Florence Things to Do

If you’re familiar with any of the churches in Florence, it’s likely that you’ve seen the Duomo – that famous facade with its layers of multi-colored marble is pretty easy to remember. It’s a completely different church, however, in which you’ll find the tombs of many of Florence’s famous sons – the Basilica of Santa Croce.

I once read a book about art that explained that the purpose of great religious art was to make the viewer feel overwhelmed by the holy event being depicted, and to actually feel the similar emotions and experience the revelations the saints felt. These days we tend to just wander past feeling awe at the value and age of the paintings. Especially in cities like Florence where you can be overwhelmed by the sheer number of paintings.

Man, skip-the-line tours are one of the best inventions a traveler could wish for. Well, that and magically instant language mastery, but if there’s one way to maximize your time in a given city, it’s with a skip-the-line tour. Take Florence, for example. In Florence, the top attractions include museums such as the Accademia and Uffizzi Galleries. These queues can get rather long, but if you get a Skip the Line tour, you’ll save yourself a ton of time.

If you’re interested in Florence sightseeing (and after all, that’s what you’re there for, right?), there’s a lot to get to. To ensure you hit all the highlights, you might want to book a tour that gets you into the main art galleries: The Uffizi, the Accademia and the Piazza de la Signora.

The sights in and around Florence seem to revolve around two things: the Renaissance and wine. As such, much of what you’re going to see will involve Michelangelo or Chianti. All that art and architecture can be a lot to soak in at once, so do yourself a favor and get a guide—the background information a knowledgeable guide can provide is well worth the price, and it helps to have a little structure to all that wandering around.