Florence, Italy

October 25 - November 1, 2019

Florence, the capital of Italy’s Tuscany region, is home to many masterpieces of Renaissance art and architecture. One of its most iconic sights is the Duomo, a cathedral with a terracotta-tiled dome engineered by Brunelleschi and a bell tower by Giotto. The Galleria dell'Accademia displays Michelangelo’s “David” sculpture. The Uffizi Gallery exhibits Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus” and da Vinci’s “Annunciation.” We thought we would be bored in Florence since we’re not museum people, but we ended up loving our stay in Florence. With easy walking, great food choices, beautiful gardens, nice viewing spots, and a short day-trip to Pisa, what’s not to love??

Day 1 - Florence around town, Uffizi, Pitti Palace, Boboli Garden

Day 2 - Santo Spirito Market, Bardini Garden, Piazza Michelangelo

Day 3 - Pisa

Day 4 - Duomo and Bell Tower

Day 5 - Central Market, Accademia

Day 6 - Home School

Voyagers’ Tips: Florence is a very walk-able city, small and compact. Public transportation is simply not needed once you arrive at the city. The Duomo area is a nice and central area to stay. Advance reservations are a must for the Uffizi and the Accademia, unless you have a Florence Pass or Friends of Uffizi pass to skip the lines. We purchased the “Friends of Uffizi” pass and used it to skip the line in Uffizi, as well as to save money on visiting the Pitti Palace, Boboli Garden and Bardini Garden. It doesn’t include entrance to the Accademia, however, so we had to book that separately. The Florence Pass is good if you want to cram everything into three days; we were spreading out our activities over a week, so the 3-day pass wouldn’t work for us. There are many great restaurants with reasonable prices near the train station, well worth the walk away from the main attractions.

Traveling by train: The train system in Italy can be intimidating at first, but it becomes very intuitive once you figure out the system. The two main websites show all your travel options: trenitalia.com and italiarail.com. You can buy train tickets online or at the station. If buying regional train tickets at the station, either buy them at the ticket counter or at one of the “TrenItalia” booths, which are different from the booths for high speed trains. Look for the platform number by looking up the train number; it’s harder to look up the location if your destination is not the final stop, so look up the train number instead.

Day 1- Uffizi, Pitti Museum, Boboli Garden

Venice around town

Uffizi Museum

Piazza Pitti

Boboli Garden

Florence around town

We loved walking around in Florence! Piazza della Signoria is a main square with many beautiful sculptures right outside!

We took the train from Cinque Terre to Florence.

So many beautiful sculptures in Piazza dela Signoria.

Palazzo Vecchio is a landmark building with a nice museum inside.

A replica of the statue of David, also in Piazza della Signoria.

This tiny sandwich place makes the best sandwiches we've tasted so far in our world trip. I'Girone de Ghiotti, near the Duomo. The roast pork is amazing!

Ponte Vecchio, the most famous bridge in Florence, crossing the Arno River.

Interesting arches on the walkway towards Ponte Vecchio.

Ponte Vecchio is lined with jewelry shops.

Nice view of the Arno River from the bridge.

This popular bridge is always full of visitors.

We tried some Indian food south of the Arno River. It was ok, not the best.

Lots of street artists in Florence, including right outside Pitti Palace.

Amorino, a gelato chain, has become our favorite gelato store. The ice cream is tasty, the ice cream flowers are pretty, and the staff is very friendly.

We love the ice cream flowers.

Ponte alle Grazie, much more low-key than the frentic Ponte Vecchio.

Nice view of Ponte Vecchio from Ponte alle Grazie.

Bialetti, aka Moka stove-top coffee maker, uses steam expansion to brew a strong cup of coffee. It's so popular here, we're surprised we've never seen it in the U.S..

We played the Big-2 card games, and Ivan got straight flush! He insisted this was a Kodak moment.

Gelato shops (gelataria) are everywhere, but the Magnum ice cream shop is unique. Customized ice cream bars!

You can choose the bar flavor (vanilla or chocolage), the coating (3 types of chocolate - white, milk & dark), three toppings, and drizzle.

It was very tasty, but too rich for us.

Of all the cities in Europe we’ve visited so far, we enjoyed walking around Florence the most. The city is compact, the architecture is beautiful, and there are beautiful sculptures and monuments throughout. Be sure to walk through the famous Ponte Vecchio (bridge) over to the south side of the Arno River, as several of our favorite spots in Florence are on that side, including the Pitti Palace, Boboli Garden, Bardini Garden, etc.

Uffizi Museum

Uffizi is one of the most visited art museums in the world, housing premier Renaissance art.

Voyagers tips: You definitely don’t want to wait in the regular line; there are a few ways to skip the line: use the Florence 3-day pass, order timed tickets online, order timed tickets over the phone (during business hours), or purchase the Friends of the Uffizi (Amici degli Uffizi) pass. It costs a few euros extra to book in advance, but it’s well worth it to save an hour or two waiting in line. Some travelers recommend booking over the phone so you don’t have to pay anything until you pick up the tickets, and if there are no lines when you show up, just buy regular tickets and save the reservation fee. The Friends of the Uffizi pass is worth it if you plan to also visit Pitti Palace, Boboli Garden and Bardini Garden, all highly recommended.

Pitti palace & boboli garden

Outside of the Pitti Palace...and of course, the girls are climbing the wall.

The architecture is quite unique.

We visited the garden before the museum.

The main open area of the garden, next to the palace.

We don't know the official name of this piece, but we suspect it is titled "Jackass".

Impressive art both hung on the wall as well as on the building and ceilings themselves.

Can you spot three faces in this picture?

A nice view of the north side of Florence.

Boboli Garden is a great way to enjoy some greenery. Pitti Museum, inside Pitti Palace, also houses a great art collection, and isn’t nearly as crowded as the Uffizi or the Accademia. Boboli Garden is quite big and is the most popular garden in Florence.

Voyagers Tips: Boboli Garden entrance is through Pitti Palace, and tickets are purchased at the Pitti Palace ticket booth. Entrance for both are included in the Friends of the Uffizi membership, which allows you to skip the line.

Day 2- Market, bardini garden, piazza michelangelo

Piazza Santo Spirito Market

Bardini Garden

Piazza Michelangelo

Piazza santo spirito market

A popular open market.

Does this make you hungry?

Give me a piece of meat from this pig please.

It's a fun place to just walk around and see all the things for sale.

Plants without pots... it uses grass-like plants to enclose the dirt so it doesn't fall off. Quite ingenious!

Ashlyn said the truffles look like poop.

Do people really buy pieces of cheese this big?

A popular marketplace in the morning, you can find locals and tourists alike. Everything from sausages, cheese and truffles to flowers, clothing and household items, there’s something for everyone… except for us, we just enjoyed walking around without adding to our luggage.

bardini garden

The Bardini Garden is located high up on a hill, with spectacular views of Florence north of the Arno River.

Ashlyn was our navigator, with map in hand, telling us where to go. She's a great navigator.

Maren was the photographer. She's really improved her photography skills on this trip.

A tree tunnel provides much-appreciated shade on a hot day.

The view from the cafe where we had lunch was fantastic! The food... not so much.

Bardini Garden, smaller than the nearby Boboli Garden, doesn’t get nearly the same amount of visitors. We wanted another break from the museums and churches and had modest expectations for this garden, but it surprised us in a pleasant way. We found this garden more enjoyable than its Boboli big brother. The relaxed atmosphere with much less crowd was pleasant, the views are great, and we had a great time just strolling the paths. Don’t come here for pretty manicured flowers, you won’t find it here. Come for a relaxed garden stroll away from the crowds, along with a fantastic view of the city, and you won’t be disappointed.

piazza michelangelo

Piazza Michelangelo, a square high up on the hills, known for it's spectacular view of Florence.

To get the great view, you need to climb these stairs that keeps going and going; and you get a good workout in the process.

This massive suitcase was a welcome break half way up the stairs.

The wall of the Bardini Garden looks like a mini Great Wall.

This singer provides live music to people resting on the steps.

We loved the view from up here.

The piazza is quite bare other than the statue in the middle and some souvenir vendors. But the view is the centerpiece of this piazza.

Another replica of the statue of David.

All these people climbed up here for this awesome view.

We visited several spots with great views of Florence from south of the Arno River, but this place takes the top prize for the best view of the city. And it’s free! It just requires a good hike up to the top of the hill. There’s nothing else to do here, it’s simply a vista point. If you want the best aerial view of Florence, this is it.

Day 3 - pisa

The Leaning Tower of Pisa needs no introduction. It’s located in a nice open green plaza and makes for a great day trip. Climbing the tower requires reservations well in advance and is a great experience, but let’s face it — People come for the awesome pictures!

Voyagers tips: Make reservations well in advance for the best time slot. Buy tickets at the official website: https://www.opapisa.it/en/. Show up at least 15 minutes before your scheduled time to get in line. Backpacks need to be checked (for free) at the nearby cloakroom.

Day 4 - duomo and clock tower

Duomo Dome Climb

The line was long even with a reservation. It moved pretty quick though.

The stairs started off as pretty typical clock-tower type climb.

Nice sculptures at the first stop.

The paths were narrow but easy to navigate.

Once you climb to the top of the straight walls and the base of the dome, you walk along the base of the ceiling to the other end of the building where the climb continues.

This is a great spot to get a nice view of the ceiling art.

Maren really liked the stained glass view from up here.

The climb gets more interesting as you navigate the path around the dome.

The climb is understandably non-linear as you climb around the round shape of the dome.

This is not your typical clock tower climb.

We made it!

The view from up here is spectacular!

You can see the clock tower right next to the dome.

Enjoying the view before heading back down.

These paths were not designed for 2-way traffic.

The building looks so colorful from afar it almost looks fake.

The Duomo at night.

The Duomo is the most iconic building in Florence. We climbed the dome on one day and went back another day for the clock tower. The dome climb, along with the Uffizi and Accademia Gallery, are the three things you must reserve for when visiting Florence (plus Pisa Tower if you make that day trip). The entry to the main portion of the church is free and cannot be reserved, you just have to wait in line. We never found a time with less than an hour wait, so we were glad to have taken a peak at the church interior during the entrance and exit of the dome climb, and avoided the long wait to the church.

Voyagers Tips: Reserve and purchase your tickets online well in advance at https://www.museumflorence.com/monuments/2-dome.

Duomo Clock Tower

Conquering the clock tower on the right.

Looking at the Duomo from the first level.

This big bell must ring loud!

You can see the top of the dome clearly from up the top of the clock tower. The dome seems a little bit higher though.

We were there!

463 steps, not too bad at all.

A tight walk down, but not as bad as climbing the dome.

We weren’t dead set on climbing the clock tower, since the view up top is similar to the top of the dome. But the entrance is included in the dome climb ticket and there were no lines, so we gave it a go. It was a good morning exercise with a rewarding view on top, glad we did it!

Day 5 - Central market & accademia gallery

Central Market (Mercato Centrale)

Accademia Gallery

Central market (mercato centrale)

The lower level of Central Market is mainly raw meat, vegetables, cheese and olive oil shops.

The streets outside of Central Market building is filled with street vendors.

Good, this is the right place.

These cheese blocks were huuuuge!

Bicycle-powered juicer. We saw these on Shark Tank on TV and they said it won't work because it can't turn around enough customers when things get busy. It was cool to see in action.

Upstairs is mostly a food court with many choices of cooked food.

Megan ordered some tripe sandwich, it was tasty.

We also got some soup dumplings. They weren't quite DingTaiFung quality, but were pretty decent.

Central Market is an indoor two-level market with mostly grocery on the first floor and mostly a food court on the second. It’s a great place to shop around and grab a quick lunch. It does get very busy here though, so come for an early lunch before the crowd picks up.

accademia gallery

There he is!!

All these heads remind me of the place in Game of Throne, where there were tons of faces and people have no name.

Many sculptures have tiny drill holes on them.

There was a music art exhibit that captured Maren and Ashlyn's attention.

The girls learned about various music instruments in this exhibit. The computers make it more interesting.

The statue of David, arguably the most famous statue in the world. There are replicas everywhere, but there’s nothing like seeing the real thing. There are certainly lots of other sculptures and paintings to appreciate here, but to commoners like us, David is the reason we go there. It really was magnificent.

Voyagers tips: Book tickets well in advance for your preferred time slot at the official website: http://www.b-ticket.com/b-ticket/uffizi/default_eng.aspx.