{travel guide} Highlights of Florence

We spent 3 nights and 2 days in Florence while on our trip but we definitely could have used more. My first recommendation is to buy a Firenze Card. It gets you in to almost all the museums in Florence for 72 hours (one entry per museum) and you don't have to wait in the regular lines. You can buy it online before your trip or at multiple locations in Florence.

What to Do

Let's start with museums, shall we?

Uffizi Gallery

This museum is home to Botticelli's Primavera and The Birth of Venus as well as da Vinci's Annunciation and Adoration of the Magi (which is an unfinished piece!) Make sure to visit all the rooms, you never know what you'll discover hidden on the walls. Unfortunately we somehow missed The Birth of Venus and Primavera, I assume the rooms were closed because we looked at everything.

Accademia Gallery

This is where you will find Michelangelo's David as well as many other beautiful sculptures and paintings.

Museo Galileo

This is a really cool science museum full of globes, telescopes (some were Galileo's!), chemistry sets and more. I really enjoyed this museum and it was far less crowded than the first two.

Palazzo Pitti

Walk through this beautiful home turned museum and venture out into the gardens. We had already done quite a bit of climbing on this day so we didn't go far up into the gardens, which are supposed to have a lovely view.

Next up, churches!

Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore

Another must-see, this church is free to enter. You will also want to climb the Bell Tower for the view and visit the museum, both require tickets. Climbing the tower is a bit of a trek and is not for those of faint heart. I was VERY out of breath by the time I reached the top, it didn't help that we had climbed the Leaning Tower that morning and done a lot of walking so I was already pooped.

Medici Chapel

The walls and ceiling of this chapel are breathtaking. Definitely stop in!

Basilica di Santa Croce

This church is beautiful inside and out. It has tombs/memorials for some of Italy's most famous people like Galileo and Michelangelo. It also has Donatello's Christ Crucified (I couldn't get close enough for a non-blurry photo.)

And the rest.

Michelangelo Piazza

This piazza involves a bit of a climb (up steps) but the view of Florence is worth it! There is also a copy of David made from bronze.

Morning Trip to Pisa

We spent a few hours taking a trip to Pisa for the sole purpose of climbing the Leaning Tower. You really don't need that much time there at all. On our way from the train station we stopped by Santa Maria della Spina, a very pretty church by the river.

Where to Eat

Trattoria Sostanza

I think it's safe to say this was my favorite meal of the trip. It was recommended by one of my friend's friends and she told us to get the butter chicken. It was 20 euros each so we decided to get 2 and split it between the three of us. Honestly we could have each eaten the full meal and it would have been worth it. The chicken comes to you still sizzling and bubbling. It is so simple, but perfect. The best chicken I've ever eaten. Instead of a photo I'm including a video so you can hear the deliciousness.

Gelateria dei Neri

More tasty gelato! It's hard to find bad gelato, just make sure you don't go somewhere that has the gelato piled up in the containers, that's a sign its not as good.

Ristorante il Boccale

We stopped here for lunch one day since it was down the street from our airbnb. I had just plain spaghetti with garlic and oil and it was so good. Sometimes the simplest meals can be the best.

Trattoria Nella

We had dinner here on our second night in Florence. I wasn't seeing anything particularly tempting on the menu so I asked if they had pesto. The waiter went to ask the chef and said that he could make me pesto with fettuccine. I loved how accommodating they were to my request. We also shared some garlic broccoli. Both were very good. One friend had the gnocchi but said it was a bit too thick.

Cafe Duomo

We ended up here for lunch after visiting the Cattedrale. We all got the same meal and, while it looks like an odd combo, it was delicious. I also got myself a hot chocolate which was more like warm pudding, sooooo good!