25th Wedding Anniversary trip alert (European vacation)…read more.. The Uffizi Gallery is housed in a long, elegant structure designed in the 16th century by Giorgio Vasari for the powerful Medici family, the gallery retains an air of purpose and grandeur, its corridors opening toward views of the Arno River and the city's historic skyline. The Uffizi collection is widely considered one of the finest in the world, particularly for Italian Renaissance painting, and includes works by masters such as Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael. Iconic paintings like Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera feel both familiar and astonishing when encountered in person. Their scale are beyond belief. The depth and breadth of the gallery is a bit overwhelming, with dozens of rooms and hundreds of masterpieces, creating moments where wonderment converges with a bit of tiredness. What lingers most is the sense of continuity: the Medici legacy encapsulated every wall, and the feeling that one is walking through the very cradle of Renaissance thought. The building itself is stunning...frescoed ceilings, eye-catching statues, and glimpses toward Florence's landmarks. Uffizi Gallery reinforces the idea that art, history, and city are intricately connected. Prepare to take adequate time to view the exhibits

The gallery was so GOOD! They have lots and lots of statues of heads on the corridors and the…read moreexperience was generally a good thing!

From the Middle Ages to the present day, Piazza della Signoria, between Piazza del Duomo and the…read moreArno River, is the beating heart of the historic center of Florence with its distinctive L-shape, which my partner, our friends, family member, and I visited in mid-September. Palazzo Vecchio, the traditional seat of the Florentine government, with its distinctive tower, is yet another symbol of the city. In front stands a copy of Michelangelo's David (the original can be seen at the Accademia Gallery). One of the most impressive squares we've ever seen! The piazza looks like an outdoor museum, full of iconic statues and history in every corner. One can't miss the Fountain of Neptune that was commissioned to celebrate a Medici marriage. It is a colossal statue of Neptune, the Roman god of the sea and the counterpart of the Greek god Poseidon. The atmosphere is vibrant and lively with both tourists and locals, perfect to enjoy both during the day and at night. Definitely a must-see in Florence!

Nice gathering place next to Ponte Vecchio. There's a beautiful fountain here and plenty of places…read moreto gather and dine. I love these Italian palazzos!

A piece of history! Worthwhile to take a stop nearby the main square in Bologna and admire these…read morefeats of medieval architecture. As of end Dec 2023 both towers are closed for maintenance as the base and building materials have deteriorated and are no longer safe for tours. Prior to closing stairway access to the top via 498 steps (according to their website) was available for €5 to the taller tower Asinelli, with shorter tower Garisenda already under repair. There is a public website commune.bologna.it where anyone can donate to the restoration campaign.

Between the 12th and the 13th century, Bologna was a city full of towers. Almost all the towers…read morewere tall defensive stone towers. Besides the towers, there are still some fortified porticos that correspond to the gates of the 12th-century city. The richest families used these towers for offensive/defensive purposes during the period of the Investiture Controversy. In the 13th century, many towers were demolished or collapsed. Many towers have been used as a prison, city tower, shop or residential building. The 2 towers remained a famous sight of Bologna throughout the later periods; even Dante mentioned some of the towers in his Inferno.

November 9, 2024 1:30PM…read more What a beautiful church. This wasn't on our must see list while in Florence but so glad we made a pit stop here while looking for the leather school. Very short line to get in, I believe it was about 8 euros per person for a visit. We ended up spending about an hour ish browsing around. There were a lot of famous folks buried here... Right before our honeymoon we had lost my beloved kitty on the operating table for a dental procedure, she was 3.5 yo... on the same day we lost my mother in law to her battle with MS. It had been a rough couple of weeks before our trip. For some reason while sitting in this church I had an overwhelming feeling of sadness and relief at the same time. Which made this place so memorable for me. Known as the "Pantheon of Florence," it's the largest Franciscan church and serves as the burial site for famous Italians like Michelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli. Its history involves significant artistic decoration, including Giotto's frescoes, and later additions like the Neo-Gothic facade. Such a beautiful historic site with so much to look at. Definitely recommend to check them out if you ever visit Florence.

Located about 2,600 feet southeast of the Duomo, my partner, our friends, family members, and I…read morearrived at the Piazza di Santa Croce and the Basilica of Santa Croce (Italian for Basilica of the Holy Cross) St. Francis visited Florence at the beginning of the 13th century, and a few years later some friars of his congregation decided to stop in the city and build a church with a convent and an adjacent library. Thus was born this church. Today Santa Croce is a museum complex that brings together the Basilica, the chapels, the monastery, the bell tower, and the part dedicated exclusively to exhibitions, such as the former refectory, where we came last Tuesday. The €10 entry fee was well worth it. One has to wear appropriate outfits to gain entry. Basically, just make sure one has long shorts below the knees and arms are covered. Once inside this ornate Florentine gothic style, our attention is immediately drawn to the east end, where the tall narrow stained glass windows pierce the walls. The center nave is wide and well-lit. What is significant about Santa Croce is it became the resting place of so many great Italians, such as the great historian and writer Niccolò Machiavelli, sculptor and painter Michelangelo Buonarroti, astronomer Galileo Galilei, and composer Gioachino Rossini. There were probably more than a thousand art pieces on display here, including works of Brunelleschi, Donatello, and Giotto. One can easily spend half a day here--there is that much to see and explore!

Out of all the Big 3 cities in Italy I collectively walked the most steps in Florence. Not only is…read morethe city pedestrian-friendly (small city plus a huge car-free zone around the Duomo), some of the best views are rewarded if you work hard for it. I was very fortunate to be able to do the main 3 climbs of the city: the cupola (dome) climb, Giotto's Campanile (bell tower) climb and the Arnolfo tower climb. Spread out over the course of the entire Florence leg of my trip this is how I justified eating whatever I wanted. The Arnolfo Tower is 95 meters high and is erected atop the Palazzo Vecchio. It is named after the architect of the palace, Arnolfo di Cambio. During construction he decided to incorporate an ancient tower formerly located at the site - hence why the tower itself is off-center. The purpose of the tower was for defense of the city. - The clock built into the tower serves as the city's first public clock. Only one hand tells the hour while increments in the hours themselves denote the minute by 15-minute increments. - There's a "alberghetto" inside the tower, which in reality is a small prison. Famous inhabitants included Cosimo the Elder (first member of the Medici family dynasty) and Savonarola (a devout Dominican monk) before their exile and executions, respectively. The tower can be accessed via its own separate admission fee (€10) or as part of a combo-ticket with the Palazzo Vecchio (€14) and the archaeological site (€18). It also keeps separate hours from Palazzo Vecchio itself; check the website for exact hours as they differ depending on the season. Remember that last entry is an hour to close. Difficulty: in the middle between the harder Cupola climb and the easier Campanile climb. While 418 is the official step count, the actual number of steps of the tower climb itself is a bit over 200. This is because you have to climb some steps in order to reach the starting point of the Palazzo Vecchio rooms open to the public, which is the same floor as the entrance to the tower. On busy days there is also a waiting period to climb the tower as only 20ish people can access the tower at any given period with a maximum time of 30 minutes per group. This provides ample opportunity to "rest" halfway, though on actual tower climb itself there are fewer opportunities to rest than the Campanile. The tower climb shows its reward when you reach the top. It is the single best view inside the city of the entire Duomo cathedral, including Giotto's Campanile. You can photograph the entire cathedral within one frame. The best view is specifically marked as such and highly encourages people to take the best view/selfie shots. I enjoyed this view as it did give me the best shot of the Duomo. I was not able to go to Piazzale Michelangelo for my chance to take a picture of "the best shot of Florence". PS: In retrospect I'm glad that I paid for the separate €10 admission. Had I done the combo-ticket on the same day I visited Palazzo Vecchio it would've been a challenge to tackle *both* the cupola and this climb several hours after.

Literally towering over Florence is the Tower of Palazzo Vecchio. It stands 311 feet tall and is…read morethe city's most recognizable symbol and focal point. The oldest parts of the building were built between 1299 and the early 14th century, possibly to a design by Arnolfo di Cambio, as the seat of the city's government. For a fee, (€ 6.50 for the tour or € 10 for the tour and museum), you can climb the tower. We are from Baltimore where we have The Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower, which was modeled after the Palazzo Vecchio. It has been a Baltimore landmark since its construction in 1911. So we have always felt a connection to this tower.

This was probably the best of the 3 hotels we stayed at in Italy through Contiki. It was also the…read morecleanest and most modern. It didn't have a safe for valuables but I was really impressed with the number of lights in the place. The lights were modern and bright. There was even a cool modern mural that decorated our wall. The beds were just ok. The bathroom was nice complete with bidet. What's with Italy and bidets? Every hotel we stayed in had one. The heat worked fine in this room and again it smelled of smoke in our non-smoking room. Come on, does the staff smoke while working? We had to leave the window open to air out the room. In the room there was a nice flat-screen TV, and I really liked that the doors were coded keyless locks. There could have been more outlets but at least I brought a travel mini outlet power strip that accommodated our electronic devices. The breakfast in the morning was limited even more so than the previous hotel. What gives with the chopped up hot dogs with scrambled eggs? If you're going to serve hot dogs, please provide some ketchup. Most places have bacon or sausage, which is more appropriate for breakfast. I did enjoy the cappuccino machine, Philadelphia cream cheese and Nutella packets. Breakfast was included with our tour but for the normal guests, it is 6 euro per day. The wifi is free in the lobby but not in the room. They also had a computer downstairs for guest use. The best part of the hotel was that it was close to the city center so we could walk everywhere without needing a cab, train, or bus. Actually Florence is built on old ruins so they can't put in a metro. If they dug, they'd find more ruins and all work would have to stop. So it's nice that the entire city is walkable.

As a general rule, I don't do a lot of touristy things when I'm traveling. In my older age, and…read moreinfinite wisdom, I've learned that I don't need to go into all the old churches in Europe (especially if there's a line). I'll be happier sipping wine in the sunshine outside a cafe. Having said that, I still highly recommend the Boboli Gardens. My friends all wanted to go and it was a winner that I'm glad they dragged me along to visit. The grounds are gorgeous, and Florence is oddly devoid of anything green, so it's a breath of fresh air (literally) to wander around, walk up the Bowling Green, and gawk at the flowers, the trees, and one of the biggest and best stone heads I've ever seen. As a bonus, after touring the gardens we were somehow able to bypass the lines to get into the Pitti Palace, and skipping lines is my favorite. Also, the palace is just room after room of incredible paintings, gorgeous ceilings, and (my wife's favorite) some of the most intricately beautiful tables you've ever seen.

We visited the Boboli Gardens and the Palazzo Pitti on our first afternoon in Florence, and what…read morewith the Duomo views and the Medici glamor, it was a nice introduction to the city. The palace was originally commissioned in 1458 by a Florentine banker named Pitti. The Medicis picked it up in 1549, and it remained a ruling class residence until 1919, when it was gifted to the nation and turned into a museum. It's a giant place, literally palatial, with a kind of forbidding, fortress-like aesthetic. Seems like a weird place to live, but what do I know. We walked in on a Wednesday afternoon, and neither the gardens nor the museum were crowded. We started with the Boboli Gardens, which were quite attractive, even in mid-November with nothing in bloom. It felt like a large, inclined park, pleasant to walk, with impressive fountains and tremendous views. There was an empty amphitheater and an ancient Egyptian obelisk. Tons of old statues, including a fenced-off 17th century work called "The Abundance," where we saw a weird lady sneak in to molest the base. We wandered up the garden's main axis and reached the Giardino del Cavaliere, an intricately landscaped walled garden with truly fantastic views. We spent about an hour in the gardens and another hour in the Palatine Gallery, Palazzo Pitti's primary museum space. The gallery contains over 500 paintings, most of them from the Renaissance, a collection that once belonged to the Medicis and their successors. I'm sure we would've gotten more out of the visit had we taken a guided tour, but we did pretty well walking through those endless rooms on our own. We had a good time at the Palazzo Pitti and would recommend it to anyone visiting Florence. Less mandatory than the Uffizi or the Accademia, but a great place to absorb the lavish splendor of the Medicis.

The Accademia Gallery in Florence offers a focused, more intimate, and ultimately defined by a…read moresingle, overwhelming masterpiece, Michelangelo's David. Founded in the late 18th century as a teaching collection, it evolved into one of Italy's most important art institutions You slowly move through the gallery of Renaissance paintings and plaster models. You curiosity begins to build as you anticipate viewing this famous David. Quite impressive...the statue's size, precision details, and sculpture expertise lives you in awe. The Accademia's smaller size allows for a more intimate experience. It highlights Michelangelo's works as well as adding meaningful context.

You cannot visit Florence without visiting Galleria dell'Accademia to see Michelangelo's David…read more Though I had a tour guide, I felt like the pace was too slow. It's a great museum, don't get me wrong, but I'd rather beat the crowds to see David, and then take my time strolling through all the other works of art. Seeing 17' of David in person is unreal-- a human made this out of rejected marble. The magnitude of David's height and attention to detail is incredible and the lighting under a skylight highlights every vein and definition of muscle even more so. If you're looking for a deep dive art history lesson, I'd recommend using AI. Note: try to book skip-the-line tickets in advance. If you're unable to, you can try to book through a third party booking system such as Viator, but you'll be paying more.

Personally I prefer independent solo travel but there are situations where I would prefer a guided…read moretour. One such situation is if I'm in a building of historical significance and said building is one of the city's main tourist attractions. In the case of any historical building in Europe I never took a formal European history class and I never paid much attention to any history class in high school, so much of European history I learn through my travels. What a guided tour does is present the relevant information in a way that can be explained in layman's terms so I don't have to be guessing at what I'm looking nor do I have to read through lots of placards, which can lead to museum fatigue. Post-trip the guided tours can point me in the right direction for more detailed research later. When researching my Italy trip I looked at TripAdvisor for the major tourist attractions. For Palazzo Vecchio many reviews pointed out how much they enjoyed the "Secret Passages" guided tour that guides visitors in secret areas not accessible to the public. For €4 extra you get a 75-minute tour that also delves into the history of the building, both as the the political center of the Florentine Republic as well as the personal space of the Medicis. Keep in mind that this isn't the tour that focuses on Dan Brown's "Inferno", though that tour is also offered as the book prominently features Palazzo Vecchio. This tour is provided by the curators of the Palazzo Vecchio, though there are lots of third-party vendors that try to sell you the same tour. Book your spot here: http://ticketsmuseums.comune.fi.it/10_secret-passages/. Tickets can be purchased around 60 days prior. I took a tour in the evening and I was supposed to be in a group of about 10 but since that group didn't show up I essentially got a private tour for €4. The guide was super knowledgable and using the secret parts of the palace told the story of the building in chronological order. (Spoiler alert: tour contents ahead). - The Duke of Athens secret spiral staircase predates the Medicis rule. While navigating through the thick walls my guide narrated how Palazzo Vecchio served as the headquarters for a democratically ruled Florentine Republic. For those that visited the Doge's Palace back in Venice the government and building functions are very similar to each other in that the heads of the merchant guilds are democratically elected to a council for short periods of time and are required to be isolated from public view to avoid possible corruption. - Much of the tour is focused on the rooms occupied by the Medicis, specifically the hidden rooms made for the grand dukes Cosimo I (not to be confused with Cosimo the Elder, founder of the Medici dynasty) and his son Francesco. Turns out that Francesco saw himself as a scientist and was interested in alchemy rather than the political affairs of the state. He created a "studiolo" so he can go about his studies in peace while also allowing him to store unusual and rare objects in the secret cupboards, which are hidden by paintings that depict the four elements in various forms. Another painting hid an entrance to the Tesoretto, Cosimo's secret study. - The final part of the tour takes you above the apartments into the attic. Here you will see the set of trusses built by Vasari that support the ceiling of the Salone dei Cinquecento. After Brunelleschi's dome I consider this the second-most architectural wonder in Florence as its construction predates modern building-making techniques. - The tour ends at the Salone dei Cinquecento where you are free to explore Palazzo Vecchio as much as you like. The next step is to explore the various private apartments on the first and second floors. I highly recommend this tour if you're ever in Florence. Along with the two major art galleries, the Duomo complex and Palazzo Pitti a visit to Palazzo Vecchio is essential in understanding the history and culture of the city. For €4 extra (about the cost of a moderately priced drink or cheap sandwich) a guide can help you digest the history of the building in a way that can enhance your visit.