As I mentioned in my two previous articles, last year we took a 12-day road trip in Tuscany with my favorite photographer and our friend Borey during the month of September 2019 (from the end of August to mid-September, to be precise). During this 3rd stage, we visited the capital of Tuscany, Florence or Firenze in Italian.
I have to say that, unfortunately, we didn’t plan much time to visit the city of Florence. In fact, we stayed in an Airbnb apartment in Florence for 3 nights, but in the end, we only had one day to truly discover the city, which is obviously not enough. This is because on the 2nd day, we went on a gastronomic exploration in the Chianti region, but I will tell you about that in another article.
To tell you a little more about this trip as a whole, we chose to do a loop through Tuscany, which is one of the 20 regions of Italy and whose capital is Florence. Our arrival and departure point was the city of Pisa because we arrived by plane with Easyjet (see my article on Pisa for more details).
I have put a small map below with our different stops in Tuscany so that you can get an idea of our itinerary (and why not reproduce it if you like it).
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Table of Contents
How to get to Florence?
For our part, we came to Florence by bus from the city of Lucca. There is a VaiBus bus that leaves about every hour. Then, after our stay in the city, we took the train to Siena. There are also trains every hour from 5 am to about 11 pm every day.
Train Florence - Siena Travel time: about 1h30 Fare: ticket at €9.50 / person Bus VaiBus Lucca /Firenze Travel time: about 1 hour Fare: ticket at €7.60 / person
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Things to do and see in Florence
Obviously, the city of Florence with its many monuments, museums, and churches to visit would, I think, deserve several full days of sightseeing. We unfortunately did not have time for that this time, and I must say that this first taste of the Tuscan capital mostly made me want to return for a stay more intensely focused on its discovery (especially cultural). But that will be for another time…
Below, I am giving you a glimpse of some of the visits we made during this quick stop in Florence. We also mostly did a lot of walking to discover the city on foot, letting ourselves be guided by our intuition.
One of the must-sees of the city is obviously the famous Ponte Vecchio (old bridge, in Italian), which is the symbol of Florence and allows you to cross the Arno River that cuts the city in two. It is at once a bridge (the oldest in Firenze since it dates back to the 14th century) and also a pedestrian street, as well as a shopping street with numerous jewelry and luxury goldsmith shops.
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Take a Free Tour in Florence with Civitatis
Civitatis is a platform specialized in the online distribution of activities, excursions, and guided tours for the world’s main tourist destinations. The insider tip is that they organize Free Tours (so, free guided tours) in several major cities around the world, which have no fixed price, and at the end of the tour, each person is free to give the guide an amount in cash based on their level of satisfaction. During this free tour in Florence, visit the historic center of the capital of Tuscany, which is distinguished by its fascinating architectural heritage. There is also a 2nd Free Tour around the legends and mysteries of the city.
Free tour in Florence by Civitatis
Duration: 2h
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The Palazzo Vecchio
Among the must-sees, I also recommend that you take a tour to the Palazzo Vecchio, one of the great historical and artistic monuments of Florence built in the 13th/14th centuries, which is today the city hall of the city. It is located on the Piazza della Signoria, the most important square in Firenze.
Visiting certain parts of the building requires a fee (it also houses a museum), however, you can access for free an inner courtyard decorated by Vasari with views of the cities over which Austrian power extended, following the marriage of Francesco de’ Medici with Joanna of Austria (see photo below). In the center of this courtyard, you will also find a fountain adorned with a copy of a putto holding a dolphin by Verrocchio.
At the time of our visit, I even discovered within the palace a small exhibition on the history of the city of Florence that was accessible for free! Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find information online about this exhibition and therefore I don’t know if it still exists. On the Piazza della Signoria, you will also be able to see the Loggia della Signoria, which houses several ancient statues like a real open-air museum.
Palazzo Vecchio Piazza della Signoria, 50122 Firenze
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Go see the Duomo and the Piazza del Duomo
This place is the center of religious power in the heart of the city of Florence. It is the opportunity to see the superb cathedral (or Duomo in Italian) of the city with its bell tower and Brunelleschi’s dome.
The Duomo is truly the symbol of Firenze along with the Ponte Vecchio! Construction of the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral began in the 13th century, but it wasn’t until 1420 that architect Brunelleschi was entrusted with the task of crowning the 42-meter void left by his predecessors at the top of the structure. And that is how he built the famous dome, so iconic to the city today. The cathedral was finally completed in 1436, but it lacked its facade, which would not be built until the end of the 19th century…
To visit the interior, there is a single ticket that includes the visit to the dome, the bell tower, the baptistery, and the museum (€18), but we did not take it because we didn’t have the time to do everything, and furthermore, there was a gigantic queue to enter the building. In short, even if you don’t have time to visit the inside, going to see the exterior of this architectural ensemble is already an essential step during a first discovery of the city.
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Visit the Orsanmichele Church
This place of worship owes its name “Saint Michael-in-the-Garden” to the original church, an old oratory built in 750 in the garden of a Benedictine monastery in Florence, which was successively transformed into a loggia, a warehouse, and then back into a church. The visit to this church is worth a look for its frescoes but also for its very beautiful tabernacle ciborium by Andrea Orcagna in marble dating from the 14th century and encrusted with gold mosaic, lapis lazuli, and enameled plaques.
Orsanmichele Church Via dell'Arte della Lana, 50123 Firenze free admission
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Visit the Forte di Belvedere
The Forte Belvedere stands at an altitude on a hill inside the Boboli Gardens next to the residence of the Medici, the Pitti Palace. It is, therefore, the perfect visit to do to gain some height and enjoy a magnificent view of the city. This fortress, whose construction began in 1590, is the work of the architect Bernardo Buontalenti, who worked under the orders of the rich and powerful Medici family. In addition to the view, the site offers contemporary art exhibitions within its walls.
Forte Di Belvedere
Via di S. Leonardo 1, Firenze
Fares: €3 / €2 reduced / free for under-18s_
My favorite addresses in Florence
I must admit that throughout our stay in Tuscany, the city of Florence was certainly the place where we had the most trouble finding good food addresses at reasonable prices. Maybe because we hadn’t prepared ourselves well enough, I don’t know, but it’s certain that big cities often require more research to find good addresses…
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Dinner at Sergio’s “The best of tuscan cuisine” with MamazSocialFood
MamazSocialFood is a platform that allows you to book a meal with a local host anywhere in the world. I really like this concept, which I had already tested but with another platform during my trip to Marrakech. I sincerely recommend that you have this experience at least once because it is often a wonderful moment of sharing and it gives rise to beautiful encounters.
This was the case that evening and we spent a delicious moment with Sergio and Martha. We enjoyed good typical Tuscan dishes while learning more about the region’s gastronomy. Obviously, we had trouble fully honoring our hosts by eating everything (the meal was gargantuan); luckily the favorite photographer with his giant appetite saved the group’s honor! Special mention for the homemade limoncello (lemon liqueur originating from Italy) made by Sergio and Martha, which was absolutely delicious.
An experience that I really recommend if you are passing through Florence! Plus, Sergio was kind enough to come and pick us up near the center of Florence and bring us back once the meal was over.
MamazSocialFood Price for a meal at Sergio's "The best of tuscan cuisine" in Florence: €24 / person
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Obica, Mozzarella Bar
This address is specialized in mozzarella tasting. And since we are all three fans of this product, we wanted to test this restaurant. Our verdict is quite simple about Obica: the products are good and of quality, but we found that it still remains a bit expensive overall.
We also quite enjoyed the small central courtyard which allows you to eat on a terrace in peace inside the establishment.
Obica Firenze Via Tornabuoni 16
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Where to have lunch in Florence? Trattoria 13 Gobbi
Once again, we chose this address a bit in a rush, and while the pasta was quite good, the tuna salad I chose really had no interest… Otherwise, regarding the decor, I liked the no-frills Italian tavern atmosphere of this address.
Trattoria 13 Gobbi Via del Porcellana, 9R, 50123 Firenze
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Where to eat ice cream in Florence? Gelateria Santa Trinita
I admit that for ice cream, we didn’t look very far and we opted for this gelateria because it happens to be right next to the Airbnb we rented for our stay in Florence… These are certainly not the best ice creams in the city, but we’ll say it satisfied our craving for Italian ice cream (especially Borey’s, actually, who is a true ice cream addict, I realized that during this trip).
Gelateria Santa Trinita Piazza de' Frescobaldi, 8/red, 50125 Firenze
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My guidebooks for visiting Florence and Tuscany
For this trip, I had brought in my luggage 3 guidebooks in paper version that were very useful to us during our journey in Tuscany:
- The Géoguide Florence and its region (€8.99) which also covers a large part of Tuscany and is also full of good addresses.
- The Petit Futé Florence, Tuscany, Umbria (€13.95) which has the advantage of having a small detachable map of Florence.
- The Cartoville Florence (€8.95) which we particularly used to visit the capital of Tuscany.
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Thanks to MamazSocialFood for their invitation to test their service and to Gallimard and Petit Futé for the travel guides.
I hope that with all this I will have made you want to visit Italy, the Tuscany region, and Florence. And if you also have your own insider tips for this destination, don’t hesitate to share them in the comments!
Find all my articles on Italy below:
⇒ All my articles on Italy
MY STOPS IN ITALY
⇒ Weekend in Rome
⇒ The Aosta Valley
⇒ Tuscany
MY ITINERARY IN TUSCANY (2019)
⇒ Stop 1 Pisa
⇒ Stop 2 Lucca
⇒ Stop 3 Florence
⇒ Stop 4 Siena
⇒ Stop 5 The Valdichiana Senese
Photo credits: Nicolas Diolez and Melle Bon Plan Photos are not royalty-free; the photographer's authorization is mandatory before any use
