I’ll be heading to Florence, Italy this weekend. I’m going because so many people said it’s a beautiful town and I must see it. The tourism websites are overwhelming with things to see. I know the Statue of David is somewhere within reasonable distance to my hotel at the train station but that’s about all I know at this point.
With no car, I’ll be taking the buses or walking. I ask the Teeming Millions for their advice on what I should see. Gardens, parks, interesting architecture, that’s what I usually see when I travel. Don’t limit yourself to those things, though. I’d like to hear about your favorite place or trattoria/pizzeria/albergo.
I’ve only been to Florence once, so I have strictly a tourist’s impression, but you can’t go wrong with the David, the Uffizi Gallery, and the Boboli Gardens. I ate one of the best meals of my life at a tiny little restaurant recommended by the Let’s Go Guide, but I’ve long forgotten the name if I ever knew it. Still remember the risotto, though.
I lived in Firenze for 14 months. (Left July 2011)
You have to walk to most areas in the histroical center. Only taxis and the little electric buses are allowed. There is a Florence Card that included most of the ‘must sees’ plus the public transportation.
I recommend for cheap eats: Leonardo’s via de Pecori 11, it’s a self serve restaurant a block fom the Duomo. Good food. Take a tray and pick what you want. They provide tap water in pitchers for free!
There is also a charming Trattore off via de Seragli in the Outrarno.** Raddi’s**. Difficult to find though but a taxi driver might know it. House red is made in Fiesole a suburb.
Take the number 7 bus from Piazza San Marco to Fiesole, takes about 40 minutes up in the Tuscan hills, beautiful views. If you buy a bus ticket single from the tabacchi they are good for 90 minutes. Always validate!
The Duomo museum has a Donetella of Mary Magdalene and a Michaelangelo late Pieta.
On the other side of the river, there are several small shops where they make unbelievably gorgeous furniture using hand tools (or at most small power tools). We just walked around and talked with the craftsmen who loved showing off what they were working on.
You may need to get tickets ahead of time to the Academie in order to see the statue of David. Very much worth it.
Gorgeous place. I second the Uffizi. Make sure you see the Bernini statues, which are stunning. See Ghiberti’s doors in the Piazza del Duomo. Eat lots of gelati.
I was in Florence in 2008 and we had to book tickets ahead of time for the Uffizi, Accademia, and San Marco. You can do it through the site “Weekend it Italy”
Once you reserve and pay for your tickets online, you pick them up at tourist center downtown. Or at least that was the system when we went.
The same site also has a list of other tourist attractions, which might help you plan your trip.
The Uffizi: If you’re serious about fine art, take two days. There’s just too much too see in one day, and you’ll get overloaded and burnt out. “Ho hum, another Caravaggio”
The Accademia: David. Enough said.
San Marco: Another must-see if you appreciate art. The walls of this ex-convent are covered in frescoes by the painter Fra Angelico, including his famous “Annunciation”. There’s also a fresco of “The Last Supper” by Ghirlandaio adorning the walls of the gift shop! They had nowhere else to put the gift shop, so they stuck it in the same room as this famous fresco.
Pisa: Not in Florence, but an hour or so away by train. We’re all so used to seeing the image of the Leaning Tower, but it’s usually depicted by itself. It’s only when you see the tower leaning with the cathedral beside it standing straight, that you realize how bizarre it is. There are also some very interesting graves and tombs on the cathedral grounds worth seeing, as well as a large fresco of “The Last Judgement” with a very terrifying Satan.
The Dante Museum: Not very large, but an interesting place to visit if you’re interested in Dante. There are also two tiny streets downtown named after the first two books of his Divine Comedy: Inferno and Purgatorio. See if you can find them!
Ponte Vecchio: A large stone bridge over the River Arno with shops built into the walls. You’ll see it while walking around downtown.
I don’t know what it’s called, but right outside the Palazzo Vechio is a little “stage” chock-full of awesome sculptures. That’s worth the trip in itself. David is lookng right at it.
Climb the tower of the Duomo if you have the wind. And just wander at random, and think about all the people who’ve been there before and are now dead.
My daughter was just accepted to a program where she’ll live in Florence for 8 months and study there. She’s putting together her budget right now and we’re trying to figure out what to allocate for food. She currently has a placeholder of 250e / month is that reasonable for groceries. There’s also a line item for restaurants, shopping and museums of 200e / month so they’re separate line items.
When we lived there,( April 2010-July2011) we shopped around for groceries at various grocery stores, for the essentials. She should get a Conade card, it offers discounts at the Conade stores on sale items. You don’t get the discount if you don’t have the card. There are Conade stores in the Historical Center and by the Train station and by the Ponte Vecchio Oltrarno. There are two 'Markets: Mercado Centrale (close to the Duomo area) and Mercado Sant’Ambrogio (close to Piazza Santa Croce). These are good for fresh veg/fruits. They also have meat, cheeses and bread. Closed in the aternoons. There are a couple discounted groceries that she will have to take a bus to, Penny Market and Lidl. Remember to take your own bags (bustina) or you will be charges for the plastic bags. I thinks she should up her budget to 400-450e.(eek) Eating in restaurants is expensive for the most part, except** Leonardo’s** see my previous post.
One museum that we happened into and enjoyed - and wasn’t crowded - was the Museo Galileo (it was recently renamed). It had lots of his original scientific instruments and telescopes, as well as many stuff from many others, and some pretty impressive interactive displays. If you’re at all interested in science or mathematics, take a look. It’s very close to the Uffizi.
Sounds like the Loggia dei Lanzi. The nearby statue of David is a replica (though it’s standing in the place where the original David stood before it was moved to the Accademia). Similarly, the bronze panels that you see on the Baptistery’s Gates of Paradise are actually replicas–the original Ghibertis are in the nearby Museo dell’Opera del Duomo. However, most of the public statues that you see around Florence ARE the originals, including the ones beneath the Loggia dei Lanzi (Giambologna’s Sabine Woman, Cellini’s Perseus, etc.).
Florence is one of my favorite cities in the world, although as an art historian I’m probably a little biased–and my suggestions will accordingly be art-slanted. I agree with all of the recommendations for the Uffizi, and would also add a few of the more significant churches (in addition to the Duomo) that are worth a visit (most of which are free of admission, except occasionally for chapels that contain particularly famous artworks): Santa Croce (which contains the graves of Michelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli, as well as a couple of chapels with frescoes by Giotto); San Lorenzo (designed by Brunelleschi and contains graves of many of the Medici family; the adjoining library and New Sacristy were designed by Michelangelo, and include his famous statues of Night/Day and Dawn/Dusk); and Santa Maria Novella (this is the large church near the train station, and after which the station is named–so you’ll be pretty close to it. Stop by to see the chancel frescoes by Ghirlandaio and the fresco of the Holy Trinity by Masaccio. The adjoining cloisters and the “Spanish Chapel” are interesting and picturesque, too).
If you have a time, the Palatine Gallery in the Pitti Palace has some really beautiful Renaissance and Baroque paintings–the Raphaels are especially nice.
And don’t forget to go by the Mercato Nuovo to rub the snout of the bronze pig statue (the Porcellino) for good luck.
been there, and besides walking around (it’s a beautiful city), get on a bike & tour the hills of Tuscany. As of 10 years ago, there was a company at www.ibikeitaly.com, with English-speaking guides. It was awesome - we biked on a back road, thru villas, cypress trees, stopped at a vineyard, - about 20 miles round trip up & down, a beautiful day trip.
Well, I’m back. I didn’t get to see as much as I’d like as I lost my camera Saturday morning and spent much of the day on buses or the tram looking for another. On one of the tram stops, Cascine, the street light poles had three legs as the base. Three actual human/animal legs! I saw a lot of “real” Florence and it reminded me of Rome. I made it to one of the markets on Saturday morning. It was OK. It reminded me of the ones in other towns with added leather goods and tacky souvenirs.
As eenerms noted, eating in restaurants is expensive. As I walked back to the hotel, I stopped for a gelato. €10! Granted, it was a huge amount of gelato and if they’d had the prices out on the freezer, I would have gone elsewhere. Tangent, I didn’t see riso. I had mandarino. It was delicious.
At the carbinari station, I saw a pictures of officers in dress uniform posing on a hill with the city in the background. If it’s the place in the hills you (eenerms) mentioned, I’m sad I missed it. The dome of the Duomo and tower next to it rising above the rest of the surrounding buildings is a sight to see.
The Duomo is huge! I’ve seen a lot of churches in Europe. This one is totally unique. The architecture, the use of colors. I’ll be taking a day trip to get pictures of it. In the next piazza over, a brass band was playing. As I approached, it played the Italian national anthem. I love it. As they said on American Bandstand, I like the beat and it’s easy to dance to.
The train station’s main wall is beautiful, too. The sort of Art Deco signs make this train station unique. It makes a great first impression.
