What to see on your first visit to Florence, Italy
What a winner. Florence tops my list of a year and a half of traveling. I arrived in the early evening and decided to go for a walk around town, check a few things out, and get some dinner. I was on the north western edge of the tourist map someone gave me, so started following the roads through San Marco. I thought it looked fairly nice, but it was getting a bit dark which could have altered my perception of things, especially in a new city.
I turned right and there it was. The Duomo.
Photo by Kai Pilger
Sold. It was absolutely epic, it took my breath away. I hate to compare it to something out of this world, but that’s almost how it felt. It was so big, completely filling the skyline at the end of the street. The photos I have from this trip don’t do the city justice.
I saw so much in Florence, but many of the more famous sights had photography restrictions, so unfortunately don’t have as many photos as I’d like! Here is a checklist of things to get your started on your visit to Florence.
A Checklist for Visiting Florence, Italy
- Climb to the top of the Duomo at Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore
- Visit the Statue of David at the Galleria dell’ Accademia
- Go to the Uffizi Gallery to see the many paintings and sculptures on display
- Go to the grain market-turned-church Orsanmichele
- See the Santa Croce church, home to the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo
- Wander through Piazza della Signoria, and take pictures of a fake Statue of David
- Tour around San Lorenzo, the church of the Medici family
- Visit the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella
- See Palazzo Pitti, the main residence of the Medici family in 1550, home to most of Raphael’s paintings
Photo by Adrian Leung
Looking for more posts about Italy? Take a look here.
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This post was originally published on November 9th, 2012. It was updated on February 23rd, 2019.
Also, skip the first course! There s no way you ll be able to get through a steak Florentine and eat a first course at the same sitting. (We tried twice and failed miserably both times). Florence has a lot of gorgeous piazza s to explore, but there are some that really stand out. Piazza della Signoria is one of those!