By Time Out editors and Sulakshana Gupter
1. Picnic under the Eiffel Tower
Don't just buy the keyring, visiting Paris without taking a trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower is unthinkable. Built for the 1889 World Fair and centenary of the French Revolution, the 300-metre (985 feet) tower is a radical feat of engineering. At its top, your line of vision may stretch for over 65km (40 miles) on a good day. To elevate your style, visit the Jules Verne restaurant run by Alain Ducasse, whose scallops are legendary. If the weather is warm, take a baguette, pâté and a bottle of red wine to the grassy area beneath the tower for an impromptu picnic. This is best done in the evening, when the tower is illuminated for five minutes every hour by 20,000 light bulbs.
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2. Get lost at the Louvre
You could spend all weekend in Paris and only see the Louvre. With around 35,000 works of art on display, from Greek and Roman antiquities to Egyptian objects and Renaissance paintings, the museum covers a vast spectrum of civilisation. It's an unmissable attraction, for which it's worth braving gallery fatigue. After entering through the light-filled atrium of IM Pei's glass pyramid, you'll find the art is housed in three wings: Denon, Sully and Richelieu. Must-sees include the Marly horses, Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People, Rubens's paintings for the Medici cycle, Vermeer's Lacemaker and, of course, Da Vinci's Mona Lisa – if you can bear the crowds.
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3. Join the craze for concept stores
Paris’s concept stores can help even the most jaded style hunter fall in love with shopping again. Diverse, select and authoritatively fashionable, the seduce in a way that department stores can only dream of. Through clever presentation and seductive editing of consumer goods, they make things sparkle with a hypnotic je ne sais quoi.
The capital’s concept kings have very different personalities. There’s cosmopolitan, metropolitan, glamorous but down-with-the-kids Colette; bobo I-probably-care-more-about-my-home-than-my-wardrobe Merci; sophisticated, avant-garde L’Eclaireur. But what they all have in common is a product range which is entertainingly diverse and seductively scarce.
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4. Slurp an ice-cream at Notre-Dame
Paris's Gothic masterpiece is the Cathédrale Notre-Dame. Constructed between 1163 and 1334, but damaged during the French Revolution, the cathedral has been restored to magnificent effect. Its twin towers achieve a perfect balance, the rose window is beautiful and the west façade's three doorways with rows of saints and sculpted tympanums are inspired. Climb from the north tower to the south to appreciate the masonry, and get a close-up view of the gallery of chimeras, the fantastic birds and beasts gazing over the balustrade. Afterwards, cross the road to Berthillon, where you can sample the most celebrated ice-cream in town. Its reputation has been growing since 1954 thanks to natural ingredients, lashings of cream and a host of delicious flavours.
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5. Lose yourself in the legendary jazz scene
Paris is jazz central, with a rich host of venues at which to see live gigs. Sprinkled across the left bank are traditional clubs like the Caveau de la Huchette – a medieval cellar that has been a mainstay on the jazz scene for 60 years. Across the river, in Les Halles, you'll find the legendary Au Duc des Lombards. This wood-panelled, yellow-walled club is lined with posters of some of the greats who have played here: Kenny Burrell, Johnny Griffin, Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. As well as international stars, it brings in plenty of local talent. For cutting-edge jazz, visit the New Morning, which embraces chanson, blues and world music.
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6. Take an Impressionists masterclass
At the Musée d'Orsay, you can discover the factors that shaped Impressionism: the birth of the railway, the Barbizon school and the glorious open air. Housed in a former train station, designed to coincide with the 1900 Exposition Universelle, the collection is arranged in a chronological order, from 1848 to 1914. On the ground floor, you can see The Artist's Studio by Courbet and the landscapes of Corot, Daubigny and Millet, forerunners of the Impressionists. Here you'll find provocative works such as Manet's Olympia, which shocked the art establishment, but paved the way for the liberal paintings of Cézanne, Gauguin and Van Gogh in the upper galleries. After sampling the works, get some fresh air and a picture of the city by stepping onto the coffered roof.
Musee de l'Orangerie is a Monet showcase, displaying eight, tapestry-sized Nymphéas (water lillies) paintings housed in two plain oval rooms.
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7. Max out the plastic in the Marais
The Marais's reputation for great shopping is rising thanks to the young designers who have set up their atelier galleries in its golden triangle, delineated by rues Charlot, Poitou and Turenne. Among the best are former Lacoste Creative Director Christophe Lemaire’s self-named boutique, which stocks his own-label high-tech Japanese textiles; the fashion editors’ favourite, Iro, where designers Laurent and Arik Bitton sell what they call their 'basic deluxe' range – skinny knits, skinny jeans and the 'perfecto' mini leather jacket; and Laeticia Ivanez’s installation space/boutique Les Prairies de Paris, which gives over the whole of the ground floor to art shows, gigs and happenings, while downstairs showcases the disco-glam separates and cute children’s collection.
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8. Dig some bones
'Stop! This is the empire of death!' This isn't the door policy at Paris's premier heavy metal club, but the inscription above the entrance of Les Catacombes. Its origins lie in the eighteenth-century Parisians' response to an accommodation crisis in the cemeteries. In the era of Revolutionary terror, they dug deep into miles of unused subterranean passages that had existed since Roman times and transferred the remains of six million people to the catacombs. The bones of Marat and Robespierre and their fellow citizens are all here. Bear in mind that you have to climb down a 20 metre (66 foot) staircase to reach the mass of bones. It's an extraordinary sight, but can be disturbing, especially it you have AC/DC on your iPod.
Another worthwhile dead end is Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris's most famous cemetery, which provides a home to illustrious corpses galore, from Molière to Morrison.
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9. Dine on only the finest French cuisine
As you would expect, there is a multitude of ‘French’ restaurants in Paris, but only a handful are truly exceptional: L’Ardoise, one of the city's finest modern bistros, attracts gourmets eager to sample Pierre Jay's reliably delicious cooking; Grégory Lemarchand honed his craft with Jamie Oliver in London before opening his loft-style bistro, Frenchie, next to the market street rue Montorgueil; Chef Sylvain Sendra played to a full house every night at his little bistro Le Temps au Temps near the Bastille before moving to the larger space, Itinéraires, near Notre Dame; Jean-Luc André is as inspired a decorator as he is a cook, and the quirky charm of his dining room, Pétrelle, has made it popular with fashion designers and film stars; and last, but, most-definitely not least, where do Michelin inspectors go on their day off? To Spring, where young American chef Daniel Rose has wowed the critics since opening this sleek 16-seat bistro a few years ago.
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10. Remember 'Life is a cabaret, my friend'
The year the Eiffel Tower raised its final girders (1889), the Moulin Rouge was raising something of its own: skirts. These days, cabaret is an all-evening extravaganza. Male dancers and magicians compliment the foxy foxtrot; the dancing is perfectly synchronised, the costumes beautiful and the whole caboodle perfectly respectable.
Toulouse-Lautrec posters, glittery lampposts and fake trees lend tacky charm to the Moulin Rouge, while 60 Doriss dancers cavort with faultless synchronisation. Costumes are flamboyant and the entr’acte acts funny. On stageat Le Lido, 60 Bluebell Girls and a set of hunky dancers slink around, shaking their bodies with sequinned panache in breathtaking scenes. For a special treat, opt for the brand new 'behind the scenes' tour. Paradis Latin is the most authentic of the cabarets, not only because it's family-run, but also because the clientele is mostly French.
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11. Corner cutting-edge cultural centres
Paris's brilliant cultural centres will encourage you to look with fresh eyes. The trendsetter is the Centre Pompidou. Designed by Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano, its glass envelope with coloured service pipes holds a modern art museum, library, performance space and repertory cinema. More recently, Jean Nouvel has built the Musée du Quai Branly to house a 300,000-strong collection of Arts Premiers from Africa, Oceania, Asia and the Americas. With adventurous displays, a prime riverside site near the Eiffel Tower, lush gardens and an open-air amphitheatre, it transports you into a series of new worlds. The museums are among the venues that open for free on the pan-European, biannual Night of Museums (www.nuitdesmusees.culture.fr).
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12. Have a hammam at the Paris Mosque
For an authentic hamman experience, visit Hammam de la Grande Mosquée, a beautiful 1920s building, with a stunning green-and-white tiled square minaret inspired by the Alhambra. You can enjoy a steam session at a number of different temperatures in the exquisitely tiled interior of the domed hamman. Bear in mind that swimwear is compulsory, though your fellow Parisiennes may happily lounge around in bikinis. After you have sweated away some of your impurities, get scrubbed up with a gommage (an exfoliation), and then a massage. Afterwards, you can relax at a mosaic table beneath green foliage in the pretty courtyard of the mosque's café and even smoke sheesha. The hamman has become very popular with the locals, so avoid the weekends because they might be particularly busy.
13. Stroll around St-Sulpice and the Luxembourg
For a slice of civilized Paris, visit the quarter south of St-Germain-des-Prés, between Odéon and Luxembourg. Nestling amid the historic buildings, fashion boutiques, patisseries and antiquarian bookshops is the Eglise St-Sulpice. Construction of the beautiful church began in 1646, but took 120 years and six architects to complete: the Italianate façade was designed by Jean-Baptiste Servandoni, but he died before the second tower could be finished, leaving it five metres shorter than the other. Art buffs should check out the three murals by Delacroix in the first chapel. Close by is the Jardin du Luxembourg, which offers both a stylish place to relax and a playground for the children. They can enjoy the traditional merry-go-round, ride ponies and sail toy boats across the lake.
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14. Visit the literary landmarks of Paris
If you're a book lover, then you'll be in heaven. This is the resting place of many literary ghosts, whose great works you'll find lining the shelves of atmospheric bookshops and cafés. To the south, in the Cimetière du Montparnasse, you can take an atmospheric stroll amid the headstones of famous writers: the philosophers Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir are buried side by side, and Baudelaire, Beckett and Guy de Maupassant can also be found beneath the trees. Meanwhile, in St-Germain-des-Prés on the Left Bank, there are cafés where you can follow in their footsteps, including Café de Flore, Les Deux Magots and Les Editeurs. The shops La Hune and Galignani offer a wide selection of French literature, and the super cool Librairie 7L proffers a cosmopolitan range of photography titles.
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15. House hunt with Le Corbusier
You can literally tick off some of Corb's five points of Modern architecture as you walk around this stunning house and garden designed for a Swiss art collector in 1923: the Villa La Roche. Is the house elevated by pilotis? Check. Does it have a free plan that you can easily move around? Check. Are there ocean-liner, horizontal strip windows? Check. Alongside the architecture and built-in furniture, you can also see all the drawings, plans, notes, objects and artworks that he bequeathed to the Fondation Le Corbusier (the Villas La Roche and Jeanneret) on his death in 1965. The collection offers a fascinating insight into the life of this visionary Modern architect.
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16. Get yourself invited to a secret dinner party
A cross between a private dinner party and a restaurant, ‘clandestine restaurants’ are springing up around Paris. There is no more insider lunch address in Paris than Lunch in the Loft (www.lunchintheloft.com, €50 per head): the exact location is revealed only once you sign up for the party for eight at the home of Claude Cabri. An artist who loves to cook, Claude widened her sphere of guests a year ago when she started emailing food bloggers under the mysterious name of ‘Miss Lunch’.
A more professional atmosphere can be found at the Hidden Kitchen (www.hkmenus.com, €80 per head) in the Haussmannian apartment of young American chef Brad Perkins and his partner Laura Adrian. At their dinner parties, 12 guests sit down to a candlelit ten-course meal accompanied by four carefully chosen wines. The quality of the food at the Hidden Kitchen is astounding, and true gastronomes should not miss it, but you’ll probably have more fun chez Claude.
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17. Rummage at the flea markets
Paris flea markets are full of curiosities, from stained glass windows to Philippe Starck pieces and Eames chairs and even three-metre clock faces. Key stops on the market trail are the sprawling Marché aux Puces de Clignancourt, the quiet, tree-lined Marché aux Puces de Vanves and the contemporary design market Les Puces du Design. One of the few remaining flea markets where you can uncover gems at bargain prices on bric-à-brac stalls is the Marché d'Aligre. It's where all the serious dealers go when on the hunt for original antiquities from across the country. But watch out for overpriced books and kitchenware. At the adjacent Marché Beauvau, you can stock up on fresh fruit and veg, groceries and meats to prepare a rustic French meal.
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18. Catch a film at La Cinémathèque Française
Take a stroll to the leafy fringes of Parc de Bercy, where you'll discover a Frank Gehry building housing the new Cinémathèque Française. The institute assumes a place at the heart of French film culture: founded in 1936 to conserve films, it was a meeting place for Nouvelle Vague (New Wave) directors of the 1950s and 60s such as François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rivette and Eric Rohmer. Following its relocation to Bercy, it now boasts four screens, a bookshop, a restaurant, exhibition space and the Musée du Cinéma. In the spirit of its visionary founder, Henry Langlois, the institute hosts major retrospectives, cult movies, classics and experimental cinema, along with Q&A sessions for all budding film directors and aficionados of French cinema.
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19. Worship the Sun King at Versailles
Centuries of makeovers have made Versailles the most sumptuously clad château in the world, so it needs a full day to do it justice. The palace we know today was largely designed under the reign of Louis XIV: the two splendid wings of the Cour des Ministres and the Chapelle Royale so pleased the Sun King that he moved his court to Versailles, then rarely set foot in Paris. In the late eighteenth-century, Louis XV added the sumptuous Opéra Royal, used for concerts by the Centre de Musique Baroque. Summer weekends are the best time to see the garden, when the fountains play to music. Indoors, the highlight is the Hall of Mirrors; composed of 357 of them, it's literally dazzling.
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20. Visit the new star of the art scene
Described as a 'space for artistic creation', CentQuatre 104 occupies a vast 19th-century building on the rue d'Aubervilliers, which used to house Paris's municipal undertakers. Known as the 'factory of grief', its walls bore witness to the final journey of masses of Parisians. Now they conceal the practice of artists who are renewing the creative spirit of Montmartre, which was once a popular haunt of modern artists like Picasso, Ezra Pound and Getrude Stein. The Memory Room shows black and white footage of events there, while the restaurant celebrates the multi-cultural cuisine of the local community and the Atelier le Balto is a green space that will be landscaped by resident gardeners each year. Among the artists working here in 2009 were Tania Bruguera, who involves migrants in her performances, and Anri Sala, who times his films with the weather. The resident artists will change each year and show their finished pieces in four annual festivals.
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Sunday 25 July 2010
Paris Traveler Article: Paris: 100 Things To Do In Paris
La Republique
O-Chateau, a traditional Parisian loft that offers unique, enjoyable, layed back wine tastings in English.
Near the Louvre
* Cross Rue du Rivoli and find beautiful Metro entrance of hand blown Italian glass created for the Millennium.
* Enter Palais Royal. Notice fountains of silver balls. Walk through garden, exit back to rue de Petit Champs.
* Enter Galerie Vivienne, a enchanting covered shopping gallery from the 1800’s and walk through.
Notre Dame Cathedral, Ile St Louis and the Latin Quarter
* Notre Dame - visit interior, see Rose Window, Statue of Joan of Arc, Organ in back; view from back to see the Flying Buttresses
* Climb the tower of Notre Dame for a close-up look at the Gargoyles and a fantastic view of the River Seine.
* Walk down the main street on Ile St Louis, the island behind Notre Dame, to look at shops and doors; eat Bertillon ice cream.
* Cross Pont and walk along sidewalk to see the Bouquinistes (Booksellers) where books are sold from covered containers.
* Cross into the Latin Quarter, walk up the fascinating narrow streets. Shakespeare and Company, the famous bookstore is worth a stop; collectible books are found in the annex to the left.
* Enter the church of St Julien de Pauvre and contrast the simplicity there to Notre Dame’s grandness.
* Visit nearby St Severin Church and go to the nave to see the “palm tree ceiling”.
* Look at St Michel fountain.
* Tours are available here in quite a few languages
Montmartre
* Visit Montmartre. Take the Metro 12 to Larmarck or Abbesses Metro stop.
* Do not miss the smaller and older St Pierre of Montmartre Church.
* Take a look at the interior of Sacre Coeur for its mosaics. Climb the tower on a clear day for the hight over-look of Paris.
* Buy a small painting to take home from one of the artists in Place de Tertre.
* Behind the Abesses Metro stop, go into the garden and find the Wall of Love.
* Walk down Rue Lepic, another great shopping street. You can visit the Brasserie where the heroine in the movie Amelie worked.
* Walk down to Pigalle and see the Moulin Rouge - or even see the show there.
* The Montmartre Cemetery is lovely to stroll through. Degas is buried here.
The Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysees
* Reach Place de la Concorde, circle the place to your left and walk down Rue du Rivoli.
* Stop at Angelina’s for their famous hot chocolate.
*
The Grand Department Stores
*
* Next door to Galeries LaFayette is Printemps, another huge department store. They also have a dome of stained glass that you can eat lunch under in a nice restaurant. There is also a good view of Hotel de Ville from an upstairs cafe.
* Le Bon Marché at Sèvres Babylon on Left Bank is the high end department store- very Parisian.
Pere LaChaise Cemetery
* Make a trip out to the famous cemetery of Pere LaChaise. Buy a map at any florist nearby and find the tombs of Chopin, Oscar Wilde, Colette, Jim Morrison and more. (Hint: if you enter the cemetery at the Gambetta Metro stop, it is all downhill.)
The Left Bank
* The Left Bank is full of fun winding streets. Start at the Odeon Metro Stop. Across the street is the Commerce St Andre, an old shopping street.
* Rue du Buci is a lively street with many places to eat or drink.
* St Sulpice Church holds the famous obelisk with the brass line marking the movement of the earth and sun. Don’t miss the Pigalle sculpture of Mary at the back of the church.
* Walk down Rue du Cannards and find the sculpture of baby ducks high up on a wall over a blue door.
* Visit the St Germain des Pres Church, oldest in Paris.
* Across the way from the church is L es Deux Magots, a famous hangout for writers such as Hemingway.
* Walk down Rue de Seine to the beautiful building housing the Institute de France.
* Find the entrance of the Institute du France, go to the front, cross the street and you are on the Pont des Arts, a pedestrian bridge always full of people and activity.
* Do not miss the Cluny Museum, small and easy to vist and make sure to visit the top floor for the magnificant Maiden and the Unicorn Tapestries.
The Jardins de Luxembourg and Surrounding Area
* Take a walk through the Luxembourg Gardens.
* Find the Statue of Liberty and Visit the incredible Medici Fountain in the garden.
* Watch children sailing boats in the pond.
* Walk up Rue Soufflot to the Pantheon; visit the interior.
* Head down nearby Rue Mouffetard for an interesting shopping street.
The Arts et Metiers Museum and Surrounding Area
* Take Metro 11 to the Art et Metiers Metro stop for a look at an incredible copper station.
* Visit the Art et Metiers Museum. See the chapel for the airplanes hanging from the ceiling & the model of the Statue of Liberty.
* Nearby is a wonderful shopping/pedestrian street, Rue Montorgueil.
* Walk to St Eustache Church and visit the interior.
* Dehillerinon rue Coquillerie is an interesting shop for kitchen supplies.
The Marais
* Take a walk in the Marais, one of Paris’ most beautiful areas.
* Visit the Carnavalet Museum for a look at the history of Paris as well as a lovely structure with garden.
* Walk Rue de Bretagne, a lively street with bistros, bakeriess and small stores. Have lunch at the "hidden" food court. It looks like a small alley, but a market and tens cafes reveal themselves when you walk in.
* Antique shoppers will want to walk into the Village St Paul and see the shops on Rue St Paul.
* The church of St Paul St Louis is especially lovely. Don’t miss the painting of Jesus Praying in the Garden by Delacroix.
* The Picasso Museum is in a wonderful building and worth a tour.
* Walk down historic Rue des Rosiers and have some great falafal there.
* See the many shops on Rue Francs Bourgeois and enter Place des Vosges, one of the most beautiful squares in Paris. The Victor Hugo Museum is in one corner there. The Hotel de Sully in another where you enter through the back garden.
Invalides, the Rodin Museum and Pont Alexander III
* For a look at Napoleon’s tomb, do not miss Invalide.. Check out the weapons museum there as well.
* Nearby is the Rodin Museum. Don’t miss the famous Thinker sculpture in the garden. This is a good place for a light lunch as well. There is a nice area to sit in the shade in the back.
* Stroll across the lovely Pont Alexander III, gilded and baroque shining in the sun with a great view of the Eiffel Tower on one side.
Bastille and the Surrounding Area
* Place de Bastille is a lively area with a column in the middle commerating the “Three Glorius Days”. The Richard Lenoir Market, the largest in Paris, is here on Thursdays and Sundays.
* An interesting market to visit is at Place d’Aligre, open every morning except Mondays. It has a permanant covered market that is interesting to see and is especially lively and fun to visit.
O-Chateau, a traditional Parisian loft that offers unique, enjoyable, layed back wine tastings in English.
Near the Louvre
* Cross Rue du Rivoli and find beautiful Metro entrance of hand blown Italian glass created for the Millennium.
* Enter Palais Royal. Notice fountains of silver balls. Walk through garden, exit back to rue de Petit Champs.
* Enter Galerie Vivienne, a enchanting covered shopping gallery from the 1800’s and walk through.
Notre Dame Cathedral, Ile St Louis and the Latin Quarter
* Notre Dame - visit interior, see Rose Window, Statue of Joan of Arc, Organ in back; view from back to see the Flying Buttresses
* Climb the tower of Notre Dame for a close-up look at the Gargoyles and a fantastic view of the River Seine.
* Walk down the main street on Ile St Louis, the island behind Notre Dame, to look at shops and doors; eat Bertillon ice cream.
* Cross Pont and walk along sidewalk to see the Bouquinistes (Booksellers) where books are sold from covered containers.
* Cross into the Latin Quarter, walk up the fascinating narrow streets. Shakespeare and Company, the famous bookstore is worth a stop; collectible books are found in the annex to the left.
* Enter the church of St Julien de Pauvre and contrast the simplicity there to Notre Dame’s grandness.
* Visit nearby St Severin Church and go to the nave to see the “palm tree ceiling”.
* Look at St Michel fountain.
* Tours are available here in quite a few languages
Montmartre
* Visit Montmartre. Take the Metro 12 to Larmarck or Abbesses Metro stop.
* Do not miss the smaller and older St Pierre of Montmartre Church.
* Take a look at the interior of Sacre Coeur for its mosaics. Climb the tower on a clear day for the hight over-look of Paris.
* Buy a small painting to take home from one of the artists in Place de Tertre.
* Behind the Abesses Metro stop, go into the garden and find the Wall of Love.
* Walk down Rue Lepic, another great shopping street. You can visit the Brasserie where the heroine in the movie Amelie worked.
* Walk down to Pigalle and see the Moulin Rouge - or even see the show there.
* The Montmartre Cemetery is lovely to stroll through. Degas is buried here.
The Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysees
* Reach Place de la Concorde, circle the place to your left and walk down Rue du Rivoli.
* Stop at Angelina’s for their famous hot chocolate.
*
The Grand Department Stores
*
* Next door to Galeries LaFayette is Printemps, another huge department store. They also have a dome of stained glass that you can eat lunch under in a nice restaurant. There is also a good view of Hotel de Ville from an upstairs cafe.
* Le Bon Marché at Sèvres Babylon on Left Bank is the high end department store- very Parisian.
Pere LaChaise Cemetery
* Make a trip out to the famous cemetery of Pere LaChaise. Buy a map at any florist nearby and find the tombs of Chopin, Oscar Wilde, Colette, Jim Morrison and more. (Hint: if you enter the cemetery at the Gambetta Metro stop, it is all downhill.)
The Left Bank
* The Left Bank is full of fun winding streets. Start at the Odeon Metro Stop. Across the street is the Commerce St Andre, an old shopping street.
* Rue du Buci is a lively street with many places to eat or drink.
* St Sulpice Church holds the famous obelisk with the brass line marking the movement of the earth and sun. Don’t miss the Pigalle sculpture of Mary at the back of the church.
* Walk down Rue du Cannards and find the sculpture of baby ducks high up on a wall over a blue door.
* Visit the St Germain des Pres Church, oldest in Paris.
* Across the way from the church is L es Deux Magots, a famous hangout for writers such as Hemingway.
* Walk down Rue de Seine to the beautiful building housing the Institute de France.
* Find the entrance of the Institute du France, go to the front, cross the street and you are on the Pont des Arts, a pedestrian bridge always full of people and activity.
* Do not miss the Cluny Museum, small and easy to vist and make sure to visit the top floor for the magnificant Maiden and the Unicorn Tapestries.
The Jardins de Luxembourg and Surrounding Area
* Take a walk through the Luxembourg Gardens.
* Find the Statue of Liberty and Visit the incredible Medici Fountain in the garden.
* Watch children sailing boats in the pond.
* Walk up Rue Soufflot to the Pantheon; visit the interior.
* Head down nearby Rue Mouffetard for an interesting shopping street.
The Arts et Metiers Museum and Surrounding Area
* Take Metro 11 to the Art et Metiers Metro stop for a look at an incredible copper station.
* Visit the Art et Metiers Museum. See the chapel for the airplanes hanging from the ceiling & the model of the Statue of Liberty.
* Nearby is a wonderful shopping/pedestrian street, Rue Montorgueil.
* Walk to St Eustache Church and visit the interior.
* Dehillerinon rue Coquillerie is an interesting shop for kitchen supplies.
The Marais
* Take a walk in the Marais, one of Paris’ most beautiful areas.
* Visit the Carnavalet Museum for a look at the history of Paris as well as a lovely structure with garden.
* Walk Rue de Bretagne, a lively street with bistros, bakeriess and small stores. Have lunch at the "hidden" food court. It looks like a small alley, but a market and tens cafes reveal themselves when you walk in.
* Antique shoppers will want to walk into the Village St Paul and see the shops on Rue St Paul.
* The church of St Paul St Louis is especially lovely. Don’t miss the painting of Jesus Praying in the Garden by Delacroix.
* The Picasso Museum is in a wonderful building and worth a tour.
* Walk down historic Rue des Rosiers and have some great falafal there.
* See the many shops on Rue Francs Bourgeois and enter Place des Vosges, one of the most beautiful squares in Paris. The Victor Hugo Museum is in one corner there. The Hotel de Sully in another where you enter through the back garden.
Invalides, the Rodin Museum and Pont Alexander III
* For a look at Napoleon’s tomb, do not miss Invalide.. Check out the weapons museum there as well.
* Nearby is the Rodin Museum. Don’t miss the famous Thinker sculpture in the garden. This is a good place for a light lunch as well. There is a nice area to sit in the shade in the back.
* Stroll across the lovely Pont Alexander III, gilded and baroque shining in the sun with a great view of the Eiffel Tower on one side.
Bastille and the Surrounding Area
* Place de Bastille is a lively area with a column in the middle commerating the “Three Glorius Days”. The Richard Lenoir Market, the largest in Paris, is here on Thursdays and Sundays.
* An interesting market to visit is at Place d’Aligre, open every morning except Mondays. It has a permanant covered market that is interesting to see and is especially lively and fun to visit.
Day Trips from Florence
tuscanhill Florence is one of those compact, walkable, and packed-with-tourist-sights cities that makes it easy to overlook the idea of taking a day out of your stay to venture anywhere else. Not only that, there are so many idyllic Tuscan hilltowns around Florence where you might want to actually stay a few days, a quick day-trip to any of them (or all of them, for that matter) might not interest you.
Still, if you’re trying to limit the number of times you transfer to a new hotel, staying in Florence long enough that you’ve got time for a day trip or two, or are just tired of Florence and want a change of scenery, you’re in luck – the options for day trips from Florence are plentiful.
As mentioned, many of the most popular day trips out of Florence are Tuscan hill towns. Depending on your opinion of towns like this, you may want to just pick one (the smaller ones especially can lead to a serious case of deja vu) or you might enjoy discovering the sometimes slight differences between them (at least they’re slight to visitors!). But even if you’re tired of small-town Italy, there are other options for day-trips from Florence that’ll give you a chance to see something a little more different.
One thing to keep in mind with these Florence day trips is transportation. There are some truly lovely places around Florence (all over Italy, really) which aren’t easily accessible without a car. So if you’re limited to getting around via public transportation, the first thing you’ll want to figure out is whether a town has a train station (makes for the easiest day trip) or bus service (a very close second to trains in terms of ease). If you’ve found a spot without train or bus service that you absolutely must visit, then renting a car for a day is always an option.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of day trips from Florence, and if I’m missing your favorite please let me know in the comments!
Day Trips from Florence
* Siena – This is probably the most popular day-trip from Florence, although more and more people are choosing to stay in Siena for a couple days, too. There’s a beautiful cathedral, a sloping main square, and a seemingly endless maze of hilly cobbled streets in Siena, all contained within the old city walls. The city changes complexion at night and early in the morning (when the day trippers aren’t there), but even when it’s crowded it’s still charming. Find out how to get to Siena from Florence.
* Fiesole – In terms of easy day trips, you can’t beat Fiesole. This hilltop town overlooks Florence, and the bus trip is quick. You probably won’t even need a full day in Fiesole, unless you bring a book and a picnic lunch and spend half the day lounging in a park somewhere. Otherwise, it’s a nice spot for a half day away from the crowds of Florence.
* Pisa – Although Pisa is home to one of the most famous sights in Italy, the leaning tower, it’s a city where most tourists only spend a couple of hours on their way from one place to another. What this means is that Pisa’s an ideal spot to spend a day if you want to visit a real Italian city that’s not overrun by tourists (provided that you limit your time around the tower).
* San Gimignano – This famous hilltop town is, like Siena, often full of day-trippers by day and quiet overnight. But because there’s no train station in San Gimignano and many tourists aren’t interested in taking a bus in Italy, the crowds are far smaller than you’d find in Siena. With a car or by bus, it’s an easy day trip and a great way to escape the busy city.
* Cortona – Another hill town in Tuscany with even more name recognition is Cortona, which many visitors know as the town where the “Under the Tuscan Sun” author bought and refurbished a farmhouse. Life hasn’t been the same since fans of the books started visiting and searching for said farmhouse, but it can still be a nice day trip option.
* Lucca – There are many towns throughout Italy where you’ll find pieces of ancient Roman walls, but very few are as well-preserved as the walls surrounding Lucca. Not only are they well-preserved, however, Lucca’s walls are also an interactive attraction – there’s a pathway along the top of the walls upon which you can bike or walk.
* Chianti Wine Tour – Unless you sign up for an organized tour of the region’s wineries, your best bet for visiting the Chianti wine region is to have a car at your disposal and just drive. The easiest thing to do is rent a car (for the day, if you don’t have one for your whole trip) and get an upgrade to one with a GPS system so that you can take any road that looks interesting and then just plug in your hotel address when you’re ready to go back, but you can also do well with a good regional map (the more detailed, the better). Towns to visit include Radda in Chianti, Castellina in Chianti, Greve in Chianti, and don’t-blink-or-you’ll-miss-it Panzano, where you’ll find the man who’s easily the most famous butcher in Italy.
* National Parks – Tired of cities and even charming small towns? Tuscany has five national parks which might be just what you’re looking for. The Archipelago National Park of Tuscany covers some of Tuscany’s coast and islands and is Europe’s biggest marine park. Further down the coast is the Regional Park of Maremma, which has both coastal terrain and more inland terrain. The National Park of the Casentinesi Forest is in the hills of eastern Tuscany on the border with Romagna. Getting to these parks requires that you have a car, but if you’re an avid hiker or just want some fresh air away from the city, then certainly check with the tourist office in Florence to find out more about each of the region’s parks and how to reach them.
* Viareggio – So many people concentrate on Tuscany’s hill towns that they forget the region has a fairly sizeable coastline (and islands, too). One of the coastal resort towns you might have on your day-trip list is Viareggio, which has nice, big beaches and is home to a well-known Carnevale celebration in the Spring.
* Forte dei Marmi – Another beach resort town worth a day-trip (if not more) is Forte dei Marmi, which is where parts of “The English Patient” were filmed. This is a more upscale town than Viareggio, and tends to be busier on weekends.
* Arezzo – Arezzo is another Tuscan city with a movie connection, in that the Oscar-winning film “Life is Beautiful” was filmed there. The city has a rich Etruscan past that pre-dates the Roman era and several churches worth visiting.
* Volterra – For more Etruscan history, you might also look at a trip to Volterra. The town is surrounded in part by its Etruscan walls, and also has a Roman theatre dating from the 1st century B.C.E.
* Mugello Valley – North of Florence is the green Mugello Valley, which was a region the famous Medici family liked enough to build several villas. With a car and no schedule, you can enjoy a leisurely drive between the regions towns, stopping to visit the aforementioned villas as well as the many museums and churches, and maybe even to do a little hiking.
* Montepulciano – Wine lovers will recognize the name Montepulciano, but even if you’re not into wine this is a lovely hilltop town to visit. More recently, Montepulciano was in the news as the setting for some of the filming for the second movie in the “Twilight” series, but it remains to be seen whether that will impact tourism much. Not far away is the similarly-named town of Montalcino, which is also famous for wine and slightly less highly-visited than Montepulciano.
* Pienza – Italy is littered with UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the whole town of Pienza. The town sits between Montepulciano and Montalcino (so the trio, taken together, make a great day out). Pienza was redesigned during the Renaissance by Pope Pius II (who was born there), and represents the first example of urban planning.
* Pitigliano – This hilltop town’s nickname is “Little Jerusalem,” and its collection of Jewish sights definitely make it stand out in oh-so-Catholic Italy. It’s west of Orvieto in southern Tuscany.
* Assisi – The pilgrimage town of Assisi in Umbria is increasingly popular as a day-trip destination, although most people start from a place that’s closer than Florence. But the train trip from Florence to Assisi is roughly 2 hours one way, so although it’s a long day trip it’s still do-able. The town is beautiful, and whether you’re religious or not a visit to the Basilica of St. Francis (who was born in Assisi) is a must.
* Cinque Terre – This is a less-than-ideal day-trip from Florence, as the train trip one-way is going to be 2.5-3 hours, but if you’re determined to see the Cinque Terre and you’re not going to get there any other way, then read more about getting to the Cinque Terre from Florence.
Still, if you’re trying to limit the number of times you transfer to a new hotel, staying in Florence long enough that you’ve got time for a day trip or two, or are just tired of Florence and want a change of scenery, you’re in luck – the options for day trips from Florence are plentiful.
As mentioned, many of the most popular day trips out of Florence are Tuscan hill towns. Depending on your opinion of towns like this, you may want to just pick one (the smaller ones especially can lead to a serious case of deja vu) or you might enjoy discovering the sometimes slight differences between them (at least they’re slight to visitors!). But even if you’re tired of small-town Italy, there are other options for day-trips from Florence that’ll give you a chance to see something a little more different.
One thing to keep in mind with these Florence day trips is transportation. There are some truly lovely places around Florence (all over Italy, really) which aren’t easily accessible without a car. So if you’re limited to getting around via public transportation, the first thing you’ll want to figure out is whether a town has a train station (makes for the easiest day trip) or bus service (a very close second to trains in terms of ease). If you’ve found a spot without train or bus service that you absolutely must visit, then renting a car for a day is always an option.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of day trips from Florence, and if I’m missing your favorite please let me know in the comments!
Day Trips from Florence
* Siena – This is probably the most popular day-trip from Florence, although more and more people are choosing to stay in Siena for a couple days, too. There’s a beautiful cathedral, a sloping main square, and a seemingly endless maze of hilly cobbled streets in Siena, all contained within the old city walls. The city changes complexion at night and early in the morning (when the day trippers aren’t there), but even when it’s crowded it’s still charming. Find out how to get to Siena from Florence.
* Fiesole – In terms of easy day trips, you can’t beat Fiesole. This hilltop town overlooks Florence, and the bus trip is quick. You probably won’t even need a full day in Fiesole, unless you bring a book and a picnic lunch and spend half the day lounging in a park somewhere. Otherwise, it’s a nice spot for a half day away from the crowds of Florence.
* Pisa – Although Pisa is home to one of the most famous sights in Italy, the leaning tower, it’s a city where most tourists only spend a couple of hours on their way from one place to another. What this means is that Pisa’s an ideal spot to spend a day if you want to visit a real Italian city that’s not overrun by tourists (provided that you limit your time around the tower).
* San Gimignano – This famous hilltop town is, like Siena, often full of day-trippers by day and quiet overnight. But because there’s no train station in San Gimignano and many tourists aren’t interested in taking a bus in Italy, the crowds are far smaller than you’d find in Siena. With a car or by bus, it’s an easy day trip and a great way to escape the busy city.
* Cortona – Another hill town in Tuscany with even more name recognition is Cortona, which many visitors know as the town where the “Under the Tuscan Sun” author bought and refurbished a farmhouse. Life hasn’t been the same since fans of the books started visiting and searching for said farmhouse, but it can still be a nice day trip option.
* Lucca – There are many towns throughout Italy where you’ll find pieces of ancient Roman walls, but very few are as well-preserved as the walls surrounding Lucca. Not only are they well-preserved, however, Lucca’s walls are also an interactive attraction – there’s a pathway along the top of the walls upon which you can bike or walk.
* Chianti Wine Tour – Unless you sign up for an organized tour of the region’s wineries, your best bet for visiting the Chianti wine region is to have a car at your disposal and just drive. The easiest thing to do is rent a car (for the day, if you don’t have one for your whole trip) and get an upgrade to one with a GPS system so that you can take any road that looks interesting and then just plug in your hotel address when you’re ready to go back, but you can also do well with a good regional map (the more detailed, the better). Towns to visit include Radda in Chianti, Castellina in Chianti, Greve in Chianti, and don’t-blink-or-you’ll-miss-it Panzano, where you’ll find the man who’s easily the most famous butcher in Italy.
* National Parks – Tired of cities and even charming small towns? Tuscany has five national parks which might be just what you’re looking for. The Archipelago National Park of Tuscany covers some of Tuscany’s coast and islands and is Europe’s biggest marine park. Further down the coast is the Regional Park of Maremma, which has both coastal terrain and more inland terrain. The National Park of the Casentinesi Forest is in the hills of eastern Tuscany on the border with Romagna. Getting to these parks requires that you have a car, but if you’re an avid hiker or just want some fresh air away from the city, then certainly check with the tourist office in Florence to find out more about each of the region’s parks and how to reach them.
* Viareggio – So many people concentrate on Tuscany’s hill towns that they forget the region has a fairly sizeable coastline (and islands, too). One of the coastal resort towns you might have on your day-trip list is Viareggio, which has nice, big beaches and is home to a well-known Carnevale celebration in the Spring.
* Forte dei Marmi – Another beach resort town worth a day-trip (if not more) is Forte dei Marmi, which is where parts of “The English Patient” were filmed. This is a more upscale town than Viareggio, and tends to be busier on weekends.
* Arezzo – Arezzo is another Tuscan city with a movie connection, in that the Oscar-winning film “Life is Beautiful” was filmed there. The city has a rich Etruscan past that pre-dates the Roman era and several churches worth visiting.
* Volterra – For more Etruscan history, you might also look at a trip to Volterra. The town is surrounded in part by its Etruscan walls, and also has a Roman theatre dating from the 1st century B.C.E.
* Mugello Valley – North of Florence is the green Mugello Valley, which was a region the famous Medici family liked enough to build several villas. With a car and no schedule, you can enjoy a leisurely drive between the regions towns, stopping to visit the aforementioned villas as well as the many museums and churches, and maybe even to do a little hiking.
* Montepulciano – Wine lovers will recognize the name Montepulciano, but even if you’re not into wine this is a lovely hilltop town to visit. More recently, Montepulciano was in the news as the setting for some of the filming for the second movie in the “Twilight” series, but it remains to be seen whether that will impact tourism much. Not far away is the similarly-named town of Montalcino, which is also famous for wine and slightly less highly-visited than Montepulciano.
* Pienza – Italy is littered with UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the whole town of Pienza. The town sits between Montepulciano and Montalcino (so the trio, taken together, make a great day out). Pienza was redesigned during the Renaissance by Pope Pius II (who was born there), and represents the first example of urban planning.
* Pitigliano – This hilltop town’s nickname is “Little Jerusalem,” and its collection of Jewish sights definitely make it stand out in oh-so-Catholic Italy. It’s west of Orvieto in southern Tuscany.
* Assisi – The pilgrimage town of Assisi in Umbria is increasingly popular as a day-trip destination, although most people start from a place that’s closer than Florence. But the train trip from Florence to Assisi is roughly 2 hours one way, so although it’s a long day trip it’s still do-able. The town is beautiful, and whether you’re religious or not a visit to the Basilica of St. Francis (who was born in Assisi) is a must.
* Cinque Terre – This is a less-than-ideal day-trip from Florence, as the train trip one-way is going to be 2.5-3 hours, but if you’re determined to see the Cinque Terre and you’re not going to get there any other way, then read more about getting to the Cinque Terre from Florence.
Itinerary for 4 Days in Florence
This is a stop on my perfect itinerary for Italy – if you’ve been following along, you’ve already spend 2 days in Venice and 2 days in the Cinque Terre. Now, it’s time for Florence!
For many people, especially first-time visitors to Italy, an Italy trip isn’t complete without a few days in that cradle of the Renaissance – Florence. The exceedingly popular capital of Tuscany is always crowded with tourists, but it’s also an easy place to visit and get around in, so although you should prepare for the crowds you shouldn’t stay away because of them.
Four days spent in one city in Italy may seem like a lot, but one of these days is half taken up by your trip from the Cinque Terre and a brief stop in Pisa (because, well, you know why), and another of these days is a great opportunity to take a day-trip to nearby Siena. So that leaves you with roughly 2.5 days in Florence – not nearly enough time to see everything there is to see in the city, but enough time to let you enjoy Florence at a more leisurely pace.
Here, then, are my thoughts on what to do with four days in Florence.
Four Days in Florence
4daysflorence1As I said above, Florence is crowded year-round. In the summer months, you have the predictable groups of tourists following flag-wielding tour guides through the highlights of one of the most art-rich cities on earth. The lines for the Uffizi Gallery are unspeakably long, and you may have to wait your turn to get a “front row” spot on the edge of the Ponte Vecchio for an unobstructed view of the Arno River.
So, outside the peak tourism season, the city slows down, right? Not so much.
Because of the wall-to-wall art history that is Florence, it’s also a popular stop for school trips throughout the school year. So while those packs of visitors in front of the Duomo or waiting in line to see Michelangelo’s “David” may not be middle-aged Americans, they’re not locals, either. Seeing Florence outside the summer months does have its advantages, however, even if you are bumping into Italian teens everywhere you go – the prices are lower, and the restaurants you’ll want to eat in aren’t likely to be as busy (since the teenagers are eating cheap elsewhere).
Whenever you visit Florence, your itinerary will likely include at least two (if not more) of the city’s art galleries and museums. So before you go, be absolutely sure you find out what days of the week you’ll be in Florence and what days of the week the museums are closed (each one has different closed days). This could prevent the unhappy realization that the only day you have left to see the Uffizi is the one day it’s closed.
Day One in Florence
4daysflorence2Assuming you’re following my 2-week Italy itinerary and are on your way to Florence from the Cinque Terre, the first thing on your Florence to-do list isn’t even in the city of Florence – it’s a brief stop in Pisa. Because you’ll have to change trains en route anyway, you might as well make it in Pisa where you can stow your bags at the train station for a couple hours and hop on a bus into the city center to see the famous leaning tower of Pisa. You can book tickets in advance if you’d like to climb it, or just take your goofy pictures pretending you’re holding it up, before grabbing some lunch and getting back on the next train to Florence.
>> If you’re arriving in Florence from another destination that doesn’t have Pisa right on the way, a day trip to Pisa from Florence is very easy to manage with direct trains and really only requires a half-day.
You’ll arrive in Florence in the early afternoon, then, and settle into your hotel room before going out to explore a little bit before dinner. My hope is that you’re staying in the historic center of Florence, since that’s where you’ll be spending all your time, and it makes everything you want to see and do within walking distance. Your afternoon stroll gives you a great chance to get the lay of the land around your hotel, scope out a place to have dinner, and – if you haven’t booked your tickets to the galleries in advance – an opportunity to swing by the secret ticket window to see what they have available.
I tend to think of the Duomo in Florence as the hub of the historic center, so I find that gravitating toward the Duomo at some point soon after arriving in the city is a nice way to check in. The square in front of the Duomo offers some great people-watching (though it can also be a haven for pickpockets, especially during summer, so keep your valuables close and/or hidden).
Other touchstones for your time in Florence are likely to be the Piazza della Signoria and the Ponte Vecchio, so getting familiar with where they are in relation to your hotel isn’t a bad idea on your first day. And even if you’ve already located one place that looks ideal for dinner that night, keep an eye out for spots to eat later in your stay. Oh, and by all means enjoy your getting-to-know-you stroll through Florence with a scoop or two of gelato.
Depending on how much energy you have (and how many open hours are left at the various sites), you could squeeze in a spin through church or two on this first evening before dinner if you like. Personally, I prefer to leave my first few hours in a new city completely open for walking, but if (for instance) you’re passing through the Piazza del Duomo and are just dying to go inside, by all means – do.
Otherwise, enjoy exploring this beautiful city at whatever pace your feet want to take you.
Day Two in Florence
4daysflorence3I have dubbed this day “art day,” but again, be sure to check what days the various museums are closed – you may have to shuffle a few things around on your itinerary.
Calling one day “art day” in a city that’s spilling over with art is a little silly, but what I mean is that this is the day you’ll spend in the city’s big three art galleries/museums. If you haven’t booked your Uffizi tickets and Accademia tickets in advance, and you weren’t able to get anything at the secret ticket window mentioned above, you might be forced to wait in long lines to get into these two biggies – which severely cuts down on your time inside each one, let alone the amount of time you have to do other things during the day. In other words, especially during (but not limited to) the high season, advance booking is highly recommended.
For the sake of argument, we’re going to assume you’ve got tickets and aren’t wasting hours in line.
It doesn’t matter which order you do these in, but the three galleries/museums I’d put together in one day are the Uffizi, the Accademia, and the Bargello. The latter is less popular by a long shot, but includes some incredible sculpture by famous artists (including an early Michelangelo), so it’s one I recommend. You’re likely to spend the most time in the Uffizi, and the least in the Accademia (there’s almost nothing inside but the “David”), so you might want to do the Uffizi first thing, then have lunch, and then tackle the other two after you eat. Don’t go into any of these places on an empty stomach.
After a full day of art galleries, reward yourself with another couple scoops of gelato and a leisurely walk around a neighborhood you find particularly enjoyable. I like the Oltrarno, which is what they call the area across the river from the Uffizi (Oltrarno meaning “other Arno,” or the other side of the Arno River), and it tends to be a little less crowded than the Duomo side of the river. If you’re up for it and the weather’s good, a hike up the hill to the Piazzale Michelangelo is a lovely place to watch the sun set over the city. Otherwise, there’s a bus that’ll take you up to the top of the hill, too (you can always walk back down!).
Day Three in Florence
4daysflorence4That heading is a misnomer, because this day is the one where you’ll hop on a bus in the morning and take a day-trip to Siena.
Getting from Florence to Siena is easy, as there are regular buses (there are also trains, but the bus is the better option), and since it’s around 1.5 hours one-way it’s an excellent day-trip destination. It’s regularly cited as a favorite stop in Tuscany, and with good reason. It’s also a popular day-trip, so while staying overnight will allow you to see the city when it’s less crowded, a day-trip to Siena is better than no trip to Siena.
Much of what’s enjoyable about a visit to Siena is just walking through the beautiful meandering lanes of the old walled city, but the don’t-miss sights include the Duomo, the Baptistery, the main square (called the Campo), and the City Hall (where you can climb the tower over the Campo for great views over the red rooves). Siena’s patron saint, Saint Catherine, is also – at least partially – on display in the Basilica di San Domenico (they have her head and one finger), so that’s worth a stop if you’re into relics.
Before you leave the Siena bus station to explore the city, find out what the return bus schedule is like – then you’re better equipped later on to decide whether you want to have dinner in Siena and take a late bus back or take an earlier bus back and have dinner again in Florence. Also, if you end up not spending a full day in Siena, you might be able to check off a couple churches in Florence before dinner if you like – or just enjoy some more people-watching in Florence’s other prime spot for that activity, the Piazza della Signoria.
Day Four in Florence
4daysflorence5If day two was “art day,” then day four is “church day.”
As is the case with many cities in Italy, the churches in Florence are worthwhile attractions not just for their religious or historic significance, but also often because they have stunning artwork on display inside. Such is the case with many churches in Florence – and while you would need a longer visit to see them all, you can certainly get a good sample in a day.
Because there are so many options when it comes to churches in Florence, I highly recommend you read up on the various churches to see which ones you’d like to visit during “church day” so you don’t inadvertently skip the one that has art by a favorite painter. Some of your options include:
* Duomo (plus the bell tower and the baptistery, & perhaps the Duomo Museum)
* Medici Chapels
* Santa Croce
* Santa Maria Novella
* Orsanmichele
Another thing to do on this day, if you haven’t done it already, is to wander through the Florence leather market. If you’re really in the market for some leather goods, you’d be smart to start looking earlier in your stay so you know what the prices are and can begin to formulate your haggling plan. If you’re just looking, it’s still a fun diversion (and it’s a small market, so it’s a quick stop). Just keep an eye on your purses and wallets, as the markets are also notorious for pickpockets.
You can also use your last day in Florence to check off any of the things from earlier in the itinerary that you wanted to do but couldn’t fit in that day. Maybe the Accademia was closed on “art day,” for instance, or it was raining earlier in your trip so you couldn’t get a good view over the city from the Piazzale Michelangelo. And by all means, if you haven’t had your requisite two scoops of gelato per day during your whole stay in Florence, make up for lost time before you leave.
If you’re following along with my recommended route through Italy, then you’ll be getting on a morning train the next day to spend five days in Rome, dreams of Michelangelo and gelato still dancing in your head. Read more about how to get from Florence to Rome.
>> There are, obviously, lots of things to do in Florence that I’ve left out of this itinerary – the Palazzo Vecchio, the Pitti Palace, the Boboli Gardens, and more. Feel free to swap some of my suggestions out for one of these – or anything else in Florence – if it appeals to you more. And if you still can’t squeeze it all in, then start planning your return trip before you even leave!
More Useful Information for Visiting Florence
4daysflorence6No matter how long you’re planning to be in Florence, here are some more articles you might find handy:
* Florence Travel Guide
* Top 10 Things to Do in Florence
* What to Do in Florence
* Things You Should Know About Florence
* Hostels in Florence Near the Duomo
* Free Things to Do in Florence
* Leather Shopping in Florence
* Italian Gelato Flavors and What They Mean in English
photos, top to bottom, by: Alaskan Dude, ralphunden, James & Vilija, lesteph, Matthias Rosenkranz, Rosino
For many people, especially first-time visitors to Italy, an Italy trip isn’t complete without a few days in that cradle of the Renaissance – Florence. The exceedingly popular capital of Tuscany is always crowded with tourists, but it’s also an easy place to visit and get around in, so although you should prepare for the crowds you shouldn’t stay away because of them.
Four days spent in one city in Italy may seem like a lot, but one of these days is half taken up by your trip from the Cinque Terre and a brief stop in Pisa (because, well, you know why), and another of these days is a great opportunity to take a day-trip to nearby Siena. So that leaves you with roughly 2.5 days in Florence – not nearly enough time to see everything there is to see in the city, but enough time to let you enjoy Florence at a more leisurely pace.
Here, then, are my thoughts on what to do with four days in Florence.
Four Days in Florence
4daysflorence1As I said above, Florence is crowded year-round. In the summer months, you have the predictable groups of tourists following flag-wielding tour guides through the highlights of one of the most art-rich cities on earth. The lines for the Uffizi Gallery are unspeakably long, and you may have to wait your turn to get a “front row” spot on the edge of the Ponte Vecchio for an unobstructed view of the Arno River.
So, outside the peak tourism season, the city slows down, right? Not so much.
Because of the wall-to-wall art history that is Florence, it’s also a popular stop for school trips throughout the school year. So while those packs of visitors in front of the Duomo or waiting in line to see Michelangelo’s “David” may not be middle-aged Americans, they’re not locals, either. Seeing Florence outside the summer months does have its advantages, however, even if you are bumping into Italian teens everywhere you go – the prices are lower, and the restaurants you’ll want to eat in aren’t likely to be as busy (since the teenagers are eating cheap elsewhere).
Whenever you visit Florence, your itinerary will likely include at least two (if not more) of the city’s art galleries and museums. So before you go, be absolutely sure you find out what days of the week you’ll be in Florence and what days of the week the museums are closed (each one has different closed days). This could prevent the unhappy realization that the only day you have left to see the Uffizi is the one day it’s closed.
Day One in Florence
4daysflorence2Assuming you’re following my 2-week Italy itinerary and are on your way to Florence from the Cinque Terre, the first thing on your Florence to-do list isn’t even in the city of Florence – it’s a brief stop in Pisa. Because you’ll have to change trains en route anyway, you might as well make it in Pisa where you can stow your bags at the train station for a couple hours and hop on a bus into the city center to see the famous leaning tower of Pisa. You can book tickets in advance if you’d like to climb it, or just take your goofy pictures pretending you’re holding it up, before grabbing some lunch and getting back on the next train to Florence.
>> If you’re arriving in Florence from another destination that doesn’t have Pisa right on the way, a day trip to Pisa from Florence is very easy to manage with direct trains and really only requires a half-day.
You’ll arrive in Florence in the early afternoon, then, and settle into your hotel room before going out to explore a little bit before dinner. My hope is that you’re staying in the historic center of Florence, since that’s where you’ll be spending all your time, and it makes everything you want to see and do within walking distance. Your afternoon stroll gives you a great chance to get the lay of the land around your hotel, scope out a place to have dinner, and – if you haven’t booked your tickets to the galleries in advance – an opportunity to swing by the secret ticket window to see what they have available.
I tend to think of the Duomo in Florence as the hub of the historic center, so I find that gravitating toward the Duomo at some point soon after arriving in the city is a nice way to check in. The square in front of the Duomo offers some great people-watching (though it can also be a haven for pickpockets, especially during summer, so keep your valuables close and/or hidden).
Other touchstones for your time in Florence are likely to be the Piazza della Signoria and the Ponte Vecchio, so getting familiar with where they are in relation to your hotel isn’t a bad idea on your first day. And even if you’ve already located one place that looks ideal for dinner that night, keep an eye out for spots to eat later in your stay. Oh, and by all means enjoy your getting-to-know-you stroll through Florence with a scoop or two of gelato.
Depending on how much energy you have (and how many open hours are left at the various sites), you could squeeze in a spin through church or two on this first evening before dinner if you like. Personally, I prefer to leave my first few hours in a new city completely open for walking, but if (for instance) you’re passing through the Piazza del Duomo and are just dying to go inside, by all means – do.
Otherwise, enjoy exploring this beautiful city at whatever pace your feet want to take you.
Day Two in Florence
4daysflorence3I have dubbed this day “art day,” but again, be sure to check what days the various museums are closed – you may have to shuffle a few things around on your itinerary.
Calling one day “art day” in a city that’s spilling over with art is a little silly, but what I mean is that this is the day you’ll spend in the city’s big three art galleries/museums. If you haven’t booked your Uffizi tickets and Accademia tickets in advance, and you weren’t able to get anything at the secret ticket window mentioned above, you might be forced to wait in long lines to get into these two biggies – which severely cuts down on your time inside each one, let alone the amount of time you have to do other things during the day. In other words, especially during (but not limited to) the high season, advance booking is highly recommended.
For the sake of argument, we’re going to assume you’ve got tickets and aren’t wasting hours in line.
It doesn’t matter which order you do these in, but the three galleries/museums I’d put together in one day are the Uffizi, the Accademia, and the Bargello. The latter is less popular by a long shot, but includes some incredible sculpture by famous artists (including an early Michelangelo), so it’s one I recommend. You’re likely to spend the most time in the Uffizi, and the least in the Accademia (there’s almost nothing inside but the “David”), so you might want to do the Uffizi first thing, then have lunch, and then tackle the other two after you eat. Don’t go into any of these places on an empty stomach.
After a full day of art galleries, reward yourself with another couple scoops of gelato and a leisurely walk around a neighborhood you find particularly enjoyable. I like the Oltrarno, which is what they call the area across the river from the Uffizi (Oltrarno meaning “other Arno,” or the other side of the Arno River), and it tends to be a little less crowded than the Duomo side of the river. If you’re up for it and the weather’s good, a hike up the hill to the Piazzale Michelangelo is a lovely place to watch the sun set over the city. Otherwise, there’s a bus that’ll take you up to the top of the hill, too (you can always walk back down!).
Day Three in Florence
4daysflorence4That heading is a misnomer, because this day is the one where you’ll hop on a bus in the morning and take a day-trip to Siena.
Getting from Florence to Siena is easy, as there are regular buses (there are also trains, but the bus is the better option), and since it’s around 1.5 hours one-way it’s an excellent day-trip destination. It’s regularly cited as a favorite stop in Tuscany, and with good reason. It’s also a popular day-trip, so while staying overnight will allow you to see the city when it’s less crowded, a day-trip to Siena is better than no trip to Siena.
Much of what’s enjoyable about a visit to Siena is just walking through the beautiful meandering lanes of the old walled city, but the don’t-miss sights include the Duomo, the Baptistery, the main square (called the Campo), and the City Hall (where you can climb the tower over the Campo for great views over the red rooves). Siena’s patron saint, Saint Catherine, is also – at least partially – on display in the Basilica di San Domenico (they have her head and one finger), so that’s worth a stop if you’re into relics.
Before you leave the Siena bus station to explore the city, find out what the return bus schedule is like – then you’re better equipped later on to decide whether you want to have dinner in Siena and take a late bus back or take an earlier bus back and have dinner again in Florence. Also, if you end up not spending a full day in Siena, you might be able to check off a couple churches in Florence before dinner if you like – or just enjoy some more people-watching in Florence’s other prime spot for that activity, the Piazza della Signoria.
Day Four in Florence
4daysflorence5If day two was “art day,” then day four is “church day.”
As is the case with many cities in Italy, the churches in Florence are worthwhile attractions not just for their religious or historic significance, but also often because they have stunning artwork on display inside. Such is the case with many churches in Florence – and while you would need a longer visit to see them all, you can certainly get a good sample in a day.
Because there are so many options when it comes to churches in Florence, I highly recommend you read up on the various churches to see which ones you’d like to visit during “church day” so you don’t inadvertently skip the one that has art by a favorite painter. Some of your options include:
* Duomo (plus the bell tower and the baptistery, & perhaps the Duomo Museum)
* Medici Chapels
* Santa Croce
* Santa Maria Novella
* Orsanmichele
Another thing to do on this day, if you haven’t done it already, is to wander through the Florence leather market. If you’re really in the market for some leather goods, you’d be smart to start looking earlier in your stay so you know what the prices are and can begin to formulate your haggling plan. If you’re just looking, it’s still a fun diversion (and it’s a small market, so it’s a quick stop). Just keep an eye on your purses and wallets, as the markets are also notorious for pickpockets.
You can also use your last day in Florence to check off any of the things from earlier in the itinerary that you wanted to do but couldn’t fit in that day. Maybe the Accademia was closed on “art day,” for instance, or it was raining earlier in your trip so you couldn’t get a good view over the city from the Piazzale Michelangelo. And by all means, if you haven’t had your requisite two scoops of gelato per day during your whole stay in Florence, make up for lost time before you leave.
If you’re following along with my recommended route through Italy, then you’ll be getting on a morning train the next day to spend five days in Rome, dreams of Michelangelo and gelato still dancing in your head. Read more about how to get from Florence to Rome.
>> There are, obviously, lots of things to do in Florence that I’ve left out of this itinerary – the Palazzo Vecchio, the Pitti Palace, the Boboli Gardens, and more. Feel free to swap some of my suggestions out for one of these – or anything else in Florence – if it appeals to you more. And if you still can’t squeeze it all in, then start planning your return trip before you even leave!
More Useful Information for Visiting Florence
4daysflorence6No matter how long you’re planning to be in Florence, here are some more articles you might find handy:
* Florence Travel Guide
* Top 10 Things to Do in Florence
* What to Do in Florence
* Things You Should Know About Florence
* Hostels in Florence Near the Duomo
* Free Things to Do in Florence
* Leather Shopping in Florence
* Italian Gelato Flavors and What They Mean in English
photos, top to bottom, by: Alaskan Dude, ralphunden, James & Vilija, lesteph, Matthias Rosenkranz, Rosino
Eurail - How to avoid reservation fees
How to avoid reservation fees
Avoid reservations by researching alternative routes! Your trip may take longer and require more transfers, but you don't have to pay reservation fees.
How to find trains which require no reservations:
1. Go to the online journey planner of OBB
2. Enter your station of departure and destination and the departure time.
3. Then select 'Without ICE, TGV etc'.'
4. Click on 'Search connection'
5. You will now see the train connections, which normally require no reservation.
You can also use the similar Deutsche Bahn timetable. Here you have to uncheck 'prefer fast connections', and select 'All without ICE'.
Example trip: Amsterdam - Paris
Fast route with reservation
The fastest train journey from Amsterdam to Paris takes 4 hours. This is a direct connection by Thalys high-speed train. However, this train is subject to (a rather expensive) compulsory reservation. The Thalys reservation fee for Eurail Pass holders starts from 33 euro in 2nd class, see the price overview at thalys.com.
Alternative route without reservation
An alternative train journey without reservations is possible on this route, if you don't mind a longer travel time and a few transfers. You can reach Paris from Amsterdam in 8 hours time, with changes in Antwerp, Lille and Aulnoye. Why not stop in one of these cities for a few hours for a meal or some sightseeing?
Timetable example Amsterdam - Paris
Discover Europe!
With a Eurail Pass, Europe is there to explore... Endless miles of railway lines running across the European continent connecting one breathtaking scenery to another, connecting one exciting city to the other. All you need to do is board a train, sit back, relax and enjoy your holiday through unlimited travel in an elegant, quiet and comfortable way.
Interior of a local train in the Czech Republic
Avoid reservations by researching alternative routes! Your trip may take longer and require more transfers, but you don't have to pay reservation fees.
How to find trains which require no reservations:
1. Go to the online journey planner of OBB
2. Enter your station of departure and destination and the departure time.
3. Then select 'Without ICE, TGV etc'.'
4. Click on 'Search connection'
5. You will now see the train connections, which normally require no reservation.
You can also use the similar Deutsche Bahn timetable. Here you have to uncheck 'prefer fast connections', and select 'All without ICE'.
Example trip: Amsterdam - Paris
Fast route with reservation
The fastest train journey from Amsterdam to Paris takes 4 hours. This is a direct connection by Thalys high-speed train. However, this train is subject to (a rather expensive) compulsory reservation. The Thalys reservation fee for Eurail Pass holders starts from 33 euro in 2nd class, see the price overview at thalys.com.
Alternative route without reservation
An alternative train journey without reservations is possible on this route, if you don't mind a longer travel time and a few transfers. You can reach Paris from Amsterdam in 8 hours time, with changes in Antwerp, Lille and Aulnoye. Why not stop in one of these cities for a few hours for a meal or some sightseeing?
Timetable example Amsterdam - Paris
Discover Europe!
With a Eurail Pass, Europe is there to explore... Endless miles of railway lines running across the European continent connecting one breathtaking scenery to another, connecting one exciting city to the other. All you need to do is board a train, sit back, relax and enjoy your holiday through unlimited travel in an elegant, quiet and comfortable way.
Interior of a local train in the Czech Republic
Top 10 Things to Do in Florence
Before my first visit to Florence, I’d heard and read that one could easily spend a week in the city madly running from museum to gallery and still not hope to see all the art there is to see. Rather than fill me with excitement, that idea made me nervous. I knew I only had three days on that trip (and not even three full days, something like 2.5 days, really), and I just hated the thought of frantically darting around trying to see everything. Thankfully, once I arrived in Florence – and fell completely in love with it – I pulled myself together and had a wonderful time. I’ve been back to visit since that first trip, and I’ve still not seen everything there is to see. In fact, I may never see everything in Florence – but I don’t mind trying.
Now, if you’ve got limited time in Florence like I did on that first trip, you’ll be looking for a to-do list that lets you hit the highlights and not miss anything truly important, right? While everyone’s list of “must-see” sights in Florence is going to contain the really big-deal attractions, those lists are also going to have as many differences as they do similarities. So even though I’m delivering my Top 10 Things to Do in Florence below, I hereby give you permission to tailor it to suit your own needs.
As an aside, I have to say that I knew creating this list of the top 10 things to do in Florence would be hard, but I had no idea how hard. Florence is a city that isn’t easily condensed into short to-do lists, as you’ll find when you visit (or already know from past trips). I could probably change this list in a few different ways and be as content with it as I am now – so if your top 10 list looks different than mine, I just might agree with yours, too.
Top 10 Things to Do in Florence (According to Jessica)
1. Tour the Uffizi Gallery
I know this won’t be popular with the art haters out there, but the Uffizi Gallery is definitely my pick for the #1 thing to do in Florence. It’s easily the best collection of Italian paintings on earth, and I think it’s well worth the time if for no other reason than you get to hang out for awhile in a room that’s got enormous Botticelli paintings all over the walls (it’s a surreal experience, like you’re in the paintings). But because it’s just about everyone’s top recommendation for Florence, the Uffizi is also plagued by long lines to get in. You can avoid the worst of the lines by booking your ticket in advance, or by trying to get last-minute tickets at this still-relatively-unknown ticket window. If your time in Florence is short and you can’t get advance tickets, I’m not sure spending 5+ hours in line for the Uffizi is worth it – but this is one art museum that’s worth planning ahead for.
2. Eat Two Scoops of Gelato Every Day
This is actually a rule a friend of mine who lives in Italy established for her guests (and as far as I’m concerned it’s applicable throughout the country), but in Florence – where the gelato is known for being especially fantastic – it’s so important I’m putting it on my to-do list. There are gelato shops all over the city (including my favorite Florence gelateria), but before you dive in you’ll want to read more about how to make sure you’re getting good gelato so you don’t end up disappointed. You can also study these gelato flavors and learn how to order gelato in Italy before your trip, but just take care not to drool on your computer as you read. And if you’re one of those people who actually wants to eat a well-balanced diet even on vacation, then in addition to your gelato desserts be sure to try some of the local Tuscan specialties when you’re dining out – like the famous (and famously gigantic) bistecca Fiorentina!
3. Do Some People-Watching in the Piazza della Signoria
There are a couple of great places to people-watch in Florence, but for my money the best one is the Piazza della Signoria – if for no other reason than the artwork surrounding the square is always fabulous-looking, even if the people in the square aren’t! This gorgeous open piazza is the front “yard” of what was once the ruling Medici family’s home – the Palazzo Vecchio, which has a “David” replica standing at its entrance. The Loggia to the right of the Palazzo Vecchio is a fantastic outdoor sculpture gallery, and though the restaurants lining the square are mostly overpriced you should feel free to bring your gelato cone in from elsewhere to enjoy the view while you eat. If you want to splurge on a sweet treat with a view of the Piazza della Signoria, I recommend getting a cioccolata calda at Rivoire (and sit outside if you can get a table). For a bit of the macabre, find the circular marble plaque toward the middle of the piazza that marks the spot where the monk Savonarola (the “bonfire of the vanities” guy) was burnt at the stake in 1498.
4. See the Sights in Duomo Square
Another excellent spot for people-watching is the nearby piazza in front of the Florence Duomo, although this one is almost always more crowded (or it just always feels more crowded because it’s not as open). The two big sights here are the Duomo (obviously) and the Baptistery, but the main attraction of the Baptistery is actually on the outside. The set of doors that faces the front of the Duomo was designed by Ghiberti in the early 1400s, and a young Michelangelo thought they were so beautiful that they could be the Gates of Paradise. The original panels are now kept in the Duomo Museum, but the replicas on the Baptistery are still gorgeous and still attract quite a crowd. The Duomo’s relatively barren interior can be a bit of a disappointment after seeing its festive exterior, but most of the art was removed to the Duomo Museum after the 1966 flood. Still, entry into the Duomo is free, so if you need a break from the weather or crowds you can wander around inside. Note that especially in the high season the Piazza del Duomo can be a preferred hang-out for both hawkers of useless crap and pickpockets, so keep an eye out.
5. Climb Either the Duomo’s Dome or Giotto’s Tower
Right in Duomo Square you can take advantage of the height of two of its structures to get great views of the historic city center. The dome of the Duomo, designed by Brunelleschi, not only offers a lovely view but also a quick lesson in architecture as you climb the slanty staircase between the two layered domes (the only way to create a dome of that size at the time) – while the top of the bell tower, designed by Giotto, gives you city views that include a close-up of the dome as well. You may want to climb both, but if you’re on a budget do note that both charge a fee. Anyone interested in design and architecture will want to pick the dome for the history, and if you get a chance to read “Brunelleschi’s Dome” before your trip it’ll make the climb even more meaningful. Also, these climbs are enough to give anyone both vertigo and claustrophobia, whether you’ve had them before or not, so proceed with caution!
6. Watch the Arno Pass Under the Ponte Vecchio
Although the Ponte Vecchio bridge itself is often wall-to-wall people and full of expensive gold jewelry shops (the likes of which I’ll probably never go into), there’s nothing quite like ending a day in Florence perched in the center of the bridge overlooking the river as the sun goes down. Yes, you may well be shoulder to shoulder with lots of other tourists (not to mention teenage Italian lovebirds who are far more interested in making out than the view), but I can still get lost in the movement of the river. I think about how many thousands of people have stood where I’m standing over the past 600+ years. I think about how the Medicis used to walk along the corridor over the bridge from their palace to their offices so as not to mix with (or smell) the commoners. And I think about how lucky I am to have spent the day in such a glorious city. So whatever you think about as you gaze at the Arno from the Ponte Vecchio, I hope you leave with a smile on your face like I always do.
7. Pay Your Respects at Florence’s Famous Graves
Florence is well-known as the birthplace of the Renaissance – not to mention many famous people. Many of its most famous sons were laid to rest in the city, and many of the “celebrity” tombs in Florence can be found in one church – Santa Croce. Among the names you’ll recognize on the elaborate sarcophagi are Galileo, Machiavelli, Rossini, Ghiberti, and Michelangelo himself. There’s also an honorary tomb for Dante, although he’s actually buried in Ravenna. Santa Croce is a pretty open church with a distinctive painted wooden ceiling and featuring frescoes by Giotto, but the main attraction is definitely the famous graves. Another spot to go for famous graves is the Medici Chapel, adjacent to the San Lorenzo Church. There, you’ll find two tombs adorned with sculptures by Michelangelo and containing members of the illustrious Medici family. While you may not know their names as well as you know the names of the people in Santa Croce, without the Medici not only would Florence not be Florence, you might not even know the names of artists like Michelangelo, whose art the Medici sponsored. After visiting the Medici tombs, it’s worth the side trip to the Laurentian Library (with its grand and beautiful staircase designed by Michelangelo) above the nearby cloisters in the same church complex.
8. Check Out the Sculpture at the Bargello
Yes, there’s a lot of art in Florence. And at least two of the city’s most popular galleries routinely have hours-long lines to get in. But luckily, at this point anyway, the Bargello Museum isn’t one of those, despite being to sculpture what the Uffizi is to painting. It’s housed in a former jail, and it contains some incredible early Michelangelo works you may never have heard of, including a fantastic “Bacchus,” and Donatello’s beautiful (and recently restored) bronze “David,” which Michelangelo saw often during his childhood. Also on display are the two entries in the competition which was held to determine who would design the doors for the Baptistery – you can decide for yourself if the right guy won. Although the pieces in the Bargello collection are world-class, the museum tends to be overlooked by most tourists, so it’s a great option for art lovers who are tired of the crowds.
9. Get the Perfect Postcard View from Piazzale Michelangelo
You know that amazing city view you see in all the best postcards of every city you visit around the world? The one that’s basically only possible to re-create if you hire a helicopter or know the person who lives in that incredible penthouse with the view? Well, in Florence, anyone can get that perfect cityscape shot – as long as they know where to go. And you do – head straight for the Piazzale Michelangelo, which overlooks the city from its perch in the hills above the Oltrarno. It’s either a good hike up to the top or a bus route through Florence’s less-scenic neighborhoods to get there, and provided the weather is being kind you’ll be rewarded with the best view of the city you can possibly imagine. The “David” replica at the center of the square lets you add to your fake-”David” count in the city, too. As an added bonus, for those who get to the Piazzale via their own foot power, you’ll get the chance to wander through the Oltrarno (which is the neighborhood on the other side of the Arno river – the name means “beyond the Arno”), which is often overlooked by tourists who cluster around the Duomo. Not up for the hike? Take the bus up the hill and walk back down.
10. Take a Stroll through the Leather Markets
Even if you’re not a shopper, taking a stroll through Florence’s famous leather markets is something that’s worth a few minutes of your time. There are a couple outdoor leather markets in Florence, and they’re within walking distance of one another so you can easily visit both – but I like the one next to San Lorenzo Church because after a stroll through the gauntlet of leather stalls outside you can take a turn through the fabulous Mercato Centrale as well. This indoor market, in a building that dates from the late 19th century, is full of countless food vendors selling everything from the makings of the best picnic lunch you’ll ever have to the ingredients that will populate the menus in restaurants all over the city, as well as several places you can order a ready-made meal. And if you need a food souvenir to bring home (olive oil, dried pasta, or shrink-wrapped cheese, perhaps?) this is the place to go. Just be aware that pickpockets target tourists in the outdoor leather market especially, taking advantage of the close quarters and all the ooh-ing and ahh-ing people are doing over the leather goodies, so make sure your valuables aren’t on display.
You may have lost track of all the fake “David” statues by this point in your wandering around Florence, and you may be wondering where the real one is. Well, although it doesn’t make my top 10 list, the real “David” is in the Accademia and – if you don’t think anything but the original will do – it’s worth a visit. The main reason I didn’t include it here is that it’s a hefty admission fee for one piece of art. Yes, there are other things in the Accademia, but none of them compare to the “David” – and most people make a beeline for Michelangelo’s masterpiece and then head right back out again. So, unless you’re not content seeing the replicas of “David” all over the city and you simply must see the real thing, you can skip the Accademia and not feel too badly about it.
Now, if you’ve got limited time in Florence like I did on that first trip, you’ll be looking for a to-do list that lets you hit the highlights and not miss anything truly important, right? While everyone’s list of “must-see” sights in Florence is going to contain the really big-deal attractions, those lists are also going to have as many differences as they do similarities. So even though I’m delivering my Top 10 Things to Do in Florence below, I hereby give you permission to tailor it to suit your own needs.
As an aside, I have to say that I knew creating this list of the top 10 things to do in Florence would be hard, but I had no idea how hard. Florence is a city that isn’t easily condensed into short to-do lists, as you’ll find when you visit (or already know from past trips). I could probably change this list in a few different ways and be as content with it as I am now – so if your top 10 list looks different than mine, I just might agree with yours, too.
Top 10 Things to Do in Florence (According to Jessica)
1. Tour the Uffizi Gallery
I know this won’t be popular with the art haters out there, but the Uffizi Gallery is definitely my pick for the #1 thing to do in Florence. It’s easily the best collection of Italian paintings on earth, and I think it’s well worth the time if for no other reason than you get to hang out for awhile in a room that’s got enormous Botticelli paintings all over the walls (it’s a surreal experience, like you’re in the paintings). But because it’s just about everyone’s top recommendation for Florence, the Uffizi is also plagued by long lines to get in. You can avoid the worst of the lines by booking your ticket in advance, or by trying to get last-minute tickets at this still-relatively-unknown ticket window. If your time in Florence is short and you can’t get advance tickets, I’m not sure spending 5+ hours in line for the Uffizi is worth it – but this is one art museum that’s worth planning ahead for.
2. Eat Two Scoops of Gelato Every Day
This is actually a rule a friend of mine who lives in Italy established for her guests (and as far as I’m concerned it’s applicable throughout the country), but in Florence – where the gelato is known for being especially fantastic – it’s so important I’m putting it on my to-do list. There are gelato shops all over the city (including my favorite Florence gelateria), but before you dive in you’ll want to read more about how to make sure you’re getting good gelato so you don’t end up disappointed. You can also study these gelato flavors and learn how to order gelato in Italy before your trip, but just take care not to drool on your computer as you read. And if you’re one of those people who actually wants to eat a well-balanced diet even on vacation, then in addition to your gelato desserts be sure to try some of the local Tuscan specialties when you’re dining out – like the famous (and famously gigantic) bistecca Fiorentina!
3. Do Some People-Watching in the Piazza della Signoria
There are a couple of great places to people-watch in Florence, but for my money the best one is the Piazza della Signoria – if for no other reason than the artwork surrounding the square is always fabulous-looking, even if the people in the square aren’t! This gorgeous open piazza is the front “yard” of what was once the ruling Medici family’s home – the Palazzo Vecchio, which has a “David” replica standing at its entrance. The Loggia to the right of the Palazzo Vecchio is a fantastic outdoor sculpture gallery, and though the restaurants lining the square are mostly overpriced you should feel free to bring your gelato cone in from elsewhere to enjoy the view while you eat. If you want to splurge on a sweet treat with a view of the Piazza della Signoria, I recommend getting a cioccolata calda at Rivoire (and sit outside if you can get a table). For a bit of the macabre, find the circular marble plaque toward the middle of the piazza that marks the spot where the monk Savonarola (the “bonfire of the vanities” guy) was burnt at the stake in 1498.
4. See the Sights in Duomo Square
Another excellent spot for people-watching is the nearby piazza in front of the Florence Duomo, although this one is almost always more crowded (or it just always feels more crowded because it’s not as open). The two big sights here are the Duomo (obviously) and the Baptistery, but the main attraction of the Baptistery is actually on the outside. The set of doors that faces the front of the Duomo was designed by Ghiberti in the early 1400s, and a young Michelangelo thought they were so beautiful that they could be the Gates of Paradise. The original panels are now kept in the Duomo Museum, but the replicas on the Baptistery are still gorgeous and still attract quite a crowd. The Duomo’s relatively barren interior can be a bit of a disappointment after seeing its festive exterior, but most of the art was removed to the Duomo Museum after the 1966 flood. Still, entry into the Duomo is free, so if you need a break from the weather or crowds you can wander around inside. Note that especially in the high season the Piazza del Duomo can be a preferred hang-out for both hawkers of useless crap and pickpockets, so keep an eye out.
5. Climb Either the Duomo’s Dome or Giotto’s Tower
Right in Duomo Square you can take advantage of the height of two of its structures to get great views of the historic city center. The dome of the Duomo, designed by Brunelleschi, not only offers a lovely view but also a quick lesson in architecture as you climb the slanty staircase between the two layered domes (the only way to create a dome of that size at the time) – while the top of the bell tower, designed by Giotto, gives you city views that include a close-up of the dome as well. You may want to climb both, but if you’re on a budget do note that both charge a fee. Anyone interested in design and architecture will want to pick the dome for the history, and if you get a chance to read “Brunelleschi’s Dome” before your trip it’ll make the climb even more meaningful. Also, these climbs are enough to give anyone both vertigo and claustrophobia, whether you’ve had them before or not, so proceed with caution!
6. Watch the Arno Pass Under the Ponte Vecchio
Although the Ponte Vecchio bridge itself is often wall-to-wall people and full of expensive gold jewelry shops (the likes of which I’ll probably never go into), there’s nothing quite like ending a day in Florence perched in the center of the bridge overlooking the river as the sun goes down. Yes, you may well be shoulder to shoulder with lots of other tourists (not to mention teenage Italian lovebirds who are far more interested in making out than the view), but I can still get lost in the movement of the river. I think about how many thousands of people have stood where I’m standing over the past 600+ years. I think about how the Medicis used to walk along the corridor over the bridge from their palace to their offices so as not to mix with (or smell) the commoners. And I think about how lucky I am to have spent the day in such a glorious city. So whatever you think about as you gaze at the Arno from the Ponte Vecchio, I hope you leave with a smile on your face like I always do.
7. Pay Your Respects at Florence’s Famous Graves
Florence is well-known as the birthplace of the Renaissance – not to mention many famous people. Many of its most famous sons were laid to rest in the city, and many of the “celebrity” tombs in Florence can be found in one church – Santa Croce. Among the names you’ll recognize on the elaborate sarcophagi are Galileo, Machiavelli, Rossini, Ghiberti, and Michelangelo himself. There’s also an honorary tomb for Dante, although he’s actually buried in Ravenna. Santa Croce is a pretty open church with a distinctive painted wooden ceiling and featuring frescoes by Giotto, but the main attraction is definitely the famous graves. Another spot to go for famous graves is the Medici Chapel, adjacent to the San Lorenzo Church. There, you’ll find two tombs adorned with sculptures by Michelangelo and containing members of the illustrious Medici family. While you may not know their names as well as you know the names of the people in Santa Croce, without the Medici not only would Florence not be Florence, you might not even know the names of artists like Michelangelo, whose art the Medici sponsored. After visiting the Medici tombs, it’s worth the side trip to the Laurentian Library (with its grand and beautiful staircase designed by Michelangelo) above the nearby cloisters in the same church complex.
8. Check Out the Sculpture at the Bargello
Yes, there’s a lot of art in Florence. And at least two of the city’s most popular galleries routinely have hours-long lines to get in. But luckily, at this point anyway, the Bargello Museum isn’t one of those, despite being to sculpture what the Uffizi is to painting. It’s housed in a former jail, and it contains some incredible early Michelangelo works you may never have heard of, including a fantastic “Bacchus,” and Donatello’s beautiful (and recently restored) bronze “David,” which Michelangelo saw often during his childhood. Also on display are the two entries in the competition which was held to determine who would design the doors for the Baptistery – you can decide for yourself if the right guy won. Although the pieces in the Bargello collection are world-class, the museum tends to be overlooked by most tourists, so it’s a great option for art lovers who are tired of the crowds.
9. Get the Perfect Postcard View from Piazzale Michelangelo
You know that amazing city view you see in all the best postcards of every city you visit around the world? The one that’s basically only possible to re-create if you hire a helicopter or know the person who lives in that incredible penthouse with the view? Well, in Florence, anyone can get that perfect cityscape shot – as long as they know where to go. And you do – head straight for the Piazzale Michelangelo, which overlooks the city from its perch in the hills above the Oltrarno. It’s either a good hike up to the top or a bus route through Florence’s less-scenic neighborhoods to get there, and provided the weather is being kind you’ll be rewarded with the best view of the city you can possibly imagine. The “David” replica at the center of the square lets you add to your fake-”David” count in the city, too. As an added bonus, for those who get to the Piazzale via their own foot power, you’ll get the chance to wander through the Oltrarno (which is the neighborhood on the other side of the Arno river – the name means “beyond the Arno”), which is often overlooked by tourists who cluster around the Duomo. Not up for the hike? Take the bus up the hill and walk back down.
10. Take a Stroll through the Leather Markets
Even if you’re not a shopper, taking a stroll through Florence’s famous leather markets is something that’s worth a few minutes of your time. There are a couple outdoor leather markets in Florence, and they’re within walking distance of one another so you can easily visit both – but I like the one next to San Lorenzo Church because after a stroll through the gauntlet of leather stalls outside you can take a turn through the fabulous Mercato Centrale as well. This indoor market, in a building that dates from the late 19th century, is full of countless food vendors selling everything from the makings of the best picnic lunch you’ll ever have to the ingredients that will populate the menus in restaurants all over the city, as well as several places you can order a ready-made meal. And if you need a food souvenir to bring home (olive oil, dried pasta, or shrink-wrapped cheese, perhaps?) this is the place to go. Just be aware that pickpockets target tourists in the outdoor leather market especially, taking advantage of the close quarters and all the ooh-ing and ahh-ing people are doing over the leather goodies, so make sure your valuables aren’t on display.
You may have lost track of all the fake “David” statues by this point in your wandering around Florence, and you may be wondering where the real one is. Well, although it doesn’t make my top 10 list, the real “David” is in the Accademia and – if you don’t think anything but the original will do – it’s worth a visit. The main reason I didn’t include it here is that it’s a hefty admission fee for one piece of art. Yes, there are other things in the Accademia, but none of them compare to the “David” – and most people make a beeline for Michelangelo’s masterpiece and then head right back out again. So, unless you’re not content seeing the replicas of “David” all over the city and you simply must see the real thing, you can skip the Accademia and not feel too badly about it.
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