Located in Italy’s Tuscany region, Florence is one of the more popular cities for tourists to visit. It’s central location make it a great stopping point for those traveling North or South, which was the case with us during our visit. We were venturing from Milan to Cinque Terre and eventually ending up in Rome.
I think what surprised me most about Florence was the architecture. I had done very little research before heading to this beautiful city (I know it was very much not like me, I blame pregnancy) so walking the streets left me even more in awe than normal.
The city overall was quite busy, especially near the Doumo but I never felt claustrophobic the same way I did during our first visit to Rome. The buildings don’t tower over you the way they can in London and the streets were wider than what you would find in a place like Mykonos. It was the perfect city to be a tourist.
How to get around
Like most major cities, I prefer to spend my time walking around. I found this even truer for Florence as everything seemed to be concentrated within a walkable distance.
We took the train in from La Spezia but there is an international airport available in Florence as well. From the train station, we were able to walk to our Airbnb quite easily. Although, like always I would strongly recommend traveling Europe with as minimal amount of luggage as possible. Most of the streets in Florence were narrow and lined with cobblestones so those that *cough my family* who had larger luggage struggled a bit.
There is public transit available in Florence but they were on strike during the time we were there and the buses looked so small that maybe 5 people could fit inside! There are also cabs available to take you around but as I said, we found it easy enough to just walk everywhere we needed to go.
What to do
A lot of what you’ll be doing in Florence requires walking around and of course eating. Although, I guess that can be said with most of Italy. This was one of the places where getting lost within the different alley and passageways was a welcomed adventure.
The Duomo
No visit to Florence is complete without a visit to the Duomo. This Gothic structure was originally built on the site of the 7th-century church Santa Reparata and named after Santa Maria del Fiore. Workers started building the cathedral in the 13th century and the dome was later added in the 15th-century. In all honesty, as you wander around the exterior you can’t help but wonder how it only took 2 centuries to build this church. The details are absolutely amazing.
The entrance to the cathedral is actually free, which I wish I had have known in advance, although if you want to get into the structures in and around the cathedral you’ll need a ticket. This includes the bell tower, the Baptistery and the museum.
To climb the Dome you actually need to book your time and tickets in advance. Again, having done little research this trip we didn’t find that out until after standing in line for a good 30 minutes (yeah definitely a bit annoying when we only had a weekend in Florence). The bell tower however is the next best thing in terms of views and there is rarely any line. The climb is steep and can get pretty narrow so it’s probably not the best place for people to are claustrophobic or have trouble with stairs.
The Ponte Vecchio
The Old Bridge was originally built in the early 1200s and for over 100 years was the only bridge that crossed the Arno. During World War II, the Ponte Vecchio was also the only bridge across the Arno that the Germans didn’t destroy.
Today the bridge is a pedestrian-only trip with shops that line either side. Most of the shops are jewelry stores so while it was nice to look at them, we didn’t actually go inside or buy anything!
Uffizi Gallery
Believe it or not, this museum is the most visited museum in Italy after the Vatican Museums. There are over 2,000 pieces of artwork that are permanently displayed. For this reason, there are often extremely long lines just to enter. With the long line and amount of time needed to actually walk around and see everything in the museum, we decided to skip it but even the architecture of the building was beautiful to walk through!
Piazza Della Signoria
This giant square in the heart of Florence was once the political center in the 14th century. Now you will find quite a number of very impressive sculptures including the replica of the statue of David. The square is also a great place to grab a drink and watch the tourists go by.
In the square, you will also find the Loggia Dei Lanzi, which functions as an open-air sculpture gallery. Inside you’ll find famous works like Rape of the Sabines and Perseo.
Bargello Museum
One stop on our list in Florence was seeing the real statue of David. Sure, we saw the replica in the Pizza della Signoria but we really wanted to compare it to and see the real one in person.
The Bargello Museum wasn’t very busy so we could get in rather quickly and easily. It also isn’t very big so you could easily spend 45 minutes to an hour and see everything. The Statue of David is the showcase of the museum and much larger in person than I expected it to be, it was stunning. There are also a number of other pieces of artwork and sculptures worth seeing, it definitely wasn’t a waste.
Where to Stay
As a larger group, we found it was more cost-effective to stay in an apartment than worrying about getting various hotel rooms. We found the perfect spot in the heart of the city, and I must say was absolutely stunning. The Palazzo Signoria was modern and had all of the amenities we could have wanted during our stay. Plus it was located right across the street from arguably the best sandwich shop in the city.
If you plan on only spending a weekend in Florence then I would recommend choosing something central. There are tons of choices to choose from no matter what your budget. What I did to choose the right spot was narrow down a specific popular landmark and searched for places around there. I always find that’s the easiest way to make sure you’re going to be central. For this particular trip, I searched in and around the Duomo.
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