Florence Italy, Our Amazing Visit

Ponte Vecchio

Florence Italy is a must see destination. 


 one of my most favorite and also one of my least favorite cities. I hope I will be able to explain that. Florence is one of the most beautiful cities that I have ever been to. It has several things that make it a must see place to visit. It is also one of the most crowded places I have ever been to. There are masses of people everywhere you go.   

View from Piazzale Michelangelo

Florence is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

The sights are something else. The picture I picked out to be the cover for my website is a skyline of Florence. A visit to Piazzale Michelangelo is a must. The views from this place are amazing. You could sit here all day and admire the views. There are several places to get souvenirs and snacks. These places don’t compare to the food and shopping in Florence but they will give you something to do if you get tired of looking at one of the most iconic, famous, and beautiful skylines on this planet. There was a street band playing here and a copy of the statue of David sits in the middle of the plaza.  

Trattoria Dei 13 Gobbi

Some of the best meals I have ever had were in Florence. 

The food in Florence is phenomenal. I had one of the best steaks I have ever had here. Unless you are a diehard vegetarian I highly recommend getting a Bistecca Florentina.  We stumbled upon Trattoria Dei 13 Gobbi while looking for another restaurant. We had tried to go to Trattoria Sostansa on a Sunday but they were closed. This turned out to be a good thing for us as we noticed a few people in line a few doors down the street. We went and shared a 2-pound Steak Florentine for 2 and some delicious white beans. When we go back to Florence these 2 restaurants will be the ones I want to go back to. 

Trattoria Sostansa

The best Chicken Breast I have ever eaten.

The next day we made it back to Trattoria Sostansa and had the best chicken breast I have ever had. The Butter Chicken Breast comes 2 breasts to an order. If you go with someone, don’t have a discussion on what to order, just order it and they will thank you later. The Tortini di carciofi is very good. It is kind of like a egg omelet and good. Make sure you make a reservation. We made one early on the same day. We arrived before the restaurant opened and only 1 couple was in line ahead of us. They were turned away because they had no reservation.  

Michelangelo’s David

We saw some of he best art in the World.

Make sure you plan some museum time while you are here. We purchased tickets online for Galleria Dell’Accademi for in the morning and the Uffizi Gallery for the same afternoon at http://www.b-ticket.com/b-ticket/uffizi/venue.aspx. Both of these museums had huge lines of people who had not purchased tickets ahead of time. The Galleria Dell’Accademi is smaller but has Michelangelo’s David in it. This for me is enough reason to go here. There are many more works of art but David is the centerpiece. The Uffizi is much larger and will require a longer time to see it. It has many works of art from the Renaissance period.  

Ponte Vecchio

The Ponte Vecchio Bridge is amazing.

We spent a little time on the Ponte Vecchio Bridge, but I spent more time gazing at the bridge from afar. It is an amazing view upriver, downriver and from Piazzale Michelangelo. We were lucky to book a room with a balcony overlooking Ponte Vecchio. But make sure you spend some time browsing the jewelry shops on the bridge. As we walked across the bridge returning to our hotel from dinner one night there was a band playing in the middle of the bridge and we stopped to take in a couple of songs.  

Shopping in Florence Italy

Love to wander & shop? Florence is the perfect city.

If you are in Florence for part of a day, 2 days or 2 weeks, make sure you set aside some of that time for wandering through Florence and shopping. Shopping is a must in Florence. Even if you are window shopping you will enjoy an afternoon, or a day or two just looking. There are many places to shop. The Mercato Central is a two story building with many produce, seafood, meat and dessert shops on the lower level and restaurants on the top floor. The lower level was closed on the Sunday we were in the area but we did get to see it on a previous visit. On a previous trip I had a tripe sandwich with a carafe of wine that was great at Da Nerbone. San Lorenzo Market has an outdoor market outside of the Merato Central with many stalls of leather goods, hats, scarves, books and many other items. The Mercato del Pordellino is near the Ponte Vecchio and is a smaller group of stalls similar to San Lorenzo and they are under a roof. Also, there are many booths and stalls set up around the city. 

Street in Florence Italy

The city is full of taxis, but we learned you need to call ahead.

Florence is a beautiful city to wander around in, sightsee and people watch. Watch out for the taxi cabs. They all seem in a hurry and they don’t stop for you, they just swerve to go around you. We didn’t see anyone get hit, but we did see a few close calls. And one note is that not all of the taxi stands have taxis waiting. As we were leaving we decided to take a taxi to the train station. There is a taxi stand right at the foot of Ponte Vecchio. We had been waiting about 5 minutes and a couple of taxis had blown by and didn’t stop. Someone stopped and told us you have to call the taxis, so we did and one arrived in about 5 minutes.  

Ponte Vecchio

Start Planning Your Trip.

There are many more things to do and see in Florence, but if you only did the things above, you will have a great visit. Start Planning Your Trip and go somewhere. 

GALLERY

Please follow and like us: