Florence Things to Do

One of the best things to do while you travel in Italy is to enjoy the food – eating is very much an “attraction” here. Sampling local specialties gives you a peek into the regional differences from one part of the country to the next. So why not bring some of that Italian flavor home with you by learning to make some of the dishes you loved eating while you were on vacation?

Guided tours are excellent ways to get acquainted with a new destination when you first arrive. There are hop on/hop off bus tours, walking tours, and bicycle tours. Cities on water often have boat tours. But some cities lend themselves well to yet another kind of transportation – the Segway. Florence is just such a city, with a compact and flat enough historic center to make a Segway tour a good option for getting to know the city.

Parents who love to travel know the value in exposing their kids to the world’s wonders – but sometimes making Renaissance art interesting to children isn’t an easy task. Italy is a very child-friendly country in which to travel, however, and bringing your kids to Florence can be as much of an education for you as it is for them.

So, you see something called the “Mercato delle Pulci” on your Florence shopping must-see list, right? “Mercato” is easy to figure out – that’s market. As for the rest, it’s unclear – is it a location? Someone’s name? Actually, it’s neither – “pulci” is the Italian word for “fleas.” That’s right – the “Mercato delle Pulci” is Florence’s flea market.

While some cities have clear high and low seasons, others are popular pretty much year-round. Florence, as you might expect, falls into the latter category. Partly because the differences aren’t as stark between Florence at its busiest and Florence at its quietest, there’s really no wrong time of year to visit the Tuscan capital. Still, if you’re looking for some insight to help with your trip planning, here are some tips on what to expect throughout the year so you’ll have a better idea of when to go to Florence.

For the past 10 years, Elisa Acciai has been working in the tourism industry, both as a Concierge at 4-5 star hotels and now as a private Florence guide – her dream job. As a native Florentine, Elisa knows the ins and outs of this Tuscan favorite, splicing in bits of a local’s valuable insight in with the knowledge of the city’s biggest and best attractions, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Vasari Corridor. Elisa covers a wide range of tour options, with one in particular focusing on the secrets of Oltrarno, the region on the left bank of the Arno River.

The historic center of Florence is compact so it’s easy to move between the main attractions on foot quite quickly. The railway station is also close in to the center, only about ten minutes walk from the Duomo which is the heart of the city.

Here are the top attractions you should try and work into your one-day itinerary.

Florence is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Its bridges, palaces, and churches can all inspire the feeling of being inside a post card. Here are five places where you can find the typical, and not so typical post-card views when you visit this magnificent city in Italy.

1. Piazzale Michelangelo. The best known and most obvious place to get a wonderful panoramic view across Florence and to the hills beyond.

I always have food as a fundamental part of my trips. I am not a food addict but I usually consider it as a part of the culture of a country, which tells us a lot about its territory, geography, economy, traditions and from there history and funny stories.

Besides museums, paintings, buildings and churches (and I am a guide of Florence so usually hungry for these) I like to dedicate part of my trips abroad to restaurants and food.

Florence is known for its history of powerful rulers and political intrigues. Combining these both into one massive architectural show of power and secrecy is the Vasari Corridor. Built in 1564, the enclosed passageway was designed to enable the Grand Duke to move between the Pitti Palace where he lived, to the Uffizi where he had his offices, and on to the Palazzo Vecchio, the town hall since the thirteenth century.