Click here for a slideshow of Florence, Italy
As a travel agent specializing in Europe vacation packages and tours, everyone asks me the same question? What is your favorite place in Italy? My favorite city in Italy is Florence. After wandering the complicated and concentric streets of Rome and the maze of side streets and plazas in Venice, the layout of Florence was refreshing.
Florence is the home of Michelangelo, Machiavelli and the Medici family. Under the rule of the Medici family Florence blossomed into Italy’s cultural capital with artists such as Alberti, Brunelleschi, and Donatello. In the Uffizi you will see the works of my favorite Boticelli and Titian as well as, Caravaggio, Tintoretto, Raphael, and Giotto.
From the Uffizi you can either exit the front of the plaza or the rear. From the front you can turn left and go to the famous Ponte Vecchio and do some leather shopping or turn right and walk down to Santa Croce and the piazza and find some religion. If you exit the rear of the Piazzale Degli Uffizi, you can easily walk from the Uffizi down Via Dei Calzaiuoli to the Piazza della Signoria with its open air museum and statues that rival David – straight to the amazing Duomo and the Baptistry with its golden doors. On the way to the Duomo if you look to the left down just as you reach Via Del Corso you will see the Pizza della Repubblica. You can easily walk from the Uffizi down Via Dei Calzaiuoli to the Piazza della Signoria straight to the amazing Duomo and the Baptistry with its golden doors. Just past the baptistry you can take a right down Via Ricasoli and walk to the Accademia gallery, home of Michelangelo’s David. Just around the corner from the Accademia is the Museo Archeologico.
As you are walking you have visual eye candy everywhere. You see either the top of the Duomo or the Piazza Vecchio tower high over the roof tops of the city not to mention the random statues virtually on every corner. Not only do you have eye candy but the mouthwatering aroma of the bakeries and restaurants that dot every street as you are walking is heavenly! The best view is from across the river Arno either at the Palazzo Piti or the Piazzale Michelangelo with its David’s in miniature. The view from here is simply breathtaking.
The second best thing about Florence other than it being easy to navigate is its strategic location. It is the heart of Tuscany. From Florence you can visit Pisa, Lucca, Siena, Chianti and other quaint villages like Volterra and Pienza.
If you would like more information about visiting Florence or the surrounding Tuscan villages either on an escorted tour of Italy or as a city stay package, please email me or call 425-821-4100 and ask me how you can save up to $1000.00 per couple on a trip to Italy.