Florence in one day is an adventure of tiny coffees, gelato mountains, visuals of god himself and stunning streets - I could of walked for days on end! Florence has everything! Florence, Italy was where we truely felt the heart of Europe, a world away from our gum trees and cockatoos. The Fiery red Giglio (Fleur De Lis), a symbol of beauty and strength, catching my eye around every corner. We explored til our feet hurt and our hearts were exploding from pure love for this city.
Things To Do In Florence In One Day
Best View In Florence
We started our one day in Florence early with a walk to the greatest view of the city, atop Piazzale Michelangelo. A stunning lookout with a huge replica Michelangelo's David statue admiring his birthplace below.
TIP: There is minimum public transport, though you really won't need it. This is quite a small city, with tiny streets. Mini buses are used for a local transport system and it is advised to buy your tickets before getting onto the bus.
Drinking Coffee In Florence
We made our way downhill, crossing the bridge and heading to the famous Caffe Gilli for our caffeine hit. Here, I purchased the world's most expensive and smallest coffee (a figure of speech, though I have the photographic proof). We also experienced the 'coffee sculling culture' of Italy. It still bewilders me to this day, read all about it here >>
Piazza del Duomo
This plaza contains the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral, Bapistry of St John and Giotto's Bell Tower. These would have to be up in my top 3 buildings of our European Adventure, along with the Vitus Cathedral in Prague and Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The incredible detail on every inch had me gobsmacked.
Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral
You can go inside Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral, BUT, get there any later than 9am and you better be designing a new game plan for your day. The line for this Museum/Cathedral is phenomenal! We went down, just to see if we could jump on the line, at around 10am and boy did we let out a mutual 'Nope!' quick smart.
The Holy Trio In Florence
This, for me, was the first time I had ever seen God, himself, visually presented. Never had I known for him to be physically conceived, which made it especially surprising for me to see it on a church. The holy trio, stunningly placed above the front doors of the Cathedral, with open, welcoming arms for any visitor to this great city.
Beautiful Doors Of Florence
One particular love that had manifested during our trip was my intense admiration for pretty doors. Florence was the pinnacle of door prettiness. With the Bapistry taking the cake for Most stunning European Doors.
Appreciation For The Beautiful Architecture In Florence
Curtis was determined to label my new found obsession 'crazy'. I was rethinking my devotion of camera space to all the pretty pictures, considering we only had 1 day in Florence. We stumbled upon a shop which reassured my love was not so unorthodox! A shop filled with pottery plaques, replicas of all the wonderful archways, welcome areas and entrance ways that Florence had to share. I was in heaven and as I bathed in the comforting notion that I was not alone in love, Curtis simply walked away.... (probably in utter shame, but I think more so, in jealousy 😉 )
Piazza della Signoria
A must-do with only one day in Florence. You can check out exactly where Michelangelo's David was first displayed and the story behind his creation in Piazza della Signoria. Along with the fountain of Neptune and a large display area of other incredible sculptures created during this time.
Exploring The Beauty Of Florence
Florence reminded us of the simplicity of Adventure and the pleasures that needed no frills. A nice cool breeze to make all the walking a bit less achy, a cup of gelato and slice of pizza being our source of nutrition, how a street could almost bring me to tears with its sheer simple beauty. How I could've walked for days....
Have you been to Florence? What was your favourite part of this beautiful Italian city?
I visited Florence about 18 months ago and I think it is my favourite city I have visited. It is simply stunning. We visited all the places you did plus some others which I have written about in my blog Soph talks travel if you want to compare notes. The view from Piazza Michelangelo though was incredible especially as we got there just as the sun was setting. Just spectacular!
https://sophtalkstravel.wordpress.com/2016/05/04/florence-beauty/