5 things to do in Florence

Florence. At the beginning, this wasn’t really on my list for our Italy trip. Only after having searched some information about that city, I had the strong desire to visit it. And I have to tell you, that it is absolutely worth it! Florence is a very charming Italian city with a lot of historical aspects.

So, Florence is the capital city of the the Tuscany, an Italian region in Italy. It is also the most popular city in that region. As to the historical aspect, it is known as the birthplace of the Renaissance and has a very medieval European city centre. In 1982, it was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. From a cultural aspect, there are a lot of museums and art galleries. So enjoy an maybe follow my top 10 things to do in Florence.

Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore

The Florence Cathedral is the main church of Florence. The construction started in 1296 in the Gothic style and ended in 1436. It is located in the Piazza del Duomo and includes the Baptistery and Giotto’s Campanile. They are part of the UNESCO World Heritage site and so it is, together with the historic center of Florence are one of the main tourist attractions in Florence.

Via Internet, I booked a ticket to get into the church, but also to get up to the bell tower and to the cupola. The first thing we did was to climb up the cupola of the Florence Cathedral. The steps up there were almost killing me, but it was absolutely worth it. I like climbing up on high buildings, so it was an absolutely must do for us.

Later that day, we also climbed up the bell tower, which was even worser, because of the strong wind. But I can only recommend to climb up those two historical buildings.

But the Cathedral is not only impressive from the inside, but it’s also stunning from the outside. It is the most famous building in the Tuscany, and represents the very city center of Florence. You just cannot miss it! Even though it is very touristic, it is a must do for all those who travels to Florence.

Piazzale Michelangelo

Basically the Michelangelo Square is a square with a panoramic view over the whole city of Florence. It was built in 1869 on a hill in the south of the city center. In the middle of the place is a bronze statue of Michelangelo’s David sculpture. The square is also dedicated to him.

You can get up to the Piazzale either by car, bus or foot. By car and by bus, it’s quite easy, but by foot, you have to get up a lot of stairs to reach this view point. When you’re taking the bus, be sure to take a ticket, because at the one time we took the bus in Florence, we got checked.

Anyway, the Piazzale Michelangelo is an absolutely must to in Florence, because you’ll have the whole view over it, from the Fort Belvedere to the Santa Croce. It’s really stunning when you finally reach it. But the most impressive, is the view on the Florence Cathedral. By the way, there is also a cafe up there, where you can have a seat and drink/ eat something. On the Piazzale itself, there are a lot of stands with touristic stuff, which you can rarely resist.

Galleria dell’Accademia

Let’s be honest, I only wanted to visit the Galleria dell’Accademia to see the original David by Michelangelo. But I have to admit, that this gallery has a lot more to offer. If you want to visit it, be sure to have the “skip the line ticket”. Book it in advance on the internet, it will safe you a lot of time.

Since 1873, the original David statue is standing in the Galleria dell’Accademia. Originally, the galleria was meant to be a Michelangelo museum with all its original masterpieces, but today, there are only a few works of Michelangelo in it. Besides the David sculpture, the galleria houses also the Michelangelo’s unfinished Prisoners, which were intended for the tomb of Pope Julius II.

Another famous work is the Rape of the Sabine Women from Giambologna, but there are a lot of other beautiful works from other artists from the 15th and 16th century and the Renaissance.

Ponte Vecchio

Ponte Vecchio means “Old Bridge” in Italian. This old bridge is a medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno River. Basically, it is famous because it has shops from all kind on it, like jewelers, art dealers and of course souvenir sellers. Unlike any other bridge in Florence, the Ponte Vecchio was the only one which wasn’t destroyed during WWII.

For me, this bridge is stunning, because of its whole architecture and of course because of all the shops on it.

Basilica of Santa Croce

The Basilica of Santa Croce is the largest Franciscan church in the world and also the the principal Franciscan church in Florence. Basically, it is famous for having tombs of most illustrious Italians, like Michelangelo or Galileo. The current church was built in 1294 and the constructions ended up in 1442.

As the church is only a five-minute-walk away from the Florence Cathedral, you can easily reach it by foot. There is not su much rush and you don’t have to buy your tickets in advance. So if you are interested in history, you have to visit this basilica.

 

So, those are my top 5 things to do in Florence. We basically saw everything listed here within 2 days. I’m sure there is more to discover in this beautiful Italian city, so I’m pretty sure I’ll return one day. I hope you liked my post about Florence and that I could have give you some tips for your next trip!