{"id":277,"date":"2008-03-21T22:47:55","date_gmt":"2008-03-21T12:47:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.travelsignposts.com\/wordpress\/italy\/10-top-things-to-see-do-in-florence-italy"},"modified":"2008-03-21T22:47:55","modified_gmt":"2008-03-21T12:47:55","slug":"10-top-things-to-see-do-in-florence-italy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.travelsignposts.com\/wordpress\/italy\/10-top-things-to-see-do-in-florence-italy","title":{"rendered":"10 Top Things to See &amp; Do in Florence &#8211; Italy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"float: right\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\"><!--\r\ngoogle_ad_client = \"pub-1009507070974015\";\r\ngoogle_alternate_ad_url = \"http:\/\/www.travelsignposts.com\/google_adsense_script.html\";\r\ngoogle_ad_width = 300;\r\ngoogle_ad_height = 250;\r\ngoogle_ad_format = \"300x250_as\";\r\ngoogle_ad_type = \"text_image\";\r\n\/\/2007-06-30: TSBlog 300x250\r\ngoogle_ad_channel = \"2928184950\";\r\ngoogle_color_border = \"FFFFFF\";\r\ngoogle_color_bg = \"FFFFFF\";\r\ngoogle_color_link = \"FF6600\";\r\ngoogle_color_text = \"000000\";\r\ngoogle_color_url = \"339933\";\r\n\/\/-->\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\r\n  src=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\r\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Florence&#8217;s <em>centro historico<\/em> or historical center is packed to the brim with museums, art galleries, cathedrals, elegant buildings and beautiful squares that it&#8217;s possible to see and do a lot here even if you&#8217;ve only got a couple of days.\u00a0 Over the past few years, we&#8217;ve made a few brief stops here and were able to re-visit all our favourite places each time.\u00a0 The top 10 sites you could visit on foot include:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Uffizi Gallery<br \/>\n<\/strong>Art lovers will not want to miss this as it holds the world&#8217;s finest collection of Renaissance art, including Botticelli&#8217;s Birth of Venus and early works by Leonardo da Vinci.\u00a0 There&#8217;s a lot to see in the Gallery and it&#8217;s unlikely that you&#8217;ll cover it all.\u00a0 The queues for the Uffizi Gallery are usually quite huge.\u00a0 To avoid standing for hours in the queue, it may be preferable to book a <a title=\"Uffizi Gallery Tour \" href=\"http:\/\/www.affiliate.viator.com\/brochure\/product_show.jsp?ID=1010&amp;PRODUCTID=1016&amp;CODE=2428M1M2&amp;AUID=2494\">guided tour<\/a>.\u00a0Another advantage of a tour guide is that they&#8217;ll be able to point out the key pieces and provide a commentary on the work.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a title=\"Michelangelo's David, Accademia, Florence, Italy\" href=\"http:\/\/www.travelsignposts.com\/Destination\/v\/Italy\/Florence\/italy_0061.jpg.html\">Galleria dell&#8217; Accademia<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong><a title=\"Michelangelo's David, Accademia, Florence\" href=\"http:\/\/www.travelsignposts.com\/Destination\/v\/Italy\/Florence\/italy_0061.jpg.html\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 85px; height: 110px\" title=\"David - Galleria dell' Accademia\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.travelsignposts.com\/Destination\/d\/18375-2\/italy_0061.jpg?resize=85%2C110\" border=\"0\" alt=\"David - Galleria dell' Accademia\" hspace=\"5\" vspace=\"5\" width=\"85\" height=\"110\" align=\"right\" \/><\/a>Michelangelo&#8217;s David, is housed here and is the Gallery&#8217;s most famous sculpture.\u00a0 This sculpture of the biblical hero who killed Goliath attracts visitors from all over the world and it can be quite busy around the statue.\u00a0 <a title=\"Accademia guided tour\" href=\"http:\/\/www.affiliate.viator.com\/brochure\/product_show.jsp?ID=1010&amp;PRODUCTID=1016&amp;CODE=2428M1&amp;AUID=2494\">Guided tours <\/a>of the Accademia are also available.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy\" href=\"http:\/\/www.travelsignposts.com\/Destination\/v\/Italy\/Florence\/italy_0052.jpg.html\"><strong>The Ponte Vecchio<\/strong> <\/a>(old bridge) is the only bridge from Florence&#8217;s medieval days that survived the destructions of World War II.\u00a0 Built in 1345, it was the first bridge across the Arno River and from the bridge, you&#8217;ll have a great view along the Arno River and beyond.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Campanile &#8211; Bell Tower<br \/>\n<\/strong>The Campanile is in Piazza del Duomo. The first story was designed by Giotto and it is commonly referred to as Giotto&#8217;s Campanile. You can climb the 414 stairs\u00a0to the top\u00a0(sorry, no lifts) for great views of the Cathedral and its dome and the city of Florence and surroundings.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Il Duomo<\/strong> &#8211; Cattedrale de Santa Maria del Fiore<br \/>\n<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 110px; height: 85px\" title=\"Duomo and Baptistry\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.travelsignposts.com\/Destination\/d\/18327-2\/italy_0036.jpg?resize=110%2C85\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Duomo and Baptistry\" hspace=\"5\" vspace=\"5\" width=\"110\" height=\"85\" align=\"right\" \/>Florence&#8217;s most popular landmark is its Duomo &#8211; Cattedrale de Santa Maria del Fiore. The huge Gothic duomo is Europe&#8217;s fourth largest church and the city&#8217;s tallest building. \u00a0Inside, Brunelleschi&#8217;s Dome is a masterpiece of construction.\u00a0 You can climb the 463 steps to the top.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Baptistry<br \/>\n<\/strong>The Baptistry of John the Baptistis one of Florence&#8217;s oldest buildings. Built in the 11th century, its exterior is made of green and white marble and there are three sets of amazing bronze doors &#8211; all reproductions (the originals are in the Duomo Museum, which is also worth a visit). Inside, you&#8217;ll see some mosaics and a marble pavement of the zodiac.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Piazza della Signoria<\/strong><br \/>\n<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 110px; height: 85px\" title=\"Piazza della Signoria\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.travelsignposts.com\/Destination\/d\/18331-2\/italy_0039.jpg?resize=110%2C85\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Piazza della Signoria\" hspace=\"5\" vspace=\"5\" width=\"110\" height=\"85\" align=\"right\" \/>Florence&#8217;s most famous square is in the heart of the <em>centro historico<\/em>. The Loggia della Signoria holds some important statues including a copy of Michelangelo&#8217;s David. The piazza has been Florence&#8217;s political center since the middle ages and Florence&#8217;s town hall, the medieval Palazzo Vecchio, sits on the piazza. The palazzo contains elaborately decorated public rooms and private apartments.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Santa Croce<br \/>\n<\/strong>Santa Croce, in Piazza Santa Croce, is the largest Franciscan church in Italy.\u00a0 It holds the tombs of several important Florentines including Michelangelo and Dante, as well as one of Brunelleschi&#8217;s most important works &#8211; the Cappella dei Pazzi. Inside the church are some exceptional stained glass windows and frescoes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pitti Palace<\/strong><br \/>\nPitti Palace, south of the Arno River, was the former residence of the powerful Medici rulers. Today it houses the Palatine Gallery, with its astonishingly lavish Royal Apartments, the Gallery of Modern Art and the Porcelain Museum, among many others.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Shopping<br \/>\n<\/strong><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 110px; height: 85px\" title=\"Shopping at Peruzzi's, Florence\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.travelsignposts.com\/Destination\/d\/39861-2\/IMG_1322.jpg?resize=110%2C85\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Shopping at Peruzzi's, Florence\" hspace=\"5\" vspace=\"5\" width=\"110\" height=\"85\" align=\"right\" \/>Florence is noted for its leather goods and you&#8217;ll have lots to choose from here.\u00a0 Peruzzi is a huge store which is on the itinerary of most tour groups.\u00a0 Apart from leather goods, there&#8217;s also paper goods, and jewellry as well as nice souvenirs and art productions. If you enjoy the markets, Florence has a number of open air markets selling food, clothing, and antiques. The most famous is around Piazza San Lorenzo where you&#8217;ll find leather goods, too. Another good place is Mercato Nuovo (Porcellino) on Via Porta Rossa. Mercato Centrale is a great place for food shopping.\u00a0 The last time we were in Florence, it was Christmas Eve and the <a title=\"Christmas market stores, Florence\" href=\"http:\/\/www.travelsignposts.com\/Destination\/v\/Italy\/Florence\/_DSC1081.jpg.html\">market stores <\/a>in front of the Duomo had a great range of regional foods to help ward off the cold.<\/p>\n<p>Helen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Florence&#8217;s centro historico or historical center is packed to the brim with museums, art galleries, cathedrals, elegant buildings and beautiful squares that it&#8217;s possible to see and do a lot here even if you&#8217;ve only got a couple of days.\u00a0 Over the past few years, we&#8217;ve made a few brief stops here and were able [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,58],"tags":[802,805,1880,2076],"class_list":["post-277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-italy","category-things-to-see-do-florence","tag-florence-attractions","tag-florence-sights","tag-things-to-see-and-do-in-florence","tag-visit-florence"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>10 Top Things to See &amp; 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