Florence is a city best seen on foot: a few minutes separate Brunelleschi's dome from the Uffizi, and the Ponte Vecchio from the gardens of the Oltrarno. These are the places worth seeing at least once, with a few ideas for enjoying them at an unhurried pace.
01Piazza del Duomo: dome, bell tower and Baptistery
This is the heart of Florence, and the best first approach is along one of the narrow streets around it: the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore appears all at once, clad in white, green and pink marble. Brunelleschi's dome, finished in the fifteenth century without traditional wooden centring, is still the largest masonry dome ever built.
You can climb both the dome and Giotto's bell tower on foot, up long and narrow stairs; the effort is forgotten the moment you step out above the rooftops. The Baptistery of San Giovanni, facing the cathedral, is among the oldest buildings in the city, and its bronze doors, including Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise, deserve a pause of their own. The originals are kept in the Opera del Duomo Museum.
- Brunelleschi's domeA climb to the very top for the most famous view in Florence.
- Giotto's bell towerLower than the dome, but with the dome right in front of you.
- Baptistery of San GiovanniGolden mosaics inside and the celebrated bronze doors.
02Piazza della Signoria and Palazzo Vecchio
A few minutes from the Duomo lies the political heart of the city. Palazzo Vecchio, with its slender tower, is still Florence's town hall as well as a museum, home to the Salone dei Cinquecento and the Medici apartments. The copy of the David by the entrance marks the spot where the original stood for centuries.
Next to it, the Loggia dei Lanzi is an open-air gallery, with Cellini's Perseus and Giambologna's Rape of the Sabine Women. The Fountain of Neptune stands at the corner of the palace. It is a good place to pause and take it all in before heading into the Uffizi.
03The Uffizi and the Ponte Vecchio
Designed by Giorgio Vasari as offices for the Medici administration, the Uffizi became one of the world's great museums. Inside are Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera, Leonardo's Annunciation, Michelangelo's Doni Tondo, and works by Raphael, Titian and Caravaggio. Book ahead on the official website and allow at least a morning.
From the Uffizi courtyard it is a short walk to the river and the Ponte Vecchio, the oldest bridge in Florence, lined with goldsmiths' and jewellers' shops overlooking the water. It was the only bridge in the city spared in 1944. Above the shops runs the Vasari Corridor, whose story we tell in a separate guide.
04The David, San Lorenzo and Santa Maria Novella
Most people visit the Galleria dell'Accademia for Michelangelo's David, and rightly so: seeing it in person, at the end of its own tribune, surprises even those who think they know it well. The hall leading up to it holds the Prisoners, figures left half-emerged from the marble.
Close by, San Lorenzo was the Medici family church. The Medici Chapels hold their tombs and Michelangelo's New Sacristy, and all around lies the market district with the Mercato Centrale. Towards the station, Santa Maria Novella has a facade by Leon Battista Alberti and, inside, Masaccio's Holy Trinity.
05Santa Croce
Santa Croce is the great Franciscan basilica of Florence, set on a wide, bright square. Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli are buried here, and there is a monument to Dante, whose tomb is in Ravenna. The chapels frescoed by Giotto, beside the high altar, are worth a few extra minutes. The neighbourhood around it feels lived-in: towards Sant'Ambrogio you will find the local market, craftsmen's workshops and small squares to linger in.
06The Oltrarno, Piazzale Michelangelo and San Miniato
Across the river, Florence slows down. Palazzo Pitti, home first to the Medici and later to the ruling families who followed them, houses several museums under one roof; behind it, the Boboli Gardens climb the hillside with avenues, statues and fountains. Walking up from the riverside you reach Piazzale Michelangelo and, a little higher, San Miniato al Monte, one of the finest Romanesque churches in Tuscany.
- Palazzo PittiThe Palatine Gallery, the royal apartments and other museums in a single palace.
- Boboli GardensOne of the most celebrated Italian gardens, best explored slowly.
- Santo SpiritoBrunelleschi's church and the liveliest square in the Oltrarno.
