Florence Travel Guide | My Life Trips

Florence

Information

Florence is the capital of the Italian region of Tuscany and is the most densely populated city in the region, with 383,083 inhabitants and more than 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area. Florence was a center of medieval European trade and finance and one of the richest cities of that era. It is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance and has been named “Athens of the Middle Ages”.

The city attracts millions of tourists every year and the historic center of Florence is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982. The city is renowned for its culture, Renaissance art, architecture and monuments. It also includes many museums and art galleries, such as the Uffizi Gallery, the Palazzo Pitti, and nowadays still have a great influence in art, culture and politics. Due to its artistic and architectural heritage, Florence has been classified by Forbes as one of the most beautiful cities in the world and in our opinion is the most beautiful city in Italy, of course after Rome. Florence has many attractions, but we will mention some of the most important ones although we are sure that you will find something interesting in every alley especially around the city center and the river!

What To See...

Ponte Vecchio Bridge

Florence’s famous bridge over the Arno River is one of the city’s main attractions and it is busy anytime of the day! On the bridge there are many famous historical jeweleries of the city.

Cathedral Of Santa Maria Del Fiore

This landmark cathedral for Florence is known for its truly marvelous marble facade, but it is also an awesome building in its entirety. It is located on the most beautiful square in Florence, Piazza Duomo and your visit here is more than necessary.

Piazzale Michelangelo

From this small hill you can admire the most beautiful view of Florence and relax after a little difficult climb. If you choose to come by car, it is an even better option and it will save you a lot of time. You can drink your coffee by admiring the truly amazing city views with a little bit extreme prices of course, but worth the money.

Piazza Della Signoria

This square is located in the heart of the city, and here are some major sights, such as the 14th century Palazzo Vecchio, the fountain of Neptune, and some of Florence’s most famous museums.

Piazzale Uffizi

This road will remain unforgettable to you and surely is one of the most beautiful in the city. With the statues from most important painters such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo, it will take you to the Renaissance era! Here is the famous Galleria Uffizi, a 16th century building that houses a huge collection of Renaissance paintings and masterpieces. Those who want to visit it have to wait for hundreds of meters queues, as it is perhaps the most visited attraction in Florence along with the cathedral.

Nearby Excursions

Florence is in a great geographical location and from here you can organize many excursions to Tuscany! There are infinite choices for one day excursions from Florence to some very beautiful cities in Italy. One of these is certainly Siena, which is considered by many to be among the 5 most beautiful cities in Italy. Siena is a medieval town in Tuscany, about 70 km south of Florence. With its most famous attraction, the beautiful square of Piazza del Campo, a medieval square surrounded by very beautiful buildings is surely the most beautiful spot in the city and what you should definitely not miss if you visit it. Walk through the narrow streets around the square and enjoy the atmosphere of this wonderful medieval city.

Siena is about 1 hour by car (70 km) from Florence and is very easily accessible either by car or by train, with frequent train connections from Florence’s main station. The ticket costs 18 Euros per person roundtrip and the trains have a frequency of about 30 minutes.

What To Eat

We have often mentioned how much we like Italian cuisine and pasta and of course we could not leave from Florence without eating in a very good restaurant. After a suggestion of the owner of the room that we stayed, we visited the restaurant O ‘Munaciello, which really impressed us with its incredibly delicious dishes, but also with the decoration and the atmosphere that the whole restaurant had. We strongly recommend you to visit it!

Those of you who are fans of good meat then Florence is the right place for you! Here you will find the famous Bistecca Fiorentina which is served in many restaurants. Its cooking is definitely an art and the piece of meat must always be cooked from room temperature and never from the refrigerator. It requires a high temperature and the meat is cooked for 3-5 minutes on each side, turning it once without seasoning. The interior part of the meat should be roasted rare with a little salt, pepper, olive oil and then you have the most famous dish in Florence! The Perseus restaurant is one of the best in the city and we strongly recommend it…

Italy and very good ice cream is something very common and of course in Florence there is no exception. One of the best ice creams we have ever had is in the Gelateria La Carraia right next to the river. Unbelievable, real flavors of Italian ice cream that will surely make you revisit it more than once! The quantity is proportional to taste and quality and for sure it will leave you completely satisfied!

How to move

The city of Florence, like most of the Italian cities, has a big problem with traffic and especially with parking. Although Florence is not a small town, it would be a good idea to constantly avoid driving around the city center because you will miss a lot of time looking for parking or even worse you will find a ticket when you return. Most of the sights are around the cathedral and the river, so it will be pretty easy to see them all on foot. Florence Airport is just 20 minutes (11 km) by car or bus and is easily accessible from the city center.

Where to stay

Accommodation in Florence is relatively expensive, but with a bit of searching you can find very good rooms in the city center at reasonable prices. We stayed at the Friends of Florence rooms, a very warm place with all the comforts just 1 km from the center in a quiet area at a very good price (70 euros) per night for a double room. The host welcomed us warmly and devoted a lot of time guiding us for everything in the city, such as sightseeing, good restaurants, etc. You can make your reservations via Booking.com

Booking.com