hour.
General
Porta al Serraglio. It sits on the northern edge of the walled town, about five minutes on foot from Piazza del Duomo, while Centrale is across the river.
It was built by Michelozzo and Donatello so the Virgin's girdle, the city's prized relic, could be shown to crowds gathered in the square below.
They are cantucci, hard twice-baked almond biscuits that every bakery in town sells by the bag. Dunk them in vin santo after dinner, as locals do.
Yes. It is quieter and cheaper, with frequent trains and buses to Florence.
The city's main festival, with a costumed procession and the showing of the Virgin's girdle from the cathedral's outdoor pulpit.
Park outside the medieval walls and walk in. Traffic restrictions and pedestrianised lanes cover much of the old town, and spaces inside are few.
Prato's textile museum, which tells the story of the cloth trade that has shaped the city since the Middle Ages.
Yes, all three fit comfortably into one unhurried day. Extra nights make sense only if you use Prato as a cheaper base for Florence.
The walled centre is best seen on foot. For anything further, Autolinee Toscane, which took over local buses across Tuscany in 2021, runs the city routes and the regional lines to Florence and the surrounding towns; check the current line numbers on its website or app before you travel.
Timing & weather
The best time to visit Prato is Apr to Jun, Sep to Oct. Mild weather, and early September brings the 8 September festival.
- Best overall: April - June, September - October (Mild days for the old town and day trips to Florence)
- Summer: July - August (Hot inland; plan sightseeing for the mornings)
- Early September: 8 September (The city's festival, with a costumed procession and the girdle shown from the pulpit)
Visa & documents
Schengen rules apply in Italy. Citizens of the EU and of many other countries, including the US, UK, Canada and Australia, can visit visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180-day period; other nationalities need a Schengen visa. The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) records non-EU travelers' fingerprints and a photo at the border.
Health & safety
Violent crime against visitors to Italy is rare. Pickpocketing is the main problem, especially on buses and metros in Rome (bus 64 is notorious), at Roman and Florentine sights, and at Termini and Naples Centrale stations. Wear your bag across your body and zip it, and use only licensed white taxis or official ride apps.
