Five Must Do Experiences in Florence, Italy

Florence was our favorite city in Italy, and we soaked up every minute of our week there. Here are my five “must do” experiences that will ensure you get the most out of your time in this spectacular city.

See the sunset from the iconic Ponte Vecchio bridge over the Arno River

It’s free to wander up there, and there are plenty of shops and restaurants to browse along the way. Before this bridge became a place to find fine jewelry it was home to many meat and fish markets which gave off a “fragrance” that was not to the liking of the aristocrats that rose to power during the Renaissance. The Medici Family is said to have decreed that they wished to see only “beautiful things” when they traveled between the city center, where they did business, and their home on the other side of the Arno River.

Climb Brunelleschi’s Dome atop Il Duomo

You’ll need to purchase tickets for this in advance and we highly recommend Fat Tire Tours who provided an extraordinary guide who helped us get the most out of this experience. Our tour was timed with sunset and the views were beyond extraordinary! You need to be in pretty good shape and willing to endure smaller spaces as you make your way up the stairs built between the interior and exterior of the dome. I’m barely 5 feet tall and you can see how close my head is to the ceiling, admittedly not a situation I usually find my short self in. We learned so much about how the dome was built and were able to see the different construction methods and materials used as we made our way up. It is remarkable to be able to literally climb through history!

Get snacks at the Mercato Centrale

In this historic building, you’ll find artisan food stalls featuring meats and cheese, produce, baked goods and restaurants with seating too.  Take the time to smell the food, appreciate how it is displayed, and maybe even ask a shop owner what’s good today.   The abundance of fresh goodness is overwhelming so make a full lap around the building before committing to a purchase. 

Sample wine in the Tuscan countryside 

Spend a day (or two) immersed in the famous wine-making regions outside of Florence.  Tuscany is home to Chianti, the home of “black chicken” Chianti Classico wine, as well as Montalcino and Montepulciano.  Walk through the vineyards, sample wines, and enjoy the pairings of fruit, cheese and meat curated by each winery for their tastings.   And along the way, you’ll see some of the most beautiful countryside in all of Italy. There are lots of options on sites like Viator, Trip Advisor and Get Your Guide so you will be able to find an excursion that matches your schedule and budget. Even if you don’t like wine, enjoy the cultural experience and take in the scenery, and you might surprise yourself by finding wines that you absolutely love! My husband, a bourbon devotee, found unexpected delight in Chianti Classico which we now keep stocked at home.

We had a once-in-a-lifetime experience with the sidecar tour with Di Gustibus at the suggestion of our travel advisor Frankie Blankenship.  Our guide was a wealth of knowledge and pointed out locations of interest along the way to the vineyards. We drove out into the countryside through the Porta Romana, one of Florence’s 14th century doors through the city wall, where you can see not only the original door but the metal torch holders and rings to tie up horses as well. We made a stop at the San Miniato Abbey, perched above the city center, to take in the exceptional views. The wine and paired foods at the vineyards were beyond exceptional, and the wineries we visited were not set up for large tours which meant we received individual attention and were able to spend time talking to the people who devote their lives to working the land and producing world class wines.

We also took a full day small group tour through Viator Val D’Orcia Brunello wine tour which visited Montalcino, Pienza and Montepulciano. Our first stop featured wine tasting and paired snacks along with a walk through the vineyard. We went onto Pienza where we had time to walk around in the beautiful town center before enjoying a delicious lunch with paired wines on a terrace overlooking the countryside. Our last stop was Montepulciano where we visited a historic wine cellar which has been in continuous use for over 500 years.  The beauty of these areas cannot be overstated, and it was definitely worth the couple of hours in the van over the course of the day to see and experience these different towns.

Experience the Renaissance

The Renaissance is a huge part of world history, and there is no better place to experience that history than in Florence. I will tell you that we are not usually art museum people, and we have found that large collections in places like the Uffizi are overhelming, intimidating and hard to engage with. While many museums offer a recorded “self guided tour” with admission, we have found that a small group tour where we can ask questions and talk to the guide about what we are seeing definitely enhances our appreciation for what we are looking at.

We booked a small group skip-the-line tour for the Uffizi through Trip Advisor. Our guide’s passion for art history was infectious and we left this tour with a new appreciation for the techniques used by the artists as well as the role art played in society at that time. The small group format provided plenty of opportunity for us to ask questions of our very knowledgeable guide. Besides appreciating the art displayed within the Uffizi, we learned about the building’s historical uses and significance. Our guide described the main hallway into the building as the “Facebook of the day” because portraits of those people who visited are displayed here.

We also booked a Florence walking tour through Viator with skip-the-line access to Galleria dell’Accademia where you can see Michelangelo’s David as well as Il Duomo, the city’s famous Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore. This tour covered a lot of ground in its three hours but with a group of only 15 people you could always see what was being talked about and have questions answered. The David is a remarkable sculpture with a very interesting history which includes three sculptors (the first two gave up) and more than three hundred years outside because it could not be lifted into the spot planned for it inside Il Duomo. Galleria dell’Accademia also has a fascinating display of practice sculptures which illustrate the techniques used by sculptors of different materials.

I hope you enjoy your time in Florence 🙂 If you want to learn more about what we did with the rest of our time in Italy, check out my Trip Advisor board with recommendations on things to do, places to stay and restaurants too. Ciao!