Florence is a beautiful and lovely city. It has an interesting architecture, it is in fact a cradle of renaissance. It was a center of culture and merchandise couple hundreds years ago, and was even a capital city of Italian kingdom in some period of time.

The city has indeed a very interesting history. However what EXACTLY is worth visiting while spending your holiday there?

I talked about Florence in the latest post. I suggest you to also read it as I was breaking through some of the main issues while traveling. (Like stay, transport - by train, by car or a bus).

In this article we will talk about various sights and places that are definitely worth your visit. I also try to add the most about skipping the lanes and useful tips like that.

1. CATTEDRALE DI SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE (DUOMO)

The Florence's cathedral is towering the city and becomes its dominant. It was built by Brunelleschi on a site of older church of Santa Reparata. The remains of the old church can still be seen in the crypt. The structure is predominantly gothic.

What is pretty interesting are the statues. They are to the right from the cathedral. Each one of the architect has his own statue which seems as it was admiring the cathedral. I really appreciated the detail and find it pretty interested to know about when I was standing right there.

Beautiful insides of the church.

The church is more interesting from the outside to most since it has the beautiful pink and green marble panels. The inside's main attraction are the mosaic pavements.

You can also climb to the top of the red cupola.

The view from a mountain above the city.

Artwork

The biggest one inside is by Giorgio Vasari. It is the fresco of Last Judgment. The interesting thing is it isn't really painted by Vasari, but by his student Zuccari.

Entrance

The cost is free. However the number of tourists is limited. To reduce noise and increase the number of people in, they created the audio guide system. (Which is nowadays in most museums). The guide costs 2,50€ and students with a card have a discount.

The lanes here are pretty long but they move quickly. Don't wear any knives or similar stuff, because you wouldn't be able to go in most of the sights!

Firenze in winter.

Tickets

Free, audio guide: 2,50€

You can buy combined ticket that includes Baptistry, crypt, Campanile de Giotto, Museo Del opera Del duomo for 18€

Openings

Week: 10am - 5 pm

Thursday: 10 am - 3:30 pm

Saturday: 10 am - 4:45 pm

Sunday and public holidays: 1:30 pm - 4:45 pm.

2. BARRERO DI SAN GIOVANNI - (BAPTISTRY OF SAINT JOHN)

It is one of the oldest buildings in Florence. Built in 11th century, the building is appearing to be in Romanesque style. The style was widely spread in medieval Europe and it is known for semi-circular arches.

The baptistry is renowned for its doors which are made of bronze and there are relief sculptures on them. Many members of the important Medici family and famous poet Dante Alighieri were baptized here.

Interior

The walls are made out of green and pink marble and the columns of Sardinian granite.

What is the most interesting in the baptistry is its ceiling. It's full of gold and mosaics so it creates a really expensive look. It was built throughout the centuries in different phases. There are of course religious symbols portrayed.

The most interesting of them is definitely Last Judgment by Jacobus. It shows a Christ and lots of angels. To the right (from the Christ) we can see those who were saved, leaving their tomb with joy on their faces. To the left there are damned with each of their punishments.

Tickets

It has only one hall inside. This costs 4€.

3. UFFIZI GALLERY (Gallery of Offices)

The gallery is a very prominent art museum with a whole collection of Italian art. There isn't much to say, just that the gallery is really for art enthusiasts. Some of the best paintings there are from Botticelli.

The problem I had with the gallery was the lane. It was 3 hours (not exaggerating at all) until we got to the tickets office. I highly suggest to buy tickets online OR wait until 3 p.m. (almost no lane). Unfortunately when I was there nobody told us this information, and I travelled with travel agency. This was also the reason why I started this blog.

You will have a free ticket when you will come on first Sunday of the month. (Which works in almost every European museum)

Tickets

from 01/03 to 31/10 = regular 20€, reduced 10€

from 01/11 to 28/02 = regular 12€, reduced 6€

Openings

Open Tuesday to Sunday 8:15 – 18:50

Extraordinary Opening: From 1st July to 22 September on Tuesday and Wednesday will extend opening hours until 22:00.

Closed: Monday, January 1, May 1, December 25.

Address: Piazzale degli Uffizi 6, Firenze

4. GALLERIA DEL' ACCADEMIA (Academy Gallery)

The gallery I have unfortunately never visited. It was because the lane was so long every day and we were in Florence for only 4 days. This is why it is better to plan your own trip and read articles about the city you go to. It may be tiring sometimes but it's definitely worth it.

The gallery itself is mainly about Michelanelo's David. The original of the sculpture is located here. There are also many other sculptures by Michelangelo and other artists from Florence. However this museum is more specialized and if you have a budget or time only for one of them, choose Uffizi Gallery. It's bigger and has more paintings which are also more variable.

Tickets

Entrance to the Accademia Gallery is allowed every 15 minutes. Adult ticket: 16,00 euro- (includes reservation to skip-the-line and on-line fees 4,00 euro). Reduced ticket: 9,80 euro- (includes reservation to skip-the-line and on-line fees 4,00 euro).

There are always lots of tourists.

Openings

The Accademia is open Tuesday through Sunday, 8:15 am – 6:50 pm. This means it is CLOSED on Mondays. Ticket office closes at 6:20 pm, and museum starts closing down at 6:40 pm.

The museum is closed: every Monday, January 1, May 1, December 25.

Address: Via Ricasoli 58-60 – near Piazza San Marco.

You can find more information on official website: here.

5. PALAZZO VECCHIO (Old Palace)

The palace is a town hall of Florence. The main attraction for the tourists is however a copy of Michelangelo's statue.

The entrance is located from the Piazza Del Signoria which is ALWAYS full of tourists. There is a very pretty frontispiece above the entrance door.

Also a quick note: There are many local sellers that will try to sell you a selfie stick or something. If you want to buy, always try the USB connection if it works. And don't buy anything more expensive than 5€. On the Piazza there are also many sellers of art. Their prices are very high but it's because they want you to negotiate with them.

In the palace there is also one of the oldest view of Bratislava (Slovakia). Many Slovak people don't know that and it was quite a surprise for me as well. There are also many other cities from Habsuburg's monarchy. The cities are painted there because of the wedding of two ruling families of the time. The wife Johanna Habusrg wanted something that would remind her of home country, that's why Cosimo I. decorated the palace this way.

Tickets

Around 18€

Inside the Duomo

Opening times

From october to march: Mon/Tue/Wed/Fri/Sat/Sun 9 a.m - 7 p.m. Thursday 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. From april to september: Mon/Tue/Wed/Fri/Sat/Sun 9 a.m - 11 p.m. Thursday 9 a.m. - 2 p.m 

So that´s it. Hope you liked the article and felt at least a bit inspired for travelling. Would you like to visit Florence? Let me know!

Disclaimer
Some of the photos in this post are not mine. I have plenty of photos like this, unfortunately my laptop isnt in great condition so I cant edit that much of them. I was in Florence year ago so I also dont really remember exactly what interior belongs to what sight so theres that. All the photos has link to adequate owners.

Radka

My first article about Florence: here.