On this post I will highlight what we did and the best things to do on day 2 at Florence.
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After spending a busy and lovely time in Florence the previous day, we woke up feeling rested and excited to start our second day and went for breakfast at Hotel Martelli.
Breakfast was served in a nice, dedicated room, and it was OK, but it was not as great as we had in so many other hotels. But it was enough to fill us up and go out to face the day.
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.
Where is the city of Florence? The below map shows where Florence is and the places we visited at Day 2 in Florence:
Before telling you what we have reserved for the day, let’s learn …
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
The first visit of the day was to Mercato Centrale and Mercato San Lorenzo (leather market).
The indoor Mercato Centrale Firenze was built in 1874 by Giuseppe Mengoni, the same architect that designed Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan. The 19th century building was built in iron and glass following the design of the French Les Halles model.
The ground floor is a food market specializing in all kinds of foods with stalls selling cheese, bread, vegetables, fish, and meat, etc.
In 2014 the market was refurbished, and a second floor was created to provide a food hall with little restaurants serving Tuscan specialities and other Italian dishes. A good place to stop for lunch as you will find lots of choice in there.
It was early in the morning and stalls were just opening, so we didn’t have the chance to taste the options on the second floor. We just strolled in the aisles admiring the quality and diversity of the produce available.
San Lorenzo Market is separate from “Mercato Centrale” that concentrates on everything foodie. San Lorenzo Market is located on the surrounding streets of the “Mercato Centrale” building. It sells mainly leather goods, clothing, and souvenirs.
We walked through the market streets but didn’t see anything that called our attention to buy or to mention. We pressed on and went in the direction of “Museo Casa di Dante”.
The building where the museum is located is believed to be Dante’s birthplace. It was restored to accommodate not only the story of Dante but also aspects of Medieval Florence. It is an interesting visit to learn about the life of this famous poet.
After visiting the museum, we walked in the direction of “Ponte Vecchio”. Upon arrival we crossed the bridge looking at the beautiful jewellery on sale at the many shops on the bridge.
We then walked to “Ponte Trinita” to have views of “Ponte Vecchio” from far away and take some photos. It is a beautiful and different bridge.
From there we walked to the other side of the city as we had tickets booked for 13:15 to the “Galleria della Academia” to see the famous “David”. We walked slowly through the streets of Florence until we arrived there.
As we were about 1 hour early to our booked time, we decided to enter a restaurant called “Antiche Dogane” that had some lovely, covered seats on the street.
After having something to eat and drink we went to our visit at our booked time.
The Galleria was very busy, full of tourists. The main attraction is the works of Michelangelo, seven statues including the “David”. It also exposes the largest collection of paintings with a gold background and the Museum of Musical Instruments.
Very important masterpieces that should not be missed when in Florence. You will definitely need to book the tickets in advance, regardless the time of the year, it is always busy.
To book a skip-the-line ticket only to The Academia, book it HERE.
If you prefer to have a guided tour and the skip-the-line ticket, book it HERE.
When we finished in the “Galleria della Academia”, we walked all the way back to “Ponte Vecchio” and to “Uffizi Gallery” nearby where we had tickets booked for a guided tour of the gallery booked for 4 pm.
We waited in the meeting point until all the people from our group arrived and the tour started. We had a very knowledgeable guide with a very good sense of humour.
She explained everything very well and it was worth to have this extra input. She took us straight to the most important parts of the gallery where the best works were.
“Uffizi Gallery”, real name “Palazzo degli Uffizi”, is one of the greatest museums in the world. It showcases a collection of important Renaissance art, displaying works of masters such as Botticelli, Titian, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci.
Uffizi also used to belong to the Medici family and is next to “Palazzo Vecchio”. It was built between 1560 and 1580 by order of Cosimo I de Medici.
The guide took us to see some of the most important works such as “Birth of Venus” by Botticelli, “Annunciation” by Leonardo da Vinci, “Primavera” by Botticelli, “The Holy Family” by Michelangelo and other important pieces.
It was incredible to see all these beautiful work at the same place. We really appreciated very much this visit.
Don’t forget to book your ticket in advance or book a guided tour with a timed entrance like we did. Without booking in advance, you will not be able to visit this gallery at any time of the year as tickets are sold out months in advance.
To book only a skip-the-line ticket to Uffizi Gallery book it HERE.
If you prefer to have a guided tour like we had, you can book it HERE.
When the visit finished, we walked back to the hotel for a shower and some rest before going out to the nicest restaurant we’ve been in Florence “Regina Bistecca” booked for 8 pm.
We had the most delicious Steak Fiorentina there accompanied by a gorgeous red wine. That was a dinner to remember for years!
We loved everything at Regina Bistecca restaurant and would love to return to Florence just to eat there again!
If you are into cooking and culinary, you should try this walking tour that will take you to 6 or 10 tasting of what is the best on Tuscan gastronomy. Book it HERE.
We walked back to our hotel very happy and satisfied. Next day we were going to leave Florence to Sienna.
It was a shame, because there were still places that we didn’t have time to see, such as Palazzo Pitti, Boboli Gardens and Basilica of Santa Croce. However, this will be an excuse to return to Florence again soon. I made sure I rubbed that boar’s snout very well! (See my previous post Florence – Day 1).
When we arrived at the hotel, we remembered to book our train tickets to Siena next day. We always use Omio to book our trips by train. They are a very easy to use and reliable platform. You can also book buses, flights and ferries with them. Use this link if you want to book train tickets anywhere in Europe.
I hope this post helps you to plan your trip to Florence and gives you an idea on what to fit in a day in this lovely city.
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 – Mercato Centrale Firenze – ***
2 – San Lorenzo Market (leather market) – **
3 – Museo Casa de Dante – **
4 – Ponte Vecchio – ***
5 – Galleria della Academia – ***
6 – Uffizi Gallery – ***
7 – Palazzo Pitti
8 – Boboli Gardens
WHERE TO STAY
HOTELS
1 – Domus Plaza – 3* – ££
2 – Hotel La Scaletta al Ponte Vecchio – 3* – ££
3 – Sant Antonino First Floor Relais – 4* – ££
4 – Solo Experience Hotel – 4* – ££
5 – Hotel La Gemma – 5* – £££
6 – Portrait Firenze – Lungano Collection – 5* – £££
If you prefer to look for your own accommodation, search and book via the widget below:
WHERE TO EAT
RESTAURANTS
1 – Regina Bistecca – £££ – *** (We ate here)
2 – Le Cappelle Medicee Restorante – ££
3 – Ristorante Il Paolo – ££
4 – Sabatini – £££
5 – Casa del Vin Santo – £££
6 – Any restaurants at Mercato Centrale – ££
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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