Florence (Firenze in Italian) is the capital of the Tuscan region. It is also considered the birthplace of the Renaissance. The city attracts millions of tourists each year, and the Historic Centre of Florence was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. The city contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Pitti, and still exerts an influence in the fields of art, culture and politics.
Due to Florence’s artistic and architectural heritage, it has been ranked by Forbes as one of the most beautiful cities in the world and we could both understand why! If you are more a shopaholic then Florence will still tick those boxes from high street to designer shops there is a vast selection and it is also ranked in the top 15 fashion capitals of the world.
As we walked into the city we had a lovely view of Ponte Vecchio which is a medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the River Arno. This bridge is very different as it has shops built along it, as was once common. Butchers initially occupied the shops; the present tenants are jewellers, art dealers and souvenir sellers.
We simply couldn’t visit all the sites in the 5 days we were there, but we both agreed we had to visit the Uffizi Gallery.
The Uffizi Gallery is the largest gallery in the world and is located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria. This bustling piazza is home to several restaurants and some designer shops.
It took us nearly 3 hours to walk around the gallery and admire the art.
The gallery itself is also magnificent, the ceilings in the hallways are just brilliant.
The restored Niobe room represents Roman copies of late Hellenistic art.
Another landmark you have to visit is Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore which is translated in English to Saint Mary of the Flower.
The cathedral itself is free to visit and although the queue was quite long it only took about 10 minutes to go down.
The façade is absolutely stunning.
The Duomo is a real landmark and can be seen from miles away.
There is so much to Florence and we were really spoilt for choice. Will we be back? Too damn right we will, we loved it !!
