This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase by clicking on these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Read the disclaimer for more information.
After spending an afternoon in Florence to pick up our rental car two days prior, I couldn’t wait to get back and explore more of this famous Italian art city.
We were staying in a Tuscan villa about 30km to the south of Florence near Figline Valdarno, so rather than drive into the city and worry about parking, we just caught the train in. The short train ride through the beautiful countryside and villages of Tuscany brought us into Santa Maria Novella station, right in the heart of Florence.
Since we only had one day to explore the city, we made an early start to try and see as much as possible. We made our way straight to the Uffizi Gallery, one of the great art galleries of the world. Luckily enough, we were able to buy tickets for the afternoon, so we would have all morning to see the sites.
The other art gallery that we wanted to see was the Galleria dell’Accadamia, where Michelangelo’s David is on display. Knowing that it would be a popular attraction we headed there next to try our luck at getting tickets.
After taking a few wrong turns I soon found out that we were in the right place, because there was a huge line of people stretching along the street. I figured it wasn’t that long, but went forward to take a closer look. What I thought was the end of the line turned out to be where the line took a turn down another street. There were literally hundreds of people lined up to get into the gallery. David is one popular sculpture!
I noticed some people heading straight to the front of the line to a separate booth, which turned out to be for those who booked tickets in advance. There’s the moral of the story right there. If you want to see Michelangelo’s David, book your tickets online at least a few days in advance.
We had the option of waiting in line all day to possibly see the sculpture, which I’m sure we would have to fight the hoards of the tourists to actually get a view of, or we could spend the day wandering around Florence. We chose the latter and headed straight to the Piazza del Duomo.
The Duomo (Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore) is a magnificent site. It’s construction began in the late 13th century and was completed in 1436. The exterior of the church is stunning, with green, pink and white panels of marble, red brick domes and a beautiful Gothic facade.
Located next to the cathedral is the Florence Baptistery which dates back to the 11th century, and the 85m high Giotto’s Campanile (bell tower).
After exploring the piazza we waited in line to view the interior of the Duomo, which to my surprise wasn’t a very long wait. After seeing the beauty of the churches in Rome, the interior of the Florence Duomo was kind of plain. That’s not to say that the Gothic architecture isn’t magnificent. It just lacks the art that other churches have. The only part of the church that could match those of Rome is it’s magnificent Dome, which is covered in beautiful fresco artwork by Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari.
There is only a certain amount of time that I can spend in crowds of tourists, so we wandered away from the Duomo down some quieter streets, where we found a nice little cafe and enjoyed some delicious foccacias and cappuccinos for lunch. A little quiet time to relax before re-entering the crowds.
Glad to have bought our tickets to the Uffizi Gallery earlier in the day, we skipped straight past the line of tourists to the advanced booking line, which only took about 10 minutes to get through and into the gallery.
Like most art galleries, photography is prohibited in Uffizi, but I can tell you that their collection is quite impressive, particularly if you enjoy Renaissance art. The gallery holds pieces by some of the greatest artists of all time included Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli and Raphael. The highlight for me was The Birth of Venus by Botticelli, one of the world’s most famous art pieces.
The building itself, a 16th century palace, is architecturally beautiful and is characterized by it’s long halls and large rooms that house the artwork.
Just around the corner from Uffizi is the Palazzo Vecchio, an old palace and now town hall of Florence. We had passed the town hall twice so far in Florence, so it was definitely time to go and explore the area more thoroughly.
The 14th century palace is now a museum, but also the town hall containing the offices of the Mayor of Florence. Outside of the Palazzo Vecchio in the Piazza della Signoria is a wonderful collection of sculptures, one being a copy of Michelangelo’s David, where the original once stood.
The interior of the palace is as expected – extravagant. I particularly love the medieval feel of the palace courtyards that I found in several different places in Tuscany. The Palazzo Vecchio is no different.
By now it was time to start heading back to the train station, but not before doing some shopping at a market, where we bought some excellent quality leather products, and of course we had to have some gelato!
Now with weary legs and full stomachs we made our way past the beautiful 14th century Santa Maria Novella church, located near the train station of the same name, and caught the train back to our villa.
Florence is one of the great cities of Italy, and an art lovers paradise. I can’t wait to get back to see more!
If you want to see the art galleries of Florence, I strongly suggest that you purchase tickets in advance either online or at the galleries themselves.
Have you been to Florence? What was your impression?
Ahh.. Florence. The first time I was there, I hit up all the tourist attractions and was museum’d out. The second time was great – just enjoyed the city and soaked in all the scenery and gelatos we could get. LOL. A great city!
Kieu ~ GQ trippin recently posted..Holi Cow.. Groped in India!
I think that is exactly what I will do when I return to Florence. Just soak in the city and enjoy great food… and wine :). Cheers!
Dean Wickham recently posted..A Day in Florence, Italy, and not seeing Michelangelo’s David
We are headed to Italy in June! Stunning photos and definitely going to spend a few days here in Florence. Are the Basilica photo and a few others HDR shot?
Cole @ Four Jandals recently posted..Portrait of an Egyptian Woman – Weekly Hump Day Photo
Awesome Cole, I hope you have a great trip! No none of these photos are HDR.
Dean Wickham recently posted..A Day in Florence, Italy, and not seeing Michelangelo’s David
I enjoyed walking around Florence, but it’s not really a city that I have the desire to go back to. I did have the best Falafel I’ve ever had in Florence though. I would go back for that! I also didn’t see the David, but I took a photo from a photo and told people that I saw it. 🙂
Christy recently posted..7 Places to Visit in Southeast Asia
Falafel isn’t something I would have thought to try in Florence, interesting! Hehe, I took a photo of the copy of the statue, few people would know the difference anyway 😉
Dean Wickham recently posted..A Day in Florence, Italy, and not seeing Michelangelo’s David
The buildings and street art are amazing! Nice pictures.
Brock – Backpack With Brock recently posted..Success! 31 Days of Posting and Finding Happiness First
Thanks Brock! Florence is full of great art and architecture – it’s a place full of history and culture. Cheers
Wow, you covered Florence really well 🙂 We simply loved your pictures and the love for the city that resonated so clearly through. If you need any more inspiration, check out this guide: http://www.florencehotels.com/blog/
How long will you be there for?
Hi Steph. It has actually been a while since I was in Florence, but I can’t wait to get back there. Cheers!
Dean Wickham recently posted..Photo of the week: Monterosso Beach, Cinque Terre, Italy
Good tip about booking tickets to see the David in advance! But it seems as if you made the most of the day regardless. The whole city is one big museum of art, architecture and history anyway!!
Wanderplex recently posted..How far will my money take me?
Exactly Reena! Florence is made of art 🙂 Cheers
[…] week’s travel photo is of Ponte Vecchio over the River Arno in Florence, Italy. This 14th century bridge has a line of shops on each side and is a popular attraction in […]
Amazzing! Can’t wait to see Florence for myself some day.
cheryl recently posted..My Travel Inspirations And How I Became A Travel Junkie.
Hi Cheryl. Florence is a beautiful city and well worth visiting.
Dean Wickham recently posted..Highlights from a year of Travel Blogging
[…] we were staying about 30km south of Florence, we didn’t get to Pisa until mid morning and we had to drop our car off by 12:30pm to avoid […]
[…] week’s travel photo is of Piazza Santa Maria Novella in Florence, Italy. The piazza is dominated by the beautiful 14th century church of Santa Maria Novella, and […]