Planning Our Florence Trip
We heard so many good things about visiting Florence. I was most excited to visit the art museums housing the heart of the Renaissance era and explore the city’s architecture. A weekend in Florence was perfect for this. Instead of leaving for a day trip to a nearby vineyard, we walked around the city of Florence for 3 days. My apple watch pinged over 20 miles in one day!
Transportation to Florence
The Train
Since we had such a good experience with Trainline, we booked our train tickets to Florence with them again. This time we were on the Italo train with 1st class tickets. Italo is my preference when it comes to 1st class tickets at the moment. Their seats are more comfortable, the table is larger, and the drinks and snacks are of better quality.
The Hotel
We stayed in the Novella Goldoni Suite Airbnb centrally located in the city and 1.2 mi (a 10 minute walk) from the train station. We had a small kitchen and living room, with a clean room and bathroom.
When we travel, we rarely stay in our Airbnb/hotel during the day unless it’s to change or regather ourselves.
Day 1
After arriving at the Airbnb, we headed straight for the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore. It is even more exquisite in person! To my surprise, the color seemed greener in person.
The fleur de lis on the cathedral is stunning. I totally understand why it is known as the “symbol of Florence”.
The historic representation of the lily is said to hold significance to the Virgin Mary, which can be found all over the city and among many souvenir shops.
Food & Drinks
Next, we headed to View on Art, the rooftop cocktail bar located in front of the Cattedrale. The bar was looked over the neighboring red rooftops around us.
It definitely felt like we were the highest up, enjoying a great view of the church.
The cocktails were good but a bit pricey. If you’re looking for your typical Aperol spritz; expect to pay €12 or so. The views were great! We went for a drink and then took a few pictures to capture the Duomo.
For an aperitif, we found Trattoria da Garibardi, a cute, outdoor area located near the indoor market hall, Mercato Centrale. They served great Aperol spritz and were just €6, like we were used to. We people-watched and listened to the restaurant’s good music before heading over to dinner.
Before heading to Florence, I posted on my Instagram story asking for recommendations on where to eat within the city. Multiple people raved about Trattoria ZaZa, so we made reservations for our first evening. I want to give the restaurant the benefit of doubt but unfortunately, it was far from good in our opinion.
Perhaps the restaurant was having an off-night or maybe things have changed for the restaurant due to Covid, but we were really disappointed in the food. The staff was rather nice and accommodating. The host escorted us to our seats…and instead of walking into the beautiful, outdoor terrace with candles and lighting, we walked past it. So far past it, we were in an entirely different section that no longer had the ‘ambiance’ we were excited for when we arrived. And not only that, but the section absolutely wreaked of sewage so bad that I covered my nose and mouth. I kindly asked the staff if we could wait for a table on the outdoor terrace, instead. They were helpful to accommodate us once a table was available.
Other than the food, the place was super cute with a very friendly staff. I can understand why someone would recommend it based on the vibe.
After our main course, our waitress asked if we’d like coffee or dessert, but we respectfully declined and kept on with our night instead. We walked back to the Cattedrale for a nighttime view of its magic before heading to the Airbnb. I find it fascinating to visit places in both the early and late hours of the day. The different times bring a new vibe and energy than before, which is always fun for me!
Day 2
We got up super early to make it to Ponte Vecchio and Piazzale Michelangelo before the crowds began. My favorite part about visiting new cities is waking up early for the sunrise. There is something about walking around a town you’ve never been in before anyone else is even awake yet.
It’s the stillness. All my senses are heightened at this hour – I can hear everything. The birds chirping to each other, the water flowing from the river or fountains within the city, the random person up early for a jog. Without all the people and noise, it feels like a dream. The crisp morning air is refreshing and the city smells cleaner in the morning. It’s the perfect start to the day. And when Collin joins me, it feels like it’s just us two, in a magical city alone. It’s super romantic!
From our Airbnb to Piazzale Michelangelo, it was a 1.3 mi away (a 30 minute walk) which was 50% uphill and up a long trek of stairs. If you plan to visit Piazzale Michelangelo on foot, you definitely want to plan to wear comfortable shoes. There is a bus route to the top of Piazzale Michelangelo, but I preferred walking through the town instead.
When we got to the top of the hill, we experienced breathtaking views of Florence. With the sun rising at 6:00am, golden tones filled the city’s rooftops and bridges. The sun shined on the Arno River, which glistened from above. We sat together as Florence began to awaken. There was a small restaurant just behind us called La Loggia del Piazzale Michelangelo. We would have stayed for cappuccini and lunch on their rooftop terrace but they didn’t open until 11:00am on Saturday.
While at Piazzale Michelangelo, I decided to sit on the concrete railing, looking over the city. As soon as I climbed up and swung both of my legs over the rail, I felt an immediate regret. I instantly experienced an overwhelming sensation of what I thought was a symptom of Multiple Sclerosis. The French call this experience the ‘Call of the Void’. I explain further in another post what happened on the top of Piazzale Michelangelo, here.
After my symptoms had passed and I was able to process what had just happened, we ventured back down the hill and made our way into town. We had cappuccini at Scudieri cafe, which was really good. They have a ton of pastries and croissants to choose from as well.
We made our way to Galleria dell’ Accademia for our reservation time before noon, which we booked ahead of time through the Visit Florence website. We saw the famous Statue of David and Hall of Prisoners by Michelangelo, and other works from Giambologna, Botticelli, and more.
Located on our way to Uffizi, we found Fedora, an international school of hospitality, arts, and pastry. Their staff invited us in to discover the art and photography by their students.
After walking through the short exhibit, we found ourselves in their quiet, outdoor courtyard housed with green plants, white umbrellas, and iron picnic tables.
We were told the students operate and maintain the pastry shop, plants, and art as a creative learning experience. I wanted to eat here and support the student’s mission. We had a very nice lunch with wine…it was a very neat experience for us.
Our next museum was Uffizi located 1.2 km (a 15 min walk) from Galleria dell Accademia. By now, my legs were hurting from our early morning hike and walking to both museums. Luckily, the Uffizi Museum had lots of benches for me to rest.
I enjoyed seeing all the early Renaissance and Gothic artwork and Roman sculptures. We got to see the famous Portraits of the Dukes of Urbino by Piero della Francesca and other works from Leonardo di Vinci, Botticelli, Masaccio, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Fra Angelico, and more.
The Museum was huge with lots of small rooms, stairs, and floors. There were a lot more people at this museum and unfortunately I did not bring my handheld fan to keep me cool. I started overheating halfway through the Museum and no amount of sitting helped alleviate the heat I felt. With how much walking we had done this day, I was pretty exhausted and knew I needed to leave the museum for some fresh air along with the river.
I didn’t want to make Collin leave with me and I really didn’t mind if he finished without me. After pushing off our departure for as long as possible, I couldn’t ignore my leg pain and heat anymore. I finally told Collin I needed to leave and that he can stay but he didn’t want me to leave the museum alone.
It was obvious to me that he was bummed, although he would deny it if I ever asked. Lucky for me, the museum had easy access to emergency exits throughout the building. We walked out of the museum and across the street to a cafe/bar.
For the next 1.5 hours, we people watched as the crowds formed along Ponte Vecchio. From teenagers sucking face, Instagram husbands taking insta-worthy photos of their spouses, to luxury sports cars passing through, we relaxed as the crowds entertained us.
Another one of my favorite things to do while traveling is walk through the town and find places to eat. I fall in love with the spots that only a local would know of.
These are usually more hidden, far away from the tourist traps. I found one in particular. Behind the large, iron gate was a beautiful indoor/outdoor concept. Inside the bar held a heavy selection of wines filling an entire wall.
They were completely booked for lunch, aperitif, and dinner all weekend long. After looking up the restaurant, I realized we had found one of the famous Antinori restaurants, Cantinetta Antinori.
Their family has been making wine for over 6 generations with wineries and estates in an intimate selection of cities.
This restaurant, in particular, was the first of their locations. The building was built in the 1400s before the Antinori family bought it in 1957.
Since it was entirely booked, we journeyed through the town before coming across Le Cappelle Medicee, a ristorante enoteca Collin wanted to try. We sat outside, across the street from the restaurant.
We had an amazing bottle of wine (Badia A Passignano 2016) which just so happened to be an Antinori-produced wine…the irony. Our food was the authentic Tuscan meal we were looking for, far beating my recommended Trattoria ZaZa from the night before. Collin had bragging rights all night lol.
The staff was so kind and attentive. At one point it started raining. I’ve come to notice most Italians don’t like getting wet. Everyone seated in the same area as us, ran for cover under the restaurant’s awning while Collin and I stayed seated and continued to eat and drink in the “rain”- it was more like sprinkling lol.
They brought us limoncello after dinner, dessert, and a cafe. We told all of our friends planning to visit Florence in the coming weeks to eat there. We would go back for sure!
Day 3
We found a restaurant tucked away, across from the Duomo within the Piazza delle Pallottole. The owner told us the restaurant, Sasso di Dante, was named after the famous marble stone located behind us.
The tale is, Dante, a famous poet at the time, would sit on the rock and watch as the Cathedral was built. The restaurant had great drinks and food with a cool story behind it.
As we were leaving, we saw a group tour coming in to view and take pictures of the marble stone. We were laughing at the entire situation- we didn’t even notice and everyone taking pictures with this stone hahah.
Before catching the train, on our way out of the city, we went to Santa Cocktail Club in the Piazza di Santa Maria. Their handcrafted cocktails were so good. When we had planned to only stay for 1, we had to have 2! For a €15 cocktail, they were worth every sip!
Shopping
On the South side of the Arno River, we bought more Antinori wines to bring home and leather goods. On the way to the station, we stopped in Santa Maria Novella, which was recommended to me by a long-time neighbor of ours.
Their perfumes and scents are made from fresh roses and flowers and have been formed into luxury soaps, lotions, beauty products, and liqueurs. They had many scents to choose from.
The building Santa Maria Novella was located in had its own little museum where you could learn how they extract and formulate their products.
I bought the vanilla-scented body lotion and Elisir di Rose liqueur. The lotion is smooth, milky, and refreshing and the Rose liqueur I mix with champagne for the prettiest rose color and taste!
Things to do
Gucci Garden Museum & Osteria was booked for months when we visited Florence. I would have loved to check out the fashion designer’s museum and restaurant because their menu and pictures look fabulous. If you plan to visit Florence anytime in the future, I would call to make reservations now!
The Boboli Gardens was on our list to see but unfortunately, Collin’s allergies and my heat sensitivity made us veto the gardens for another future trip. We would have seen them when we were on the south side of the River, around Piazzale Michelangelo.
Recommendations
Trip Duration
A weekend in Florence was more than enough time for us. For this trip, we knew our priorities were to see the museums and the city itself, so it worked out perfectly for us!
Next time, we would definitely plan to venture outside of the city center and explore the outskirts of Florence for a half day. There are tons of neighboring cities filled with wineries and group tours.
Transportation
It was very easy to get around Florence on foot so we didn’t rent a car or scooter. Walking on foot was the reason we found so many great places!
Luggage
Our Airbnb checkout time was 11:00am and our train wasn’t departing until late afternoon. We wanted to explore Florence on our final day without having to tow our bags around with us.
So, we found a locker storage located right outside the train station. We rented 1 large locker and squeezed our carry-on suitcases inside. It was super affordable for half a day (about €15) and we didn’t have to lug anything around! So worth it!
Reservations are a must!
Book all your museums, tours, and exhibits beforehand! Many require a reservation and depending on the museum’s traffic, they may not allow walk-ins. This actually goes for all restaurants and bars as well. It is hard to get a table at my favorite restaurants without one, especially on the weekends so if you’ve been eyeing a few places, call to book now.
