Florence Itinerary

1. ~8:00aCaffè & a sfogliatina, standing

   Espresso and a pastry al banco at a historic bar — or cross early to the Oltrarno for a cornetto where the artisans drink theirs.

   
2. 8:30aThe Duomo & Brunelleschi's dome

   Book the dome climb for opening — 463 steps up between the double shells to the lantern and the rooftop panorama. Giotto's bell tower and the Baptistery's golden doors are in the same square.

   
3. ~10:30aThe Uffizi Gallery

   Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Caravaggio — the greatest Renaissance collection on earth. Pre-book a timed ticket; allow two hours minimum.

   
4. ~1:00pLampredotto from a street cart

   Florence's true street food — a tripe sandwich (lampredotto) dipped in its broth with salsa verde, from a historic cart like Da Nerbone in the Mercato Centrale, eaten standing.

   
5. ~3:00pPonte Vecchio & the artisan Oltrarno

   The goldsmiths' bridge, then across into the Oltrarno — leather workshops, marbled-paper ateliers (Il Torchio), and the perfumes of Santa Maria Novella, a 1612 pharmacy-perfumery in a frescoed hall.

   
6. 8:00pEnoteca Pinchiorri ⭐⭐⭐Anchor table

   Florence's three-star institution — refined Tuscan-French cuisine and one of the world's legendary wine cellars in a Renaissance palazzo. Jacket advised; book well ahead as the trip's fixed point.

   

Florence's icons sit within a tight walkable core — the Duomo, Uffizi, and Ponte Vecchio are minutes apart. Pre-book the dome climb and the Uffizi; walk-up queues eat half a day.

Day 1 in photos

1. 8:15aMichelangelo's David

   The Accademia at opening — the David is more overwhelming in person than any photograph prepares you for. Book ahead; go early to have the Tribune nearly to yourself.

   
2. ~10:00aMercato Centrale & San Lorenzo

   The cast-iron market hall — cheese, truffle, and salumi vendors below, a buzzing food court above. The leather stalls of San Lorenzo wrap the streets outside.

   
3. ~12:30pBistecca alla Fiorentina

   The Florentine T-bone — a thick Chianina steak grilled rare over coals, served by weight for the table, with white beans and a Chianti Classico. A trattoria like Trattoria Mario does it right.

   
4. ~3:00pPitti Palace & Boboli Gardens

   The Medici's vast palace across the river and the sculpted Boboli Gardens climbing the hill behind — Renaissance landscape design and a city view from the top.

   
5. ~6:00pAperitivo on a rooftop

   A Negroni — invented in Florence — on a rooftop bar as the Duomo and the hills go gold; the city's signature drink in its hometown.

   

The Accademia and Uffizi both need advance tickets — book them together when you plan. Bistecca is a lunch worth lingering over; it's sold per kilo, so go with an appetite or share.

Day 2 in photos

1. ~9:00aSan Miniato al Monte & Piazzale Michelangelo

   Climb to the Romanesque church above the city for the monks' Gregorian chant and the postcard panorama from Piazzale Michelangelo below — best in the clear morning light.

   
2. ~11:00aSanta Croce

   The Franciscan basilica holding the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli — and Giotto's frescoes, with a leather school still working behind the cloister.

   
3. ~1:00pA trattoria lunch in Sant'Ambrogio

   Away from the crowds near the Sant'Ambrogio market — ribollita (Tuscan bread-and-vegetable soup), pappa al pomodoro, and a glass of the house red.

   
4. ~3:00pArtisan workshops & a gelato

   The bookbinders, jewellers, and shoemakers of the back streets, then a cone from a true gelateria — Vivoli or Gelateria della Passera, where the flavours change with the season.

   
5. ~6:30pA wine-window aperitivo

   Order a glass through a buchetta del vino — the tiny Renaissance 'wine windows' carved into palazzo walls and revived in recent years, a uniquely Florentine ritual.

   

Piazzale Michelangelo is for morning light or sunset — midday it's hazy and packed. The wine windows are a charming, genuinely old Florentine quirk; several around the centre now serve again.

Day 3 in photos