Discover Florence through this detailed guide: places to visit and where to eat

Florence, FI, Italia

Florence: The final guide

Florence is the capital of Tuscany, located in the centre of Italy. The city contains many years of history, works of art, statues and food that can be found along the streets of the city.

Florence is very well connected both with the rest of Italy and with Europe in general. On the outskirts of the city you can find the Amerigo Vespucci airport. 

Which via the Tram allows passengers to easily reach the city centre. For those who would then like to hire a car, just a 5-minute bus ride from Terminal 1 are the car rentals.

For those wishing to travel to the Tuscan capital by train, the reference station is Santa Maria Novella, located just outside the city centre.

If, on the other hand, you want to visit Florence with your own car, it is advisable to leave your car in the car park outside Florence and then travel by tram, since the historic centre is a restricted traffic zone.

Florence is one of the cities with the most places to visit in Italy. The advantage of the Tuscan capital is also its size. As it is quite small, everything can be easily reached on foot in a short time.

The first place you cannot miss when you come on holiday to Florence is certainly the city's cathedral.

The cathedral of Santa Maria Del Fiore is the symbol of the city and was built from the 13th to the 15th century. It is also the church with the largest masonry dome in the world. Inside there are also many frescoes.

Another thing to visit is the 'Common Man' Sculpture by Clet Abraham. The artist initially placed his work illegally on the bridge in front of the Ponte Vecchio, so much so that the authorities took it away from him several times, but after a legal battle, the work remained installed where it is today, and has now become one of the 'modern' symbols of the city.

The cathedral complex can be visited by purchasing a ticket. It is also possible to walk up the 463 steps of the dome and reach the top of the lantern over 110 metres high. From there you will have a beautiful panoramic view of the city.

Palazzo Vecchio is located in Piazza della Signoria and is the seat of the City Council. It represents the best synthesis of 14th-century civic architecture in the city and is one of the most famous civic palaces in the world.

Giotto's Campanile is one of the four main monuments in Piazza del Duomo in Florence. It is 84.7 metres high and 15 metres wide and was designed by Giotto.

The building gradually expanded eastwards, occupying an entire block and lengthening the initial 14th-century parallelepiped to four times its size, with a plan resembling a trapezoid of which the façade is only the shortest side. On the main ashlar façade, the Tower of Arnolfo is one of the city's emblems.

The Baptistery of San Giovanni Battista is a famous religious building in Florence, located in front of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore and with the Archbishop's Palace behind it. Dedicated to the patron saint of the city, it was for centuries the place where Florentines were baptised and was the place where knights and poets were invested, as Dante Alighieri (who was also baptised here) recalls in Paradise (XXV, 7-9): "con altra voce omai, con altro vello ritornerò poeta, e in sul fonte del mio battesmo prenderò 'l cappello". It was the venue for solemn oaths, as well as for the celebration in honour of the city's patron saint with the gift of fine cloths (the palii) by the magistrates of the municipality on the feast of the Baptist (24 June).

The last monument in Florence's main square is the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, located in a palace in front of the apses of the cathedral, dominated by a bust of Cosimo I on the façade. The Opera del Duomo is still an institution that takes care of the administration, preservation and restoration of all the monuments and museums facing Piazza del Duomo and Piazza San Giovanni.

The museum now houses numerous works removed for reasons of preservation from the monuments in the square. All these four places can be visited with a single ticket. The dome of the Duomo, on the other hand, requires an extra booking.

Palazzo Pitti is an imposing Renaissance palace in Florence. It is located in the Oltrarno area, a short distance from Ponte Vecchio. The original core of the building dates back to 1458, as the urban residence of the banker Luca Pitti.

The palace was then acquired by the Medici family in 1549 and became the main residence of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany, first De Medici and from 1737 Habsburg-Lorraine.

The Ponte Vecchio is a historic bridge over the Arno River in Florence. The bridge connects Via Por Santa Maria to Via de' Guicciardini. Also famous for its colourful buildings that cover its entire length, it is also home to many of the city's historic jewellers and leather goods shops.

La Galleria dell'Accademia is the second museum that you absolutely cannot miss on your list of places to visit. Inside the structure is the statue of David

The first museum you absolutely cannot miss on your list of things to see when coming to Florence is the Uffizi Gallery. One of the most important Italian museums and the most visited, it is also one of the largest and best-known in the world and holds a collection of priceless works, particularly from the period of the Italian Renaissance.

During the visit, in addition to the many works of art, it will be possible to see the marks left on the wall from the May 27, 1993, Mafia bombing, when the Sicilian Mafia detonated a car bomb on Via dei Georgofili, damaging part of the building, and killing five people.

The Antico Vinaio is one of the shop, if not THE MOST FAMOUS, sandwiches shop of Florence. In 2014 it was also the world's best-reviewed store on trip advisor, and in recent years it has been expanding its presence nationally, and internationally. There are more than six Antico Vinaio locations in Florence, but the one in Via De Neri is the historic one where it all started. Absolutely must try

Florence's Central Market encompasses many restaurants where food of all kinds and for all palates can be found. If you want to try something special this is the place to be. Inside there is also one of Joe Bastianich's establishments.

The last venue we want to recommend is Duccio's. Opened a few years ago, it will take you to taste recipes from all over the world. His burgers are delicious and with bread made daily in an artisanal way.

Florence: The final guide

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