A Quick Visit to Florence for Art, Culture, History, and Food

Our first trip to Florence years ago wasn’t that good, so we decided to visit again and see if we could have a better experience. Since we were in Bologna, one hour by train from Florence, we also decided to spend two nights so we wouldn’t have to rush our visit to the museums.

When we last visited two years ago, we found the huge, vertical Bologna train station confusing. Then, we didn’t have an easy time finding the taxi pickup area, which is below ground. This time, it was also a challenge to find the right train track to leave, to say nothing of the long walk. Welcome to Europe.

Our First Time in Florence

The first time we went to Florence was a less-than-stellar experience and greatly clouded my view of Florence. This was 14 years ago, so booking hotels was quite different and the kids were teenagers, which also influenced our experience. I had booked an apartment that showed it was in the middle of town in the pedestrian zone. So, we arrived in our rental car, parked outside the barriers, and with our bags, walked to the location marked on the map. Then things started going south.

The place I booked turned out to be a rental agency but our apartment was a 20-minute walk from their location. To add insult to injury, they handed us a huge bag of sheets and towels and gave us directions. So, the four of us, with our bags, in the August heat, plodded over to the apartment. The unit itself was ok but by the time we got there, I was really pissed off.

For the rest of our time in Florence, we would leave the house in the morning and stay out all day and evening because it was too far to go back to the apartment for a break. This colored my view of Florence right up until our most recent visit. We refer to this incident often when we are booking hotels and apartments because this experience leads us to understand how important the location of your accommodation affects your opinion of a place.

Where We Stayed

On this visit, I booked a small, boutique hotel called the Relais Uffizi, almost across from the Uffizi Museum. Since we took the train with just overnight luggage, it was a modest walk from the station to the hotel, which was accessed from a confusing set of alleyways. But that was part of the charm.

Basilica of Santa Maria Novella

There is a famous church near the train station and we decided to stop on our way to the hotel. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take the luggage into the church with us, so I went in and took a bunch of pictures, while Mike waited outside. The Basilica of Santa Maria Novella was founded by Dominican friars in the first half of the thirteenth century. Both the interior and the exterior are exceptionally beautiful with more frescos than I think I have seen in any other church. There is also a lovely cloister with additional chapels leading from the cloister. I recommended that Mike take a turn viewing the church but he opted for lunch instead.

Uffizi Galleries

I’ve gotten pretty good at prebooking our museum tickets because everything since COVID seems to have a timed entry. So after dropping our bags at the hotel, we were off to the Uffizi for our 2:15 entry. While the museum was open late, providing some insurance, my museum limit is usually three hours, so we were good. I have to say that this was the best museum we visited in Italy, at least for the things I like and find interesting. Since I can’t actually describe what was there, and we usually skip the 14th-17th century religious art, I’ll let the pictures and captions do the talking.

De Medici Chapel

During our first visit to Florence, I remember being especially impressed with the de Medici Chapel, even though most of it was under renovation. So I was excited to visit again and I wasn’t disappointed. The Medici Chapel is an ornate mausoleum housing several de Medicis, dukes, popes, and princes among them. It consists of one giant chapel that houses the most magnificent statues of the most famous of the clan along with their caskets mounted on the wall. Not all of the statues were finished, but the craftsmanship is really special. A special workshop was even created for the fabrication of stone inlay work specifically for this chapel. Interestingly, the exterior of the building was never completed.

For more about the de Medici’s take a look on Netflix for some very engrossing drama.

Visiting the Duomo

A visit to the Duomo, otherwise known as the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, can include up to five different venues. First, there is the cathedral itself, which is arguably the least impressive of the bunch. Then there is the very famous dome that was built between 1420 and 1436 based on a radical design by Filippo Brunelleschi. It is the largest brick vault in the world.

In addition, there is the baptistry, also designed by Brunelleschi. The baptistry interior is impressive, even though some of it was covered due to renovation. However, the most famous thing about the baptistry are copies of the exterior Ghiberti doors depicting the Gates of Paradise and Stories of Christ. Another set of doors completed by Pisano depicts the life of John the Baptist. You can stand outside and admire the doors without a ticket.

An excavation below the cathedral has revealed the former churches on the same site. This practice was common in Italy, making it difficult to do any excavation without damaging antiquities. The most interesting part of the Reparata is the well-preserved mosaic floors.

Finally, there is the attached museum containing the original baptistry doors as well as many religious artifacts from Florence. There are also a number of statues that once graced the outside of the Duomo but were replaced over time.

Pitti Palace

Somehow in our 2.5 days in Florence, we also managed to visit the Palazzo Pitti. There were magnificent elegantly decorated rooms, lots of sculptures, and paintings. However, more interesting to me was the display of vintage women’s clothing from various historical eras. Napoleon occupied the palace for a time and installed his own bathroom with running water.

Galleria dell’Accadamia

The last museum we visited was L’Accadamia. We have been before but it would be a shame to visit Florence without seeing Michelangelo’s David. We also found a collection of musical instruments and many plaster busts used to cast statues. Many of them had the original holes used as guides for the cast. While there are some interesting objects, most people go to the L’Accadamia to see the David, don’t miss it.

The Charm of Florence

The charm of Florence is evident as you walk around the city day or night. There are statues and artwork everywhere and historical buildings, churches, and other landmarks. Because of where we chose to stay on this visit, it was very easy for us to wander the little streets. During the afternoon, we took the time to walk across the Ponte de Vecchio. A bridge made famous by all of the jewelry stores that occupy it. The bridge was also famous because there was a private hidden walkway for the de Medicis that went from the palace at the Uffizi to their Piti Palace on the other side of the river. The bridge provides ample photo opportunities, especially toward the end of the day.

One evening, as we went out, we heard an orchestra playing, so we walked toward the music to find a big crowd in the Piazza della Signoria. It was a student group from all over the world playing a concert on a raised platform surrounded by statues. Moments like these are why we love traveling, there are always surprises, mostly good, like this one. We decided to get a gelato while enjoying the music.

And the Food

Our first food experience in Florence was lunch after our train ride. It was wonderful, of course, like most of the food in Italy, and pretty cheap too. For our first night, I made a reservation at Osteria Vecchio Vicolo, which turned out to be quite close to our hotel. Mike had a seafood linguini and, unusually, I had venison. The second night I made a reservation at Trattoria Antico Fattore. Again the restaurant was close to our hotel so we could stagger back to our bed if necessary. Mike had Friggione, a traditional dish of cooked tomato and onion and then osso bucco with white beans, I had zucchini risotto. Of course, the entire meal was followed up a while later with gelato. La dolce vita!

Which museums would like to visit in Florence Italy?