Florence was the first city we’ve visited when train-tripping in Italy. This post is about our time there. About two days in the charming Florence.
Let the journey in Florence begin
After spending a night in Bergamo, we went to the train station and got into a train to Milano Centrale. Shortly after we arrived to Milano, we got into another train. Frecciarossa – a high-speed train going to Florence. It was our first time in a high-speed train and we found it very interesting that there were screens usually showing ads but, from time to time, the route we were on appeared also showing current speed of the train. The fastest we saw was 296km/h, pretty fast, huh?
Once we arrived to Florence, it was terribly hot in there (for the record, it was 31st of August and around 30 degrees Celsius). Gladly, our hotel was only 5 minutes away from the train station. However, that was enough for us to get completely wet.
At the hotel we rested a little bit, showered, changed our clothes and so the adventure began!
Mercato Centrale
The first sight we’ve visited in Florence was the market Mercato Centrale. Basically, it was one street full of vendors selling scarfs, bags, shoes and clothes. However, most of them seemed the same and what I expected to be a thrilling market experience turned out to be a quick visit there with lots of quite annoying sellers. But a good thing is that in the market building are lots of food sellers with some cool cafes and restaurants upstairs. In my opinion, the whole market is a very touristic place but it still is worth a visit.
The highlight of Florence – the Duomo – Cathedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore
If there would be just one thing you could visit in Florence, with no doubt it should be the cathedral. Its size is incredible and decorations of the exterior are also special. So many details and precision was put into building this magnificent building. The queue to enter the cathedral is also incredible since early morning till it’s closing time. Therefore, if you’d like to get inside, get ready to be patient, have some water and, if it’s sunny or rainy, an umbrella. The days were very sunny and hot when we were in Florence and even seeing those people sunburning in the queue seemed devastating.
We didn’t get into the cathedral because we didn’t buy the tickets on time (on Saturday afternoon, tickets for Sunday were sold out). Well, but probably that was meant to happen and we saw other beautiful sights instead. However, if you’re interested, we would have purchased tickets here: https://www.museumflorence.com/. For 20 Eur it gives you access to six main sights in Florence which are said to be must-see (but we haven’t been in them).
Giardino di Boboli
Boboli garden was recommended to us by a hotel employee. This garden is one of the largest ones in Europe and I’m sure it looks wonderful in late Spring and Summer. However, when we were there, on the final day of Summer, it was just green. All the blossoms were gone and so the colors. I could identify what kind of flowers there are growing but obviously they weren’t blooming anymore. Was it worth a visit? Well, kind of. It was interesting for sure to walk in the labyrinth of plants. And there was a great panoramic view to the Florence, which is even more beutiful at sunset.
Loggia dei Lanzi
Well, this sight is a must visit for sure since there is a very nice looking copy of Michelangelo’s David. But all the other sculptures there are also impressive. The best thing about these sculptures is that they are free to visit – it’s a public square full of sculptures. So you can come there at any time and appreciate these works of art.
Ponte Vecchio
The Ponte Vecchio is one of the most famous sights in Florence because of its unusual history. Once a bridge full of butchers’ shops it turned into a bridge full of
All in all, Florence was amazing. But it must be kept in mind that it’s a great tourist attraction so the crowds of people there are never ending, and so are the queues to the sights. However, this doesn’t hide the charms of this living breathing city and our two days there wonderful.
If we would have gone to the cathedral and those other five objects included in the ticket, we would have needed one more day instead of one and a half.