by Celeste Lipford and Terry Lipford - last updated on 5/20/2025
After Rome, we took the train to Florence; a beautiful city; full of amazing architecture, historical sites and numerous art collections residing in various museums. Yes, Florence is only 270 kilometers north from Rome on the Italian E35 Autostrada, but the train service between the two cities is frequent & fast and our game plan called for us to rent a car only while in Florence.
To insure that you see as much as possible in the time that you have available, it would be a good idea to have a detailed account of what Florence is all about. There are online sites where you can get advance tickets for entry into various museums, which will allow you to bypass the line of people waiting in line to buy tickets. NOTE: If you do not obtain advance date & time reservations, it is certain that you may not be able to visit things you would like to explore.
All of our exploration of Florence was done by walking, our condo rental was just across the Arno River where we could walk into the city easily. The Ponte Vecchio is pedestrian only and parking in Florence is not easy, so walking was a much better choice. Your plans may require driving, but I would not encourage you to consider it. Structure your stay in Florence to where you have "driving elsewhere" days as well as "walking through Florence" days and you won't regret it.
This is the view of several bridges that cross the Arno River from as we crossed the Ponte alla Carraia. The first bridge is the Ponte Santa Trinita and the second is the Ponte Vecchio. The City of Florence is on the left, and the condo we were renting is up the hill to the right.
The bridge was originally built in the 13th century and was later reconstructed in the 16th century, with the current design by Bartolomeo Ammannati. It features three arches, each adorned with elegant sculptures, and is known for its graceful curves and symmetry. It is located just a short distance from the famous Ponte Vecchio and is known for its breathtaking views of the city, particularly at sunset. The bridge has a rich history, having survived numerous floods and wars, and is considered one of the most important examples of Renaissance architecture in Florence.
We picked up our rental car here, as Florence was going to be our "home base" for a series of day trips in & around this area. We were fortunate to have a condo rental that provided for vehicle parking, it is not the "norm" and it is seriously difficult to find a parking spot in Florence. As just an example, we would leave our rental car at our condo and walk into Florence to avoid the difficulty of locating a parking spot.
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The Ponte Vecchio, an enduring symbol of Florence, has spanned the Arno River since the 14th century, embodying the city's rich history and architectural charm. Renowned for its distinctive design, this medieval bridge features rows of shops built directly along its span, creating a vibrant marketplace suspended over the river. Originally occupied by butchers and tanners, the bridge's shops were later transformed into elegant boutiques, now housing jewelers, art dealers, and high-end souvenir vendors, making it a haven for luxury shopping and cultural exploration.
The bridge not only offers a unique shopping experience but also provides breathtaking views of the Arno and the surrounding cityscape. Its romantic atmosphere, combined with its historical significance, makes it a favorite destination for tourists and locals alike. Visitors often gather at sunset to admire the golden hues reflected in the river, adding to the bridge's allure as a picturesque and iconic landmark.
Remarkably, the Ponte Vecchio was the only bridge in Florence spared from destruction by German forces during World War II, preserving its historical legacy. It is also celebrated as the site where the legendary scientist and philosopher Galileo Galilei is believed to have tested his telescope, adding another layer of intrigue to its storied past. A walk across the Ponte Vecchio is a journey through time, offering a glimpse into Florence's enduring beauty and its pivotal role in art, science, and culture.
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The Uffizi Gallery is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence. One of the most important Italian museums and the most visited, it is also one of the largest and best known in the world and holds a collection of priceless works, particularly from the period of the Italian Renaissance.
The Vasari Corridor is a kilometer long passageway that connects the Uffizi Gallery to the Pitti Palace. Today, the corridor still connects the two buildings but it is set up as a small museum separate from the famous Uffizi Gallery.
WARNING: Do not wait until you arrive in Florence to obtain tickets to enter the Uffizi Museum, get your tickets online (prior to your trip) or you will be standing in line for a while. The Museum limits the number of people inside and so the entrance line grows quickly. Do a Google search for "Uffizi Tickets", here is one place. The line when we arrived for our "date/timed entry" was easily 250 people.
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The Uffizi Gallery, nestled in the heart of Florence near the Piazza della Signoria, stands as a crown jewel of Italian culture and one of the most celebrated art museums in the world. Located in Tuscany's Historic Centre, this renowned institution is a treasure trove of artistic masterpieces, particularly from the Italian Renaissance, making it a must-visit destination for art lovers and history enthusiasts alike.
Commissioned by Cosimo I de’ Medici in 1560 and designed by the legendary architect Giorgio Vasari, the Uffizi originally served as administrative offices ("uffizi" means offices in Italian) for the Florentine magistrates. Over time, the Medici family's vast and invaluable art collection was displayed here, transforming the space into a public museum in the 18th century.
The Uffizi Gallery houses an unparalleled array of priceless works by iconic artists such as Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Caravaggio. Highlights include Botticelli's The Birth of Venus and Primavera, Michelangelo's Doni Tondo, and Titian's Venus of Urbino. Visitors can journey through centuries of artistic innovation while marveling at the museum’s architecture, which includes the striking Vasari Corridor.
Warning: Do not expect to walk up to this museum and enter immediately, this is a very popular museum and it is always busy with a lengthy waiting line to purchase tickets. We got our tickets online before we arrived in Florence and were then able to just walk up (at our assigned time) and enter without standing in line. The official ticket website is located here.
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East of Piazza della Signoria and not far from the banks of the Arno, Piazza Santa Croce is one of the largest squares in Florence. It is located near the National Central Library, and takes its name from the Basilica of Santa Croce that overlooks the square.
The plaza is surrounded by beautiful buildings and features a large marble statue of Dante Alighieri, the famous poet and author of the "Divine Comedy." Piazza Santa Croce is also home to the famous Palazzo dell'Antella, which houses the National Library of Florence.
In addition to its cultural and historical significance, the Piazza Santa Croce is a popular gathering place for locals and tourists alike. It is a hub for street performers, artists, and musicians, and it hosts a number of events and festivals throughout the year, including the famous Calcio Storico, a traditional Italian football game.
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Formally known as the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (in English "Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower"), it is the cathedral of Florence, Italy (Italian: Duomo di Firenze).
It was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style to a design of Arnolfo di Cambio and was structurally completed by 1436, with the dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi.
The dome that covers the Florence cathedral is known as the Filippo Brunelleschi’s dome and when it was designed, it was the largest dome in the world. Click here to read more about this huge dome and the problems they went through to construct it. Remember that the Dome construction began in 1420 and they obviously did not have anything but intellect, pens and paper to design and build it. The dome stands at 375 feet tall and has a diameter of 143 feet, making it the largest brick dome in the world.
Visitors can climb the 463 steps to the top of the dome for panoramic views of Florence, or explore the interior of the cathedral, adorned with intricate frescoes, stained glass windows, and marble sculptures. The dome has inspired countless artists and architects throughout history and remains a symbol of the Renaissance's intellectual and artistic achievements.
Statue of Cosimo I de’ Medici who became head of the Florentine Republic in 1537 at the the tender age of seventeen and conquered his way to being named the Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1569.
Cosimo I was born in Florence on 12 June 1519, the son of the famous condottiere Ludovico de' Medici (known as Giovanni delle Bande Nere) and his wife Maria Salviati, herself a granddaughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent. He was the grandson of Caterina Sforza, the Countess of Forlì and Lady of Imola. Cosimo I became Duke of Florence in 1537 at age 17, after the former Duke of Florence, Alessandro de' Medici, was assassinated. Cosimo I was from a different branch of the Medici family, descended from Giovanni il Popolano, the great-grandson of Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, founder of the Medici Bank. The brother of "Cosimo the Elder" Lorenzo, was the great-great grandfather of Cosimo I.
The statue is known for its intricate details, including the ornate armor of Cosimo I and the dynamic movement of the horse. It was created as a symbol of the Medici family's power and influence in Florence during the Renaissance era. Today, it remains an important landmark in the city, attracting visitors from all over the world.
Cosimo the Elder (1389-1464 and Lorenzo's brother) was the great-great grandfather of Catherine de' Medici, who married Henry II of France in 1533, when she was just 14 years old. Despite her Italian origins, she quickly adapted to French court life and became a powerful influence on French politics. Henry II was the second son of King Francis I and Queen Claude of France, and he became King of France in 1547 after his father passed away.
TV NOTE: Catherine de' Medici's life and times is portrayed in the TV Series "The Serpent Queen". Which is based on Leonie Frieda's book "Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France". The series is historically accurate and delves more deeply into the life and times of King Henry II and Catherine de' Medici.
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This photo captures the beautiful view of Florence from the condo we rented, which was located in the hills just south of the Arno River. From this elevated spot, we were able to look northward across the historic city center, with its sea of terracotta rooftops, church domes, and distant towers—all set against the backdrop of the Appennine Mountains. On a clear day, the distant ridgelines and valleys are especially striking, and in this direction lies the Campigna National Park, part of the larger Apennine mountain range that separates Tuscany from Emilia-Romagna.
These very mountains form a dramatic natural barrier between Florence and northern Italy. We actually crossed through them on our drive to Maranello, home of the famous Ferrari Factory (you can read more about that on our Ferrari Factory Maranello page). That drive gave us a whole new appreciation for the rugged beauty of this landscape—and seeing it from our balcony in Florence brought it full circle.
And this is how we got around Italy in the days prior to cellular-based mapping Applications! It is probably difficult to remember for some of you, but paper maps were very important back then.
Back in the days before cell phones and mapping applications were around, paper maps were very popular. People would use their American Automobile Association ("AAA") club membership to create a complete set of maps for their trip, they were called "TripTiks". You specified the route(s) you would be taking, and AAA would print out the results for you. Trip Tiks are still around on AAA, but now you get links to online content.
Another view of Florence as Celeste and I hiked up the hill from our condo rental to a local restaurant. The condo was across the street from The Boboli Gardens, and the street ("Viale della Meridiana") we were walking on rises up from the Porta Romana and ends near the Forti di Belvedere.
As we walked up the hill, we passed by the Fontana dell'Oceano in the Boboli Gardens and then the Pitti Palace on the left side of the street. We didn't realize until later, that we could have walked through the Boboli Gardens, as their main path would have brought us to almost the same destination.
This map was so useful & so necessary, as the Florence streets would often have roundabouts, and were super narrow! We drove through roundabouts that would have six and sometimes eight roads that entered the circle. Talk about difficulties in figuring out right-of-way ! We finally came up with the strategy of "we have good rental car insurance, so we are just going to push our way into the round-a-bout". If we waited and assumed that someone would let us in, we would wind up waiting a long, long time.
Florence is "pedestrian friendly" because the historic city center is closed to traffic except for residents, taxis and buses. Great news for walkers and cyclists, not so great for drivers.
This was the condo we rented in Florence, within walking distance of the Arno River and a mile from Fort Belvedere. Since it was on the south side of the river, we did not get all the tourist traffic from the city, there were only "locals" up here. Immediately below the condo on the Via Romana, was an excellent Espresso Shop that we frequented each morning.
We had our own deck area in the rear of the condo, where the washing machine was located. Parking could be a challenge, but it was easy to pickup on the ebb and flow of people looking for parking spaces. Since no one came here except for people that lived here, it wasn't a major challenge to find a parking spot.
The concept of staying in a central place and day-tripping from there, worked so well for us, that we have continued to follow this method on subsequent trips to Europe.
We utilized Florence as our "base camp" which gave us a wide variety of destinations that could be explored as "day trips", and because we had waited on a rental car until we arrived in Florence, we were then able to drive to each of the following destinations;
90 Km from Florence. Our primary reason for driving here was because I had been here numerous times while serving in the Navy. Since Livorno is situated on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, there are a number of beaches nearby, we visited .
Calambrone Beach just north of Livorno.102 Km from Florence. Our goal was to fully explore the Leaning Tower and the area in that immediate vicinity, ie; We did not visit the city.
71 Km from Florence and our principal goal for visiting Sienna was to watch the famous horse race "Palio di Siena". We got there early so that we could find a good parking place, walked to the Piazza del Campo where the race was to take place and discovered that the race would not start until much later in the early evening. Since we were on a "fixed time line plan", we did not want to spend the entire day strolling through Sienna - so we took an exploratory walk to some of the famous locations (the Piazza del Campo, the Gothic town hall, Siena Cathedral, Torre del Mangia, Porta Camollia, etc), and then we drove over to the coast to explore other locations.
137 Km drive through the Appennine Mountains and Bologna. We naively thought that we would be able to take a tour through the Factory, only to find out that current & previous owners can do so - but nobody else. Fortunately for us, the Ferrari Museum is located just a few blocks from the Factory and the Ferrari Test Track is just a few more kilometers and we were able to watch a new Ferrari being test driven.
54 Km from Florence. This was an unplanned stop after we departed Sienna, we were all thirsty and when we saw the village from the highway, we decided to explore it. The town is encircled by walls built in the 13th century, a skyline of medieval towers and the village is full of medieval houses. Shops, restaurants and museums are scattered throughout the village.
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Tuscany Small Group Wine Tasting Tour via GetYourGuide
