Quit your job. Buy a ticket. Fall in love. Never Return. Plastered on a shop’s window, these words were probably the most accurate description of what visiting Florence felt like.

My memory of Florence is a fleeting one.  Of all the places I have ever been to, I long to return to Florence the most. If I ever move to Italy, I would choose to live here. Something about this city makes you feel alive.

Even though the city was brimming with tourists, somehow everyone just fell right into place. It did not feel suffocating. There is so much history, science, art and architectural magnificence crammed into one place, that a month spent here might not satiate your need to explore more of the city.

With a little over a day in Florence, my husband and I had to make compromises on what we could see. The maps we found in Florence were all so packed with information that it was difficult to pinpoint the things that mattered the most to us. Because I always need an excuse to draw, I came up with a fun little map of places I visited and places that I want to visit next time I go (depicted in red).

We stayed at the AC Hotel, which is a European-based line of hotels by Marriott. It was economical because we were able to use points. I liked the modern and simplistic decor, but the beds and sheets were uncomfortable. We stayed in an AC Hotel in Arezzo as well and I always woke up with a stiff back and neck.

The hotel was located outside the city center so it took us a little bit to figure out how we were getting around. Eventually, a short walk and a quick trolly ride, we found ourselves at the Info Point Turistico Stazione. Here we purchased our Firenze Cards, and headed to the Duomo. I’ve included more information on the Firenze Card at the bottom of this post.

Basilica di Santa Maria Del Fiore

Being the biggest cathedral in Florence, this basilica is commonly referred to as Duomo. We didn’t get there as early as I had hoped we would and the line had gotten so long that it was wrapping around the building (approximately the length of a block). Standing in line, we realized that the quick pass using the Firenze Card would not work here. After waiting for a few minutes, we made the hard decision to move on or we would not see much else.

But not before we took the time to walk around the historic cathedral, the baptistry, and the Campanile (Giotto’s Tower). It is possible to climb 463 steps to the the Duomo’s dome; this is where the line was the longest. I think it would have been really cool to do that. It is also possible to climb the 413 steps of the Campanile. An often overlooked part of the Duomo hype, is its museum. We decided to come back the next day to visit that before leaving town.

The size and scale of this building was impressive. The significant space around the structure, called Piazza del Duomo, exaggerates the scale. One minute you are walking through the narrow roads typical of Florence, and next you are suddenly standing in the open area with a giant structure in front of you.

My favorite part was probably the Giotto tower. As much as I was fascinated by the gothic architecture, somehow the detailed external decor did not appeal to me. It may have been the very prominent green and brown color coupling.

I will admit though; standing on top of the Vecchio bell tower later that evening, when I looked at the Duomo, I was taken back by how eerily beautiful it looked with the soft purple hills in the background.

Galleria dell’Accademia

Our next stop was the Accademia. How does one lose pictures from an entire museum, you ask? I’ll let you know when I find my pictures from Accademia a decade from now, sorted in some elusive folder, and tucked away in the dark abyss of a backup hard drive.

Originally built as a fine arts institute, this was later turned into a sculpture museum. If you are interested in seeing Michelangelo’s greatest work, this is place to go. Standing under a grand Renaissance-style dome, the flawless marble David pays homage to the biblical story of the young shepherd boy who defeated Goliath.

Originally designed to stand on top of the Duomo, the statue was placed outside Palazzo Vecchio in instead. It was moved here in the late 19th century for protection and a replica was placed in its stead.  The gallery also boasts several of his other works, including unfinished pieces.

Gallerie degli Uffizi

From Accademia, we walked over to the direction of Uffizi Gallery, making little stops here and there. The gallery has the greatest collection of paintings from prominent Italian artists like Leornardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Botticelli, to name a few. The gallery is laid out in two wings. One wing carries art from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance era. I liked this more than the other wing that focuses on Baroque. The layout allows you to see a lot of the major areas, in a short amount of time and the gallery does not generally have long lines. Photography is not allowed inside the gallery.

Museo Galileo

Art is definitely my thing but the scientist in me really wanted to go to the Galileo Museum, as it is conveniently located right next to the Uffizi Gallery. With a huge collection of barometers, fascinating old clocks, antique telescopes, and maps, this underrated museum was such a treat! It boasts one of the largest collection of scientific instruments.

The first floor focuses on the Medici Collection displaying telescopes, globes, and giant barometers. The second floor is almost entirely dedicated to the Lorraine Dynasty Collection that emphasizes the Italian contributions to electricity and chemistry. Galileo’s mummified fingers are also on display in the museum. You can read about the story behind the fingers here.

Palazzo Vecchio

Then we headed over to Palazzo Vecchio, which is also the town hall. The name literally means Old Palace. It’s original name was Palazzo della Signoria but when Duke Medici moved his residence to Pitti Palace, his old home started to be called by its current name. However, the square around the palace has retained its original name, i.e. Piazza della Signoria.

This building is huge and most of it is now a museum. The remaining part houses the mayor of Florence, and serves as the seat of the city council. We visited every corner of the building that was open to the public. The most prominent aspect of the interior was the elaborate ceiling decor in every chamber and hallway that we walked through.

Il Salone die Cinquecento (The Hall of the Five Hundred) is the largest room in the palace. It was originally constructed to conduct meetings of the Florentine Council, but was later used solely for the Duke’s public ceremonies.

After visiting the main palace, we decided to climb 426 stairs to the top of the bell tower. After the stairmaster workout, we reached the top and were rewarded with splendid views of the beautiful city, and a stunning sunset.

Ponte Vecchio

We enjoyed some dinner at Piazza della Signoria and then walked to Ponte Vecchio. The shops lining the bridge were all closed at this point, but the young and wild were out and about. We saw a crowd towards the middle of the bridge, and found that a live music performance was about to begin.

So we found a breezy spot on a brick wall, had a wonderful conversation with a couple of tourists, and enjoyed the music. Underneath the bridge, the quiet waters of River Arno carried away a dreamy couple, perched inside a cozy gondola.

Pitti Palace and the Walk Along River Arno

My legs were dead but we were so close to the Pitti Palace, it would have been a shame to not see the outside at least. In all fairness, I should have really drawn Pitti Palace in red on my map as we were only able to see the outside. If Palazzo Vecchio is a giant, this place is a mammoth. The front courtyard seemed like it was the entire length of the Uffizi Gallery.

I don’t know much about the palace, but I know that I want to go inside some day. It took us about 45 minutes to walk back to our hotel. The buses didn’t come as frequently at night so walking was a better option and we got to enjoy some pretty views of the river. We felt pretty safe for the most part, except one shady looking area. But even there, we found Utopia.

Museo dell’Opera del Duomo

We started our next day with a visit to the Duomo Museum. The museum can be a little hard to find as it is not located directly inside Piazza del Duomo, but is tucked away on the back side of the cathedral. This is a seriously underrated museum and I was surprised to find such little traffic there. The sculptures you see around the Duomo and Baptistry are all replicas. Over the course of time, the original pieces were all moved to this museum to protect them from weathering.

The most prominent piece is Michelangelo’s Pieta`. It is believed that he had intended this for his own grave but damaged Christ’s left arm (look for the break above the elbow in the picture below) in frustration because he felt that his skills were diminishing. Yeah. Talented people problems. The museum also boasts sculptures by Donatello.

What really blew my mind away were panels from the original doors of the Baptistry, called the Gates of Paradise. They were sculpted in bronze by Ghiberati. You have to stand there for a good 10 minutes, and stare at the details to really appreciate the amount of work and talent this man must have poured into creating these panels.

To Leather or Not to Leather

I have one rule when I travel: don’t waste money on buying useless things. Actually, that’s my general rule in life. However, I had a secret tourist wish, specific to Florence: I wanted a leather jacket and I wanted it from Florence. I wasn’t leaving without one. I hate shopping and it was a lot harder in Florence, with leather shops littering every street. After frustratingly wandering around for a good amount of time, I stumbled into a place that looked like a hole in the wall but had really nice jackets.

I am not 100% sure about the name of that place, but the tag on my jacket says Pelletteria Gabi Firenze. I looked it up on google maps, and it pointed me to a shop located on Via Ricasoli (Via means street, in Italian). It sounds about right since that’s the general area where I shopped. I love my jacket and it still looks as good as new! In case you are curious, it’s the jacket I’m wearing in the featured image of this post. While wandering around, we also snagged a cool belt and wallet for my husband, and a nice leather purse for me.

So if you’re asking yourself, “To leather or not to leather?” and you happen to be standing in Florence at the time. I say, “Leather”.

Firenze Card

It cost us a hefty 72 euros each and the salesperson told us it was not a smart move unless we were staying for 3 days. I spent about 5 minutes doing the math on time savings and decided it was the best option. I was impressed with how good of a job the authorities have done to organize tourism in this area.

You can find details on their official website but in summary, here is what the pass gets you:

• Access to any site covered under the card for 72 hours. Most importantly, for a lot of the sites this can get you priority entrance so you don’t have to wait too long. The priority entrance can only be used once per site.
• Citizens of EU under 18 who are in the same family unit as the card holder enter for free.
• Covers major sites like Uffizi Gallery, Accademia, Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio etc.
• Other knick knacks: A discount ticket for the hop on, hop off sightseeing bus; a Wi-Fi pass that can be used at hot spots, and a useful sightseeing map.

If you need more details to help you decide, I recommend reading Is it Worth Getting the Firenze Card? According to the author, you can now also use the FC to hop the Duomo line. Bummer. I wish that was an option when I visited.