On this post I will highlight what we did on day 1 of our trip and the best things to do on a visit to Florence.
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It was time to leave Pisa, so after breakfast at La Perla del Borgo B&B we checked out and took a taxi to the train station.
Our tickets to Florence were booked online the previous night. Our train was leaving to Florence at 9:32 am and was due to arrive there at 10:33 am. We always book our tickets with Omio as they are a very easy to use and reliable platform. You can also book buses, flights and ferries with them. To book your tickets use this link.
We were travelling independently as we are confident travellers and speak a bit of the language. However, if you prefer to be part of a tour and to have everything organised for you, I advise you to book a complete tour with Tourradar.
They have different kinds of tours that will fit your time and budget. If you book it via my links you can get a discount by using this code: RoseG50.
To make things easier on arrival and departure, we booked a hotel near the train station. We didn’t want to walk too far with our luggage, although we only had a small hand suitcase each.
The hotel we booked was Hotel Martelli on Via Panzani. The location was very good for the station and for the main attractions at Florence town centre.
We went straight to the hotel but as it was still too early for the check-in, we left our suitcases in their luggage storeroom and went to explore Florence.
Where is the city of Florence, Italy? The below map shows Florence location and the places we visited on day 1 in Florence:
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT FLORENCE
Florence originated as a Roman city in 59 BC and later became a medieval commune. In the Middle Ages there were periods that it was ruled by the Ostrogoth, Byzantine, Lombard until it was conquered by Charlemagne in 774.
The Florentine Golden Age of art began around 1000 AD when Florence was a city-state. The Arno River provided access to the Mediterranean Sea, helping to grow trade and the industry of the city.
In the 15th century Florence was one of the largest cities in Europe and was rich and powerful. That was when the Medici Family took control of the city until 1494 when the Medici period ended, followed by the institution of a republican government.
The Medici retook control over the city with the help of the Spanish and Papal troops in 1512, but in 1527 the Medici were out of control again for a few years returning into power in 1530.
The Medici monarchy lasted for over two centuries. The complete fall of the Medici dynasty only occurred in 1737.
After that a temporary period of Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty was in place until it was deposed by the House of Bourbon-Parma, a Napoleonic state.
The Napoleonic state lasted until 1814 with the fall of Napoleon. Another short period of Habsburg/Lorraine dynasty was restored but deposed in 1859 when Tuscany became part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.
Florence was occupied by the Germans between 1943-1944 who demolished all the bridges (except the Ponte Vecchio) and many buildings in the historic centre.
Florence was liberated by New Zealand, South African and British troops on 4th August 1944.
Nowadays, the most important industry in Florence is tourism receiving millions of tourists mainly due to its art and culture showcased in museums such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Galleria della Academia.
VISITING FLORENCE
Our first visit was to “Basilica di Santa Maria Novella”, close to our hotel and opposite the train station.
The basilica is of Catholic affiliation and the construction started in the middle of the 13th century and completed only 80 years later.
The façade is of white marble with details in green marble called “serpentine”. The architect in charge of the design was Leon Battista Alberti, the basilica was designed in a Gothic-Renaissance style, and it is one of the most important Gothic churches in Tuscany.
The interior was designed with a large nave, windows that have stained glass from the 14th and 15th centuries and a pulpit designed by Filippo Brunelleschi. There are many chapels and each one is decorated with ancient frescos or works of old art.
The most important piece of art on display on the basilica is the wooden “Crucifix” by Giotto. It is displayed in the centre of the nave and is simply magnificent, probably painted between 1288 and 1289.
As well as Giotto’s crucifix there are works of art of Masaccio, and Ghirlandaio, making it a very interesting visit especially if you are into ancient art.
From there we went in the direction of the centre. Our next visit was to the Medici Chapels (Medici’s burial place) at the Church of San Lorenzo.
The Medici Chapels were constructed between the 16th and 17th centuries.
There are two chapels, the New Sacristy that was designed by Michelangelo and the Chapel of the Princes designed by various architects. They were both built to celebrate the Medici Family, The Grand Dukes of Tuscany.
In the New Sacristy, Michelangelo worked three sculptures, the “Allegories of time”, “Dawn and Dusk” and “Medici Madonna”. They are found spread out above the tombs of Giuliano de’ Medici and Lorenzo de’ Medici. The “Medici Madonna” is found in the centre of the chapel.
The Chapel of the Princes was built between 1604 and 1640 and it has a grand dome and interior decorated with precious marbles. The walls are almost all covered in “pietre dure” (precious stone) and marble. This chapel is the most beautiful and is very lavish and glamorous.
At the time of our visit there was not a queue to enter The Chapels, but depending on the time of the year you are going, if it is in the high season, I advise you to pre-book the ticket and not to waste time on queues. Book it HERE.
After the visit to the Medici Chapels, we headed to “Palazzo Medici Riccardi” nearby.
The building today is a museum and government offices of Florence. It was the main residence of the Medici family after it was completed in 1460.
It was commissioned by Cosimo the Elder in 1444 to the architect Michelozzo and it was built in a Renaissance style with a courtyard based on Brunelleschi design.
Cosimo de’ Medici lived there until 1540 when he moved to “Palazzo Vecchio”, but other members of the family still inhabited it until Ferdinand II sold it to the Riccardi family.
The Palazzo has many beautiful rooms, among them the Gallery of Mirrors with a ceiling painted in frescoes and one of the most important examples of Baroque in Florence.
The other important room in the Palazzo is The Chapel of the Magi, which was the family’s private chapel and where there is the fresco by Benozzo Gozzoli (1459) depicting the “Cavalcade of the Magi”. Very beautiful, indeed.
There is also the Room of the Triumph of the Guilds where you can find the work of Felippo Lippi “Madonna and Child”.
After this visit we went to Piazza del Duomo, but before visiting the Duomo we stopped at a restaurant in front of Giotto’s Campanile for some drinks and a bit to eat.
From the outside tables we could see the long queues to enter the Dome, but we noticed that the queue moved quite quickly and after lunch we joined that queue.
The visit to the Duomo is free, but if you want to skip the line you can book a guided tour of the Dome HERE.
The Duomo, real name “Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore” started being built in 1296 and was only completed in 1436. It is in a Gothic style to a design by Arnolfo di Cambio and engineered by Brunelleschi.
The exterior is exquisite with marble panels in shades of green and pink bordered with white. It is part of a complex of three buildings, The Duomo, the Baptistery and the Giotto’s Campanile and are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site that also includes the historic centre of Florence.
We found the interior of the Duomo a bit underwhelming as it is not as opulent as other cathedrals in Italy. The Gothic style gives an impression of emptiness.
There are many important works of art inside that makes it still worth visiting, works such as “Dante before the city of Florence” by Domenico di Michelino (1465) and the stained-glass windows from the 14th and 15th centuries.
Once we were finished with the visit, we walked to “Piazza della Repubblica” taking “Via Calimala” in the direction of “Piazza della Signoria”. On the way we stopped at “Fontana del Porcelino” for some photos.
“Il Porcellino” is the nickname for a bronze fountain of a boar from 1634. People put a coin into the boar’s jaw so it will fall into the grating below for good luck. People also rub the boar’s snout to ensure they will return to Florence one day.
After that we arrived at “Piazza della Signoria” and took various photos of the “Fontana del Nettuno” and “Loggia dei Lanzi”. Where you will find a gallery of statues. We entered “Palazzo Vecchio” afterwards for a visit.
“Palazzo Vecchio”, (Old Palace) was built between the 13th and 14th centuries but it has been renovated during the centuries. Cosimo I de’ Medici lived there for a while before he moved to his new residence in “Palazzo Pitti”.
The most important and luxurious room of the palace must be the “Hall of 500” that had the walls originally frescoed by Michelangelo and Leonardo and is home to Michelangelo’s marble “Genius of Victory”.
Other rooms to visit are the “Studiolo di Francesco I” on the first floor and other rooms dedicated to some members of the Medici family.
On the second floor there are the “Apartments of the Elements” and the “Apartments of Eleonora da Toldeo” to visit. We visited all of them and we enjoyed our visit to the palace very much.
There is a tour of Florence on an electric golf cart that will take you to all important sites in Florence with a guide’s commentary about the culture and history of the city.
It is worth to see everything seating comfortably on the cart. Very useful especially if you have mobility issues.
You don’t have time to visit the sites, the visit is from the outside only, but you can return to the most important places at your own time later. You can book this tour HERE.
It was late in the afternoon, and it was time for us to go to the hotel to finally check-in. We walked to Hotel Martelli on Via Panzani.
They gave us a room on the top floor of the building. When we entered the room, we didn’t like what we saw. The room was furnished with very old furniture but not nice, old antiques, just cheap old furniture that had seen better days.
The smell in the room was horrible, a mixture of mould and cigarette smoke. The bathroom was old and full of mould. It was completely different from the photos we’ve seen when we booked.
We went downstairs and complained about it. We asked to be moved to another room as we were not happy with the accommodation. The man at the reception was very polite and helpful but said they didn’t have another room now. He said there would be another room available in the morning, but not that evening.
That was a disappointment, but we didn’t have time to look for a different hotel because we needed to get ready as we had a reservation at a restaurant at 8 pm.
We had a reservation at La Ménagere Restaurant. This restaurant is very unusual as it is a mixture of a restaurant, bistro, a garden, a store, a library, and private rooms. It is very well decorated, and it is in the centre of Florence.
I was very curious about it and wanted to taste their cuisine. However, we were a bit disappointed with our choice of dishes. They were OK, but nothing that you would remember as a special meal for a long time. The ambiance and the service as well as the wine were perfect though.
If you are interested in the Tuscan culinary you can take a sunset walking tour with wine and food tasting HERE.
After dinner we walked back to our hotel and were surprised to hear that they actually had a free room for us to swap and we could move to that one.
That was good news, because I was not looking forward to paying to sleep in a smelly and mouldy room. The new room was much better, and we were happy with that one.
We had a restful and peaceful night in the new room. We went to bed looking forward to the next day exploring more of Florence.
Here is a reel from The Traveling Surveyor Instagram showing some of the best parts in Florence.
HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR TRIP
Below you will find a list of what to visit, where to stay and where to eat in Florence. I classified each place as follows:
BOLD – Visited, tried and recommended
NOT BOLD – Not visited or tried, but planning to visit or try and heard very good reviews
RED – Visited and tried but do not recommend, avoid or be cautious
*** – Excellent
** – Good
* – OK
£££ – Expensive
££ – Fair and affordable
£ – Cheap
WHAT TO SEE IN FLORENCE
ATTRACTIONS
1 – Basilica di Santa Maria Novella – ***
2 – The Medici Chapels – ***
3 – Palazzo Medici Riccardi – ***
4 – Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiori (The Duomo) – ***
5 – The Bapstistery
7 – Piazza della Repubblica – ***
8 – Il Porcellino Fountain – ***
9 – Piazza della Signoria – ***
10 – Fontana del Nettuno – ***
11 – Loggia del Lanzi – ***
12 – Palazzo Vecchio – ***
WHERE TO STAY
HOTELS
1 – Hotel Martelli – 3* – ££ – * (We stayed here)
2 – Arte’ Boutique Hotel – 4* – £££
3 – Relais Piazza Signoria – 4* – £££
4 – B&B Le Stanze del Duomo – 4* – ££
5 – Pink Wolf – 3* – ££
6 – Corte dei Sogni Boutique Hotel & Spa – 3* – ££
If you prefer to look for your own accommodation, search and book via the widget below:
WHERE TO EAT
RESTAURANTS
1 – La Ménagere – £££ – ** (We ate here)
2 – Atelier de Nerli – £££
3 – Lucca’s Restaurant – £££
4 – Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura – £££
5 – Buca Lapi – ££
6 – Trattoria Garga – ££
If you tried any of my recommendations above, please send me a message and tell me about your experience good or bad, so I can update the list accordingly. Thanks!
if you enjoyed reading this post you might also like to read:
On this trip in Italy:
1 – Pisa
2 – Lucca
3 – Florence – Day 1
4 – Florence – Day 2
5 – Siena
6 – Riomaggiore – Cinque Terre
7 – Sentiero Azzuro, Vernassa, Coniglia & Manarola – Cinque Terre
8 – Monterosso al Mare – Cinque Terre
9 – Portofino
10 – La Spezia
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