12 things to do and see in Florence

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12 things to do and see in Florence

There are so many things to do in Florence that a month is probably not enough to see everything. It is therefore better to focus on the truly unmissable attractions: those, to be clear, that "if you haven't seen them you can't say you've visited the city". At the same time, however, woe to lose the taste for discovery. There is one "Unexpected" Florence which often ends up crushed by the fame of its many "postcards". Watch out for children too. Being a city of art, a huge open-air museum, Florence could be "tiring" for the little ones. Don't worry though. In the city there is no shortage parks, open spaces and playrooms dedicated to them. Finally a piece of advice: better program a stay of at least 72 hours for a first approach to the city. Above, moreover, we wrote that a month is not enough to see everything; imagine then a day or two. There is a real risk of undergoing grueling tours with fleeting visits to museums and monuments that instead deserve to be seen calmly and thoroughly. Happy reading.

1 Piazza del Duomo

"If you haven't seen this, you haven't seen Florence". This is the writing that stands out on the homepage of the Piazza del Duomo website. A great open-air museum which includes the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore Brunelleschi's dome, Giotto's Campanile, Baptistery of San Giovanni Crypt of Santa Reparata and Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. Each of these monuments deserves to be treated individually. Over time, however, the idea of ​​transforming the entire square into a single museum center that can be visited with a single ticket prevailed. So don't be surprised that we put Piazza del Duomo in first place. It is really the very first thing to do in Florence, especially as the ticket allows a good margin of flexibility. to know more: www.ilgrandemuseodelduomo.it

2 Ponte Vecchio

One of the most famous bridges in the world and certainly also one of the most beautiful. Just think that it was the only one in the city to be spared by the retreating German troops in 1944. After all, this is a bridge that has seen so many, having always had to deal with the "whims" ofArno. In truth not only with those of the river. Also de 'Medici they put their own: first, with Cosimo I, favoring the construction of the "Vasari Corridor" (the adjective refers to the craftsman Giorgio Vasari, architect in the service of Cosimo I) elevated pedestrian path that allowed to pass by Palazzo Vecchio, political and administrative heart of the city, a Palazzo Pitti, family home, bypassing the people and their "moods". Then, later on, with Ferdinando I who arranged for the butchers (butchers) who had had a shop on the bridge for centuries to go away, replacing them with goldsmiths and other non-smelly trades. History aside, Ponte Vecchio is one of the most beautiful postcards of Florence. According to most, wonderful in the evening due to the romantic atmosphere that pervades the entire area.

3 Palazzo Pitti and Boboli Gardens

The historic residence of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany and the largest monumental green area in the city. Inside the building various exhibitions: the Palatine Gallery he Appartamenti Reali; The Gallery of Modern Art; the Silver Museum; that of Chinaware and Costume Gallery. Finally, as we said, the Boboli Gardens that for the quantity of landscape views and architectural details should be considered a real museum, which takes no less than three hours to visit. In short, Palazzo Pitti takes a lot of time away but like, if not more so, the other places described so far, it is an essential stop on a holiday in Florence. Open every day except 1st and last Monday of the month, 1st January, 1st May and 25th December.

Working Time

Ticket

4 Palazzo Vecchio Museum

For over seven hundred years Palazzo Vecchio is the heart of the civil power of Florence. It still houses several municipal offices, including that of the mayor, while the remaining rooms are used as a museum. Museum included in the network of civic museums of the city and moreover visible in preview on Google Art Project. Over 100 high-resolution images representing the entire museum itinerary. Among the images chosen the paintings of Salone dei Cinquecento, the maps of the Hall of geographical maps, passing through the Chapel of the Duchess Eleonora of Toledo and Audience Hall. In short, a virtual tour preparatory to the actual visit. Even from the outside alone, however, Palazzo Vecchio is worth a visit. In fact, we are in the presence of one of the most admirable examples of civil architecture of the fourteenth century, surmounted by the majestic Arnolfo Tower it can be visited with a supplement together with the museum. A curiosity. In 2010 the archaeological excavation of the basement of the Palace was completed. Numerous traces and finds of a pre-existing one have emerged Roman Theatre, whose construction can roughly be placed between the XNUMXst and XNUMXnd centuries AD These excavations have also become part of the museum itinerary. For information on timetables, ticket prices and how to use them: museicivicifiorentini.comune.fi.it/palazzovecchio/informazioni.html

5 Uffizi Gallery

Leonardo, Cimabue, Caravaggio, Giotto, Raphael, Mantegna, Tiziano, Parmigianino, Rembrandt, Botticelli etc.. No, it is not the formation of a football team, but only the (non-exhaustive) list of artists present in the Uffizi Gallery, together with Vatican Museums in Rome the most visited Italian museum in the world. A building with a characteristic U shape which every year reaches one and a half million visitors from every corner of the planet. This is where they are Venus by Botticelli, lo Shield with head of Medusa del Caravaggio and a splendid one Annunciation by Leonardo da Vinci, just to mention some of the thousands of works present. In short, truly an unmissable place for which it is worth taking the long line to enter.

Schedule
>> Tuesday-Saturday 8.15 / 18: 50 - Entrance every 15 minutes
>> Sunday 8.15 / 17.00 - Entrance every 15 minutes

Closed on Mondays, January 1st, May 1st and December 25th

Ticket
Full 8,00 € uro (12,50 € uro on the occasion of temporary exhibitions)
Reduced 4,00 € uro (6.25 € uro on the occasion of temporary exhibitions)

6 Accademia Gallery

Like the Uffizi also the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence it hosts priceless masterpieces made by great artists of the caliber of Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Pontorno and others, however, most visitors come in to see the world famous David of Michelangelo, statue of over 5 meters of purest Carrara marble which has always embodied the universal ideal of grace and beauty. True, there are two other copies of the David in town: one in Piazza della Signoria, where the original was once located; another, in bronze, in Michelangelo square. And yet it is here, in via Ricasoli, that every year hundreds of thousands of visitors flock to admire this masterpiece of Renaissance art up close. David is not the only sculpture by Michelangelo in the Accademia Gallery. There are four of the six "Prisons" performed for the sepulcher of Pope Julius II and "San Matteo", unfinished sculpture which in the intentions should have been inserted under the dome of the Duomo of Florence. In short, what has already been written about the Uffizi is valid for the Galleria dell'Accademia: the wonder of what awaits you deserves the little patience necessary to enter. You will not regret it!

Working Time
>> Tuesday-Sunday 8.15 / 18: 50

Closed on Mondays, January 1st, May 1st and December 25th

Ticket
full 6,50 € uro (11,00 € uro in case of temporary exhibitions)
Reduced 4,00 € uro (5,50 € uro in case of temporary exhibitions)

7 Basilica of Santa Maria Novella

In many articles that suggest the 10 best things to do and see in Florence, the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella is not there, and it is a real shame as well as a serious mistake. Just mention the Crucifix painted by Giotto, Wooden crucifix sculpted by Brunelleschi and especially the Trinity of Masaccio (in the third bay of the left aisle) to realize the historical, artistic and cultural importance of this church built in the thirteenth century by the Dominican friars. But there is much more to see, starting with external facade, one of the most important works of Florentine Renaissance continuing for Strozzi and Tornabuoni chapels without forgetting the Museum and Great Cloister, the latter visible on the occasion of extraordinary openings. In short, the Basilica Santa Maria Novella is an important chapter in the history of Florence and therefore certainly deserves an in-depth visit.

8 Dante's House Museum

Despite theacquisition of municipal assets in 1865, six hundred years after the birth of the author of the "Divine Comedy", the actual recovery of Dante Alighieri's house took place only many years later. To be precise in 1911, the year in which the municipality entrusted the reconstruction of the building toarchitect Giuseppe Castellucci (1863 -1939) among the greatest interpreters of the neo-gothic style in Tuscany. Today the home that once belonged to Dante Alighieri is a three-storey museum that retraces art, politics and culture of medieval Florence. A rich city, however, crossed by strong conflicts that in which the poet lived who - it must be said - was, on several occasions, also a protagonist of those same struggles.
The Museum, at number 1 in via Santa Margherita, respects the following times:

Wintry (1 October - 31 March)
>> Tuesday-Sunday 10.00 / 17.00
Summer (April 1 - September 30)
>> Every day 10.00 / 18.00

9 Florence with children

It is useless to go around it. Those who decide to come on holiday to Florence with small children must take into account that they will not be able to see everything. However, by involving them, perhaps by leveraging the playful aspect, you can do a lot of what you have set out to do. For example, you can turn the climb onto the Dome of the Cathedral (463 steps sic!) In a sort of competition, or play hide and seek (with all the necessary precautions) in the Boboli Gardens. Aside from persuasion, you also need to keep them entertained. For years, within Palazzo Vecchio interactive workshops, theatrical workshops and visits specifically aimed at schools and families with children have been included. A real Children's Museum to which we must add the playrooms managed directly by the municipality (click here). In short, you just have to get organized in time and everything runs smoothly.

10 Piazzale Michelangelo

For Piazzale Michelangelo what is said about Piazza del Duomo. It is one of those places that "if you haven't seen you haven't seen Florence”Being the most famous panoramic observation point in the city, a must for tourists and residents. The square and the loggia (today an exclusive restaurant but which in the intentions should have hosted the works of Michelangelo) were designed byarchitect Giuseppe Poggi as part of a broader plan to renovate the city begun in the second half of the XNUMXth century. The Lungarni, the Viali di Circonvallazione, the Viale dei Colli are as many chapters of this revolutionary urban project known as "Florentine renovation". Renovation necessary to raise Florence to the rank of capital of Italy, which it then effectively became, albeit for a few years. The view extends over the entire historic center of the city to the opposite hills of Fiesole e Settignano. There is also a bronze copy of the David (another is located in Piazza della Signoria, while the original is in the Galleria dell'Accademia). You can get there by car (there is a parking lot to the side), or with the line 12 of the local public transport service. If desired, even on foot, climbing the "Rampe del Poggi”From the homonymous square in the San Niccolò district.

11 The hills of Florence

There are places to do trekking it is a continuous stimulus for reflection. The hills around Florence are among them. In fact, there is not only the landscape drawn as far as the eye can see vineyards e oliveti, but also city, museums, Archaeological excavations, churches, convents, squares and naturally views breathtaking. Like the one of Ontignano, small fraction of municipality of Fiesole, or that of Troghi, fraction of municipality of Rignano sull'Arno. In short, it is even superfluous to have to remember, but woe to forget the camera. It applies to the city; it is even more valid for everything around it. Wonder!

12 What to eat

By Cantuccini, To tomato soup, passing through the ribollita up to lampredotto. Without forgetting, of course, his majesty the Fiorentina, the world famous Chianina steak. In short, in Florence everyone is fine: vegetarians and carnivores not to mention passionate drinkers Chianti. Over time, however, in a completely similar way to other tourist cities, Florence ended up becoming a prisoner of its culinary tradition. There are those who even put it among the first places among the cities with the highest risk of gastronomic disappointment. Therefore, we must pay close attention to the so-called "tourist traps", those restaurants that speculate on the typicality of Florentine food by offering mediocre or even poor quality products. The advice is to probe the ground well first, inquiring, reading and choosing the place that best suits you, not necessarily in the city center. If you are among those who consider food to be a fundamental aspect of a holiday, you will absolutely not disdain the fact of having to move by public transport or drive a few more kilometers by car.