While Rome is busy, bustling, and even a bit overwhelming. Florence is the Italian city of your dreams. A quick Taxi from the train station to our apartment rekindled our Italian love affair.  Cute, alley-like streets, shops, restaurants, the Arno river.  It just feels Italian.  A Renaissance city indeed. Forget Rome, I’ll take Florence any day of the week.  On our previous visit to Florence, some 15 years ago, we stayed a short 2 days.  This time, we opted for longer, 6 days – to allow time to visit the city and do a couple of day trips.  Now that we are here, it’s just not enough time.  I could really see myself hanging out here.

It is busy, touristy too, but somehow maintains its Italian heritage.  You DO have street vendors selling Florentine wares such as scarves, leather goods, and such.  But, the art. the art. Art just oozes through this city!  Artists recreating famous works of art in CHALK on the streets.  Think…Girl with a Pearl Earring…  They work all day and then wash it off at night when done and start over.  Not sure how they make money at this, but it is beautiful.  But you also see artists making cityscapes in charcoal, watercolor, and oil on canvas.  And then selling them.  Now, that is a great souvenir!

Must-see sights

The city is a sight in and of itself.  From wandering around, looking into shops, watching the artists.  Here are just a few of the must-see sights this city has to offer.

The Accademia 

Ok, David is here. That’s honestly the big draw. But take your time.  In the hallway where David is, there is the “Prisoner” series.  Michelangelo series where you can see the transformation of the block of marble into a person. At the end of the museum, there’s a Musical Instrument Museum where you can see various instruments.  The museum is quite small but worth browsing around.

Uffizi

Amazing huge museum. This is the main art museum.  The famous works and arts are here. Botticelli, DaVinci, Rafael. There is so much to see here.  The Rick Steves app is helpful and gives lots of information on the artwork. Beware, they move the artwork around quite a bit, so the rooms may not follow the same flow.

Pitti Palace

This is huge. This is an old Palace, converted to a museum. It takes something like 5 hours to see everything.  We saw a small piece of it.  We visited the paintings, apartments, and the fashion museum.  Which was really men’s fashion throughout the years.  But for someone who enjoys looking at designs through the years, it’s pretty interesting.  With your entrance fee, you can also visit the Boboli Gardens.

Central Mercado

Go. Just Go.  It’s in an unassuming warehouse building.  Go upstairs. tons of food vendors.  Everyone can have their own thing.  Cafeteria-style.  Great food.  Great chance to try new things. There are also vendors selling their products. Pick up some fancy pasta, sauce, or biscotti.

Day Trips

Florence’s location puts you so close to so many other experiences.  You can take the train to Bologna (about 30 minutes), Pisa, Milan, or the Cinque Terre (about 2 hrs).

With a car, you can visit Tuscany – for a taste of the country, wine, olive oil.  In 30 minutes’ drive, you can be in the country. really.  Enjoy driving the small hill towns of Tuscany and Umbria.

We really enjoyed our stay in Florence.  S. even asked if we could come back.  Hmm.  I see a study abroad program in her future.

C’mon Let’s Go!