Michelangelo here, Donatello there. As the cradle of the Renaissance, Florence was the city that brought you all those household names – and they’re all still here. The famed Uffizi Galleries and the Accademia are just the start – this is a city stuffed to the gills with museums, galleries, and masterpieces aplenty. Churches are full of frescoed chapels and heavily pigmented crucifixes. Houses are hulking palaces, built with hand-hewn, human-sized stones. Even the stores come with ancient beams and painted ceilings. Sometimes, the beauty is overwhelming.

That’s where the other Florence comes in. This is a city surrounded by nature like no other. Cross the Ponte Vecchio and the river Arno is the Oltrarno district, home to cobblestone piazzas, laidback cafes, and artisans plying centuries-old trades. You can stroll along the riverside, explore exquisite gardens laid out in the Renaissance, or wind around cypress-studded hills. At every turn, you’ll get killer views of the city and its gargantuan terracotta dome, standing out against the mountains in the distance. In Florence, even the landscape is art.

Summers are hot, sticky, and super busy, but other than that, any time is good to visit Florence — not least because you’ll spend most of your time indoors in the museums. Florence’s Easter celebration of the Scoppio del Carro, in which a team of cream-colored oxen tow a wagon into the Piazza del Duomo and then set off the fireworks inside it, is a huge event. In late June, Piazza Santa Croce is closed off to make the pitch for a game of Calcio Storico — or “historic football,” a mix of soccer, rugby and wrestling in 16th-century dress. Festa di San Lorenzo takes place each August, where there are celebrations including free lasagne in Piazza San Lorenzo, in honor of former ruler Lorenzo de’ Medici, the man who kicked off the Renaissance.

Things to do

Piazza della Signoria

Address: P.za della Signoria, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy

Kick back at one of the ringside restaurants (we like Rivoire) to take in the scene at Florence’s main square. The seat of power, with the Palazzo Vecchio and Uffizi at its heart, it’s a cobbled, open-air gallery of grand statues, a gushing fountain, and locals cycling through.

Duomo

Address: Piazza del Duomo, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy
Phone: +39 055 230 2885
Website

Florence’s brick-domed cathedral, known simply as the Duomo (“the dome” – still the largest masonry cupola on the planet) is the city’s icon. Climb the 463, narrow-threaded steps (not for the faint-hearted or claustrophobic) to the top for unparalleled views of the city, plus close-ups of Vasari’s famous murals inside the dome. Wander the square but don’t miss the sister museum, the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, home to Michelangelo’s Pietà and beautifully modernized in 2015. 

Uffizi Galleries

Address: Piazzale degli Uffizi, 6, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy
Phone: +39 055 294 883
Website

It’s one of the world’s most famous museums for good reason: there are over 3,000 works of art on display here, including iconic paintings like Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Michelangelo’s Doni Tondo. The second floor, containing 16th-century paintings, was refurbished for 2021.

Palazzo Vecchio

Address: P.za della Signoria, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy
Phone: +39 055 276 8325
Website

The castle-like building dominating Piazza della Signoria (and the one which took center stage in “Hannibal”) is this, the seat of power of the Florentine republic. It’s studded with works by the likes of Donatello, Michelangelo, and Bronzino, but it’s the ruling Medici family’s private rooms, frescoed by Giorgio Vasari, that really spin back the centuries.

Source: Travel + Leisure