Day 1 – Thursday (24/09/2015)
We left Bologna mid-morning and arrived at the train station in Florence (Santa Maria Novella) shortly after noon. We stopped at the tourist office right in front of the station and followed the attendant's instructions to walk to our accommodation.
Read more about our stay in Bologna clicking here.
Our apartment in Florence
The apartment we rented is relatively close to the train station, but it is also very close to Duomo, which is the city's main attraction. It is located on a very quiet street, in a very typical building, so you can feel like a local living there. The name of the apartment is Crystal Ship Apartment and we paid 85 euros per day. We found the bathroom very small, wifi It didn't work the two nights we were there and despite having to climb 3 flights of narrow stairs, it was an interesting experience.
As we arrived before the scheduled time check-in (5pm), we left our bags with the person in charge of the apartment, who lives on the first floor of the building, and went out for a walk.
Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore
Our first stop was at Duomo, that truly deserves all the praise it has. Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore It is beautiful on the outside with its neo-Gothic façade in three colors – white, green and pink. Its construction began in 1296, but its construction took about 150 years. The famous dome by artist Filippo Brunelleschi, for example, was only built between 1420 and 1436. Its neo-Gothic façade was designed in the 19th century to replace the original, from the 16th century.
Upon entering the Cathedral, I confess I was a little disappointed. I was expecting something stunning, perhaps because I was enchanted by its exterior, but then I understood why it was so “poor” visually speaking: most of the artistic treasures that were there were removed over the centuries and are on display in the Museum of the Opera of Santa Maria de Fiore, which was closed.
Combined ticket
After walking around, we went down to the crypt, where we bought the combined ticket (dome + baptistery + bell tower + crypt + museum) for 10 euros per person. If you want to visit just the Cathedral, you won't have to pay anything, but I I recommend visiting the baptistery, which is right in front and has the same visual identity, and also climbing the dome. Since the ticket is valid for 14 hours, we decided to visit the cathedral, the baptistery and the crypt on this day and left the climb to the dome for the next day. (The museum was closed and climbing the bell tower seemed redundant to me, since it is lower than the dome and is next to it). The crypt did not impress me, but I found the Baptistery of San Giovanni beautiful!
Having lunch in Florence
As we were hungry and had relatively little time to eat, we went straight to a restaurant recommended by a friend, The Prosciutteria. She told me: they have amazing sandwiches and I really had to go and try them! It is near Piazza della Signoria and has one sandwich after another, for 4.50 euros. We ordered two large ones and the one I liked the most was the one with prosciutto + cheese pecorino (typical of Italy).
Academy Gallery
We left there very satisfied and went through Republic Square before we get to Academy Gallery.
We arrived at the location to collect the ticket (we buy online – 16.50 euros per person – we booked for 4pm, which is on the opposite side of the museum entrance, and when I found out that there was a line to get in without any time control, I was pissed off. Why sell tickets with a time limit then? We waited in line for half an hour and to make matters worse, I saw people without tickets in the line next to me getting in before me. This process makes no sense at all! 🙁
This gallery is quite small and I think you can easily visit it in an hour. Its main work is the statue of David, by Michelangelo, which is truly impressive. The perfection of the curves and details of this statue, carved from a single piece of marble, is breathtaking. Oh! I loved the corridor that leads to David, because you can see several unfinished statues by Michelangelo. The guy was truly a genius!
We left there and walked around the area, without any commitment or rush. I was impressed by the number of shops and stands of fairs with accessories made of genuine Italian leather. Thousands of tourists going crazy… it’s a vibrant city.
Dining in Florence
When it got dark, we chose the restaurant Trattoria L'Oriuolo, for having an excellent rating on TripAdvisor and for still offering a 15% discount if we booked the table through website from TA. We did this and had a great dinner! The good thing is that we didn't even have to walk far to our apartment.
Attractions visited on this day:
Day 2 – Friday (09/25/2015)
We started the day by having breakfast at a nearby bakery, as we hadn't planned to have it in our apartment.
Climbing the dome
Then we got in a huge line to climb the 463 steps to the dome, but it was totally worth it!!! I warn you that the climb is tense, because it's all tight and people go up and down the same path, so you have to squeeze through to make way. In the end, it's worth it, but I don't recommend it for anyone with claustrophobia.
Basilica of Santa Croce
We went down with our legs still shaking, we stopped to have a wonderful ice cream in the cute La Milkeria and we continued until the Basilica of Santa Croce. We paid 6 euros per person to enter because we wanted to see the tombs of some famous Florentines, including Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli. The church is quite simple on the inside, compared to its beautiful exterior, but the tombs are quite interesting. Be sure to stroll through the garden and visit the rooms and chapels around it.
Having lunch in Florence
We were so in love with the sandwich we had the day before that we decided to go back to that street and try the sandwiches of a crowded competitor, To the Ancient Vinaio. We waited in line for about 10 minutes and chose two random sandwiches that were also great, but cost 50 cents more than the ones we had yesterday…lol. It was worth it. anyway!
Old Bridge
We walked with our sandwiches and enjoyed the view. Old Bridge, that crosses the river Arno, until we finish eating. This medieval bridge is quite interesting because it has jewelry shops all along its length. The story goes that Ferdinand I de Medici removed all the butchers who were there because he didn't like the smell of the place when he passed by. Vasari Corridor, which is a passage that connects the Uffizi to the Pitti Palace.
Uffizi Gallery
We crossed the bridge and only passed in front of Palazzo Pitti, as we had an appointment to visit it. Uffizi Gallery (we buy online – 16.50 euros per person). Even with tickets purchased with a scheduled time, we had to wait in a huge line with people at random times. The frustration was less than the day before, because I was already emotionally prepared. This gallery is HUGE (45 rooms with 1500 works) and since we are very objective, we focused on seeing only the main works pointed out by our guide. It took us about 2 or 3 hours inside, but you can stay much longer.
Piazza della Signoria
We left there exhausted and stopped at a very touristy restaurant in Piazza della Signoria to drink wine and relax. We enjoyed the Old Palace (city hall and municipal chamber), the Neptune Fountain and the various replicas of statues inside the Loggia of the Lanzi. Worth a visit!
Tasting the Bistecca Fiorentina
As Celo was keen to try the famous Florentine steak, we looked for a restaurant on TripAdvisor that was famous for this dish. We ended up choosing Trattoria Osteria Da Que' Ganzi, which is a very cozy restaurant on a quiet street in the city. We got there early and got a table twenty minutes later and to our surprise, we were served by the owner, who is a very friendly guy and very interested in pleasing his customers.
We explained that we wanted to try the bistecca and he promptly recommended the best wine to accompany it, the best starters, the best side dishes… It was the best dinner of the entire trip, for sure! It was also the most expensive (80 euros), but it was worth every penny. steak It was divine and I can say that it was one of the best meats I have ever eaten in my life (if not the best!). I RECOMMEND IT!
Attractions visited on this day:
Day 3 – Saturday (26/09/2015)
Central Market
We handed over the apartment key and went to the Central Market of the city, which is a paradise for those who love markets like us. We walked around it wanting to buy everything and we chose a stall to buy huge and tasty sandwiches, with lots of prosciutto and lots of fatty cheese. This was our breakfast. How delicious!
We continued walking with our bags to the place where we would pick up the car. Poplar, which is very close to the Santa Maria Novella train station. We didn't go into the church of the same name, because we thought we would be able to do it when we returned to return the car, but in the end, we didn't have time and I'm here regretting it.
Lesson learned: never leave for tomorrow what can be done today.
We picked up the car without any problems and were 100% aware of the Traffico Limitato signs, which indicate areas for residents only.
Piazzale Michelangelo
We took a quick look at Piazzale Michelangelo and we loved the view! Check it out:
Now with the car, we headed to see the cute little towns of Tuscany and I told them all about our days exploring there. in this post here.
Let's go on a romantic trip <3
Want to know more about THIS TRIP? See the posts below:
- Italy – Rome, Tuscany, Bologna and Cinque Terre (14 days -SUMMARY)
- Italy – Rome and Vatican (4 days)
- Italy – Bologna (1 day)
- Italy – Tuscany – Summary (4 days)
- Italy – Tuscany – San Gimignano and Volterra (1 day)
- Italy – Tuscany – Florence (2 days)
- Italy – Tuscany – Lucca (1 day)
- Italy – Tuscany – Monteriggioni and Siena (1 day)
- Italy – Tuscany – Montepulciano and Cortona (1 day)
- Italy – Tuscany – Pisa (1 day)
- Italy – Cinque Terre (2 days)
If you want to know more about our other trips around Italy, see below:
