What are your "can't miss" Florence experiences?

Hi Catherine -
Could you be more specific about your "several days"? More exactly, how many nights are you staying, and when/how would you arrive (flying directly in, coming from another city, etc). I'll give us a better idea of what you might actually have time to do.

The Baptistery should not be missed. A pure beauty.
And for something special: the zoological museum La Specola with more or less unique wax anatomical models with their own macabre beauty.

shopping for leather goods - they have the most exquisite leather gloves. Cross the Ponte Vecchio & visit the Boboli Gardens.

Here are three good items you won't find in the guidebooks:

--Chiesa Santa Trinita with the Sassetti Chapel. Some of the best frescoes in Florence--Ghirlandaio's 'Adoration of the Shepherds' is staggering. And for free, except for the 1 Euro coin you have to put in a machine to illuminate the fresco. On via Tornabuoni near the Arno River.

--Mercato Centrale. Real Florentian market on the ground floor. Great prosciutto, honey, cheese. Stop at Nerbone for a boiled beef or lampredotto sandwich for 3 Euro. Fantastic. Not far from Il Duomo.

--Massimo Leather. With so many leather stalls around the markets, what's fake and what's real? This guy's the real deal. Not cheap, but high quality and personal service. My friend bought a leather jacket there 15 years ago he still wears--mine's 5 years old, looks good as new. On Borgo la Noce.

Enjoy your planning!

San Marco museum was a must for me -- I loved Fra Angelico since first seeing his work in Art History class in college.
Scarf vendors around San Lorenzo, who always get some of my money.

Restaurant Self-Service Leonardo, our favorite for cheap, good (but not haute cuisine) Italian standards like lasagna, tortellini, roast chicken.

And just wandering the streets.

Laura B hit 2 of our favorites. The San Marco museum, with its frescos by Fra Angelico was breathtaking. It's always a "must do" when we're in Florence.

And the Leonardo self service cafeteria gave us one of our best (and least expensive) lunches of our stay.

I'll add going up to Piazzale Michelangelo to watch the sunset. We actually went further up the hill to San Miniato church for the evening vespers and Gregorian chants, then stayed outside afterwards for one of the most beautiful sunset displays I've ever seen. I know that most folks hike up the hill, but we just took the bus.

And if you love a good steak, you must have one of the justly famous Florentine bisteccas. No need to find a fancy restaurante. We ate at La Fettunta, a little trattoria with a lively, casual atmosphere, and THE BEST TBONE I've ever eaten.

Last summer I went to the newly re-opened, renovated museum for the Duomo. I am not a museum person usually so I went with less than optimum enthusiasm. I wasn't in there 5 minutes and my jaw hit the ground - and stayed there for the next several hours. This is a beautiful presentation of beautiful and powerful works of art. It was my last day in Florence - if I had been there another day I would have gone back. It's top of my list for my upcoming trip. For me they did it right! All the other places mentioned in previous comments I completely agree with but somehow the Duomo museum is the experience I'm still telling people about whenever they mention Florence.

One of the most underrated sights is the Medici Chapel, and because the hours are a bit weird, most folks miss the compelling Michelangelo statues. There are notes written on the wall which have been attributed to the sculptor himself, protected now behind plexiglass.

Another sight many people don't bother to visit is the Duomo Museum, with Michelangelo's Pieta, carved when he was an old man vs the one in the Vatican, which was a young man's statue. Purportedly, Michelangelo carved his own face onto the Nicodemus figure. It also contains the original Baptistery doors by Ghiberti, and a shiver inducing statue of Mary Magdalene by Donatello. Great museum.

Edited to add the Santa Croce church, which contains the graves of famous Florentines, including Galileo, Machiavelli, Michelangelo, and Ghiberti.

Kathy, the answer to your question is a little up in the air. We will be in Florence during the latter half of a 16-day trip. We arrive in Florence by noon on Wednesday, May 2, and don’t leave until Sunday morning, May 6, when we will train to Rome for a brief visit before flying home from there early on Wednesday in May 9. We could stay in Florence until that Tuesday afternoon, but because many sights are closed in Florence on Monday and we have to go back to Rome at some point (round trip tickets already booked), that’s the current plan. But we could probably still be convinced to stay in Florence until Tuesday, May 8, and see Rome on another trip ...

Robert beat me to it, so I'll just echo his contribution: my family and I visited the Duomo museum this past summer on a lark--had some free time, looking to spend it exploring and doing something potentially meaningful--and it blew all of us away. Interesting, informative, beautiful art as well. No issues with crowds at all. We wondered if, because the renovations were so recent, maybe word hasn't gotten out yet.

High recommendations to spend some time here!

Two things I really enjoyed in Florence (and in most cities): 1. getting out early, preferably right after sunrise and seeing the city in it's pristine, pre tourist, hours - this was especially wonderful in Venice, Florence, and Paris; 2. visiting an outdoor market - in Florence I loved the market in the Santo Spirito area of Oltrarno.

I could spend an entire day at the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens. In addition to the Duomo (Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore), there is the foundation of an even older church in the basement! And, in my humble opinion, no trip to Florence, Spring through Autumn, would be complete without a wine tasting trip into Chianti - Walkabout Florence has a particularly nice one.

If you go to the Duomo, also try to check out the Baptistery and Museum - the price is included in your ticket.

I also liked San Marco, Santa Croce, and the walk up to Piazzale Michelangelo.

The Duomo sites are very impressive (I was in Florence for the third time in November 2016)--not just the Duomo itself, see all the sights on the Duomo ticket (five or so).

We arrive in Florence by noon on Wednesday, May 2, and don’t leave
until Sunday morning, May 6

Thanks for filling in that blank, Catherine! What you had already listed a could easily fill the lion's share of 2 days, depending on how much of the duomo complex you intend to do, so it's good to know that you have more than that to work with. It's also good that none of your days are a Monday.

We had more time than you will have but among favorites not on your list were:

Piazzale Michelangelo and San Miniato al Monte: a must-do! The view from the lofty piazza is wonderful, and the church - which is just up the hill - is very old and very interesting. There are one or two open-air cafes up there for kicking back with a beverage.

Convento San Marco: a former monastery with 15th-century frescos by Fra Angelico and/or his assistants in the monk's cells. Other fine dabblings in the cloister. Stroll down narrow Via Cesare Battisti (almost across the street from the church) and emerge at Piazza della Santissima Annunziata. There's too much to write about this one but it's WELL worth the look-see as it's considered a birthplace of Renaissance architecture. You will probably recognize the sweet, della Robbia tondi on the facade of Brunelleschi's Ospedale degli Innocenti. Look down the street from the center of the piazza for an interesting perspective of his greatest work: the dome of the duomo. If you have time, the church of the same name as the piazza - Basilica della Santissima Annunziata - is also well worth the peek as there are some lovely frescoes by Renaissance masters in the unusual entry cloister and more inside. Google up some pictures of all of the above?

The Bargello museum: a captivating collection of sculpture and decorative arts housed in a former Medieval barracks/prison.

And do NOT miss the baptistry of the Duomo. That is a mind-boggling piece of work that impressed us more than the interior of the church itself.

What we could have skipped: The Medici Chapels. The Michelangelo's in the Sacristy were fine (his female forms, painted or sculpted, are often oddly like muscular men with breast implants) but the over-the-top ostentatiousness of the Chapel of the Princes left us cold.

You will have a wonderful time. :O)

Of course visit the Uffizi and the Duomo with its baptistery and museum, but after that, what I most enjoyed seeing In Florence were some of the less famous places. Possibly partly because they were all uncrowded (in September last year, anyway) and I was ABLE to linger and enjoy them. In order:

1. Benozzo Gozzoli chapel in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi

2. Palazzo Davanzati

3. Museo Bardini

4. Museo Archeologico Nazionale

5. and the nearby, new Ospedale degli Innocenti museum

The Brancacci Chapel.

2nd recommendation to visit the Brancacci chapel. DH and I had visited Florence 4/times before we made it there, it is absolutely worth visiting. Be sure to get the headset iPad combo that explains about the art, it is worth the expense. If you are a shopper, Florence is a great city to indulge. Also ditto advice re: the Bargello and Duomo museum, both are exceptional. Not a site, but worth mentioning is that Florence is a great city to just spend time wandering around in, a most enjoyable occupation.

Piazza Michelangelo at dusk.

Loved walking through the Mercato Centrale or is it Centrale Mercato. I enjoyed it so much I went twice......so much to see.
(my surprise was finding bottles of soda that I had enjoyed in Peru !!!)

Loved walking through the Mercato Centrale or is it Centrale Mercato.
I enjoyed it so much I went twice......so much to see.

Yeah, it's wonderful. We were staying in a nearby apartment for 6 nights, so we'd pretty much one-stop shop there daily. By the 2nd or 3rd day, the vendors knew me and started giving me 'the good stuff'. Could it have been touristy shtick? Maybe, but the prosciutto this one vendor sliced for me--you can't miss the stall, the prosciutto is hanging all over--was the best hands down I've ever had. Bought some fresh every day.

For a wonderful rooftop dining experience and fabulous views try this restaurant.

https://www.hotelbaglioni.it/en/bars-restaurants/b-roof

For a wonderful rooftop dining experience and fabulous views try this restaurant.

https://www.hotelbaglioni.it/en/bars-restaurants/b-roof

I stayed at the Baglioni a couple of years ago. It was a wonderful experience, and the views up there in the restaurant? Amazing.

The Bardini Gardens.
You enter off Via dei Bardi, above and to the left of the Ponte Vecchio if it is behind you; through a small gate through a small building , proceed up and up through the gardens.
You are climbing up all the way.
Then at the top, you exit, cross a quiet road and enter into the top of the Boboli Gardens on the same ticket.
It was deserted the day I went there a couple of years ago; I literally saw no one else there till I came across a small TV crew at the very top near the exit.
Great views over Florence.
Also: if the weather is baking hot: the Ferragamo Shoe Museum and the Gucci Costume Museum.
Both are wonderful, and both are air conditioned!

Do not miss the Duomo Museum across from the church. Incredible! Fabulous! Amazing! Not only will you experience history that you won't see anywhere else, but in the remodeling 2 years ago they added a number of terrific high-tech interactive displays. Being able to see every little detail of every panel of Ghiberti's bronze doors was breath taking. I've visited the museum 3 times and looking forward to at least 3 more!

I've been to Florence twice. Both times I had amazing experiences; however, my favorite of all time was a late lunch at a restaurant whose name now escapes me. It was near Il Porcellino, near being a relative term. But it wasn't part of the planned anything. It was just - hey, let's try this place. And we had a marvelous experience.

I hope you also have random, marvelous experiences!

Watching the setting sun reflecting off of the facade of the Duomo (or Santa Croce) is an experience not be be missed. The light seems to well up from inside the marble. Glorious.

Cinghiale.

As so many have said, the Duomo Museum is wonderful! There's a great gelateria on the corner behind the Duomo near there, too -- the name escapes me now, but I had the ginger strawberry and it was delicious! There was always a line out the door, and you had to take a number to be served. We also climbed the bell tower (next to the Duomo) and stayed up there while it rang on the hour -- loud, but amazing!

Most of our best memories were while eating -- we stayed up late to enjoy 2 memorable, long Italian dinners. We let our excellent waiter be our guide and ordered what was suggested based on a conversation with him about our tastes. He was amazing and every dish was better than the last. We ended with a special pear-chocolate cake that wasn't on the menu (and the price was less than the other desserts on the menu, so I don't think it was a gimmick). The waiter even brought us a little vin santo at the end (on the house) as a special cap to our evening. It was magical! Our other memorable meal was having the Chianina beef -- we picked a restaurant that was recommended in the RS guidebook. It was incredible!

I'll also echo sentiments about the Mercato Centrale -- we ate lunch there a couple of times. The second floor has an excellent food hall with so many affordable options and great house wine! It was a wonderful spot for a bite between museums, and really close to the Duomo. We were surrounded by Italians, not tourists (we were there in early May as you will be).

At the risk of sounding like a complete broken record, I'll also say the Pitti Palace/Boboli Gardens were fantastic, too, with great views of the city.

You're going to have a fantastic trip! Enjoy!!

Cinghiale.

Oh yes, jvb. On fettuccine. It's wild boar, but it's like the most tender pot roast shards imaginable. Not gamy in the least.

Bardini Museum would be a must-do for me. While I understand the draw of the Accademia and the Uffizi, the overwhelming crowds really detract from any possible enjoyment in my opinion. We spent several hours in the Bardini and saw 3 other people in that time. Similar to the Isabella Gardiner Museum in Boston, the collection is just as it was left by the previous owner: fragments of doors and windows from ruined churches and villas; 15th century woodwork in the ceilings; sculptures; furniture; ceramics; tapestries; sarcophagi; reliefs; weaponry and armor – all as he displayed them against walls in the shade of blue he created. Tucked into the static exhibit were 20 works by Glenn Brown a contemporary British artist – so deftly interwoven into Bardini’s collection that at first, we didn’t notice them. Once we did, we were entranced by the comparisons and references to the older pieces. Check the Bardini website to see if there will be a contemporary exhibit when you are visiting.
Perhaps the most unexpected pleasure in Florence was the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum, in the basement of the store. I mistakenly thought the museum would highlight the collection of almost 16,000 shoes. Instead, the exhibit depicted Ferragamo’s immigration to America in 1915 and his triumphant return in 1927. His growing fame in America highlighted the need for the artisans of his homeland if he was to truly expand his business. Settling in Florence, his company grew to employ more than 750 shoemakers producing over 350 pairs of shoes a day. The exhibit explores the culture of this period and the beginnings of fascism in Europe. I was so taken with the exhibit, I even considered buying a pair of shoes, until I realized the least expensive pair in the store was about €2,000.
Other attractions we enjoyed in Florence included the Medici Riccardi Palace and the Museo San Marco.
With respect to food, we did the Eat Italy Florence Sunset Food tour. Had I known that one of the stops would include Bistecca we wouldn't have had it the night before!!

Gelato.

Well, to be honest, that's on my "can't miss" list for any Italian city. But there's a good one in Florence near the bridge.

I had two experiences (two different trips) that will sound similar, but maybe you'l understand why I enjoyed both so much.

First trip - we were on a day trip to Florence. We had some time to waste before we left the city and found a quiet restaurant near what we then called the piggy market ( Il Porcellino). Nobody spoke more than a few words of English. We could sit and watch people as long as we liked. The house wine was marvelous, and the food was divine.

Second trip - on my own - I found a rooftop bar which offered great drinks + free food with every drink you ordered. There was a spectacular view of the Duomo. I sat with a book and enjoyed the experience.

Both times, I didn't expect to find such wonderful places to simply sit and watch the city. Both times, I felt peaceful and relaxed. So my can't miss experience for Florence is to find a great restaurant/bar and just kick back for a bit as a breather while you're on the rest of your holiday.

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I had 45 hours in Florence, including two nights. I visited Santa Maria Novella church near the train station the first afternoon, The Uffizi, San Marco, the Medeci chapels, L’Academia, The Bargello, Santa Croce Church, Piazzale Michelangelo, and San Miniato Church for evening Mass the full day, and the Duomo sites – the dome climb, baptistery, and museum, and the Ornschamale (sp?) Church the final morning. All were worthwhile, with the walk to and view from the Piazzale Michelangelo probably my favorite. I would also highly recommend evening into night at the Duomo Plaza. It’s a beautiful scene with well-lit streets, music, and people having an enjoyable time, with the Duomo structures providing the backdrop. I had pre-purchased tickets to the Uffizi, L’academia, and the Duomo sites. The rest were easy to get into with little or no wait. September 5-6 of 2017.