A stunning city ever bit asgood as you will read about (Florence (Tuscany))

Member Name: lm09

Product:	Florence (Tuscany)
Date:	03/02/09 (19 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A really compact city centre perfect for strolling

Disadvantages: none

I visited Florence January 2009 and had a fantastic time. Everything I knew and wanted to see I saw:- the Duomo, the Ponto Vecchio, the Uffizi and Michelangelo's great sculpture David. All these things I knew about from a young age and was desperate to see but Florence is much more than a few show stopping sites.

I flew to Pisa, Galileo Galilei airport, and spent the first morning of my trip in Pisa. Please read my Pisa review if you are interested in Pisa or if you are planning your own trip. Pisa and Florence are easy to combine in one trip especially if like me you flew Ryan air into Pisa. I arrived in Florence on the train getting off at the central station, Stazione di Santa Maria Novella and after a short five minute walk was at my hotel, the hotel Romangna.

Being January the weather was when planning my trip going to be a lottery but on landing in Pisa right though to leaving on the Sunday I had nothing but bright blue skies. Whilst the temperature dropped at night it was beautiful weather to explore the city. In addition being January the feared queues at the main attractions simply never happened and the main squares whilst busy were not crushed. Again I was lucky with the weather but would certainly suggest that Florence can be a winter break destination.

After getting out of the railway station complex, which has it's normal buzz and exoticism of any European station (as well as the drunks) the first thing you see is the massive Basilica di Santa Maria one of the biggest churches in Florence. The church which dates back to the 13th century often houses the Pope on his visits to Florence and the sheer size of the Basilica is amazing.

My hotel was on Via de Panzani just which was only another 80 metres from Santa Maria. Another 50 meters down the Via di Panzari comes possibly the most amazing sight in Florence, the Duomo. As in Pisa the Duomo is only part of the square, also contained is the Baptistery and the Campanile.

The Duomo itself is immense. No picture you will see on any book with give you any frame of reference to the detail and quality of carvings on the Duomo Western entrance. The building itself, the 4th biggest Cathedral in the world is stunning and seems to change as the light of the day changes. If you are there in the morning try to come back in the late afternoon as the red of the falling sun transforms the Duomo and the square again. It is stunning.

To get a view of Florence you have two options. You can either climb the Duomo tower or the Campanile, both for six Euros. I elected to climb the 463 steps of the Duomo with the last 50 or so being fairly steep. The view though in the winter blue sky was awesome. Up close the colours and detailing on the Campanile are simply stunning. The views right across all of Florence are a must and on the day is climbed the Duomo the view stretched right out to the hills of the Chianti region.

Back on terra firma the Duomo inside is another shock. With the outside being so stunning beautiful you would expect the same in the interior. Not so. The inside is very plain and empty with very little to hold you other than heading for the steps of the Duomo.

Opposite the Duomo is the Baptistery, the very same the Danti wet his head at. The Baptistery has stood since the 5th century and un-surprisingly is one of the oldest in Italy. From the outside having seen the Baptistery in Pisa the building looks untidy however the detail and artwork on the three huge doors is well worth a look.

We spent a lot of time in and around the Duomo and found the perfect spot to sit and watch the world go by. JJ Cathedral to the south of the Baptistery is one paper one of the last places I would want to end up on my travels. An Irish rockers pub!!! However the balcony seats give possibly the most exclusive view of the Duomo square. One small table juts out and across the square giving a perfect spot to people watch. The beer at £5 is good and the service friendly.

The people watching from this vantage was brilliant and with a cold beer perfect. Watching the Tuscans un-worried by the beauty of the square just getting on with their business. Watching tour groups of Japanese hunt in tight shoals hunting for that perfect 100 photos of the most inane objects. Watching the street hawkers and hobo's doing their 9-5s.

Heading south from the Duomo square you will pass the Piazza dellla Republica ad vast square by Florentine standards dominated by a huge arch. The only other thing of note about this square is the service and prices you will receive in this square in the cafes is the worst you will receive in Florence. You have been warned.

Continuing South towards the Arno you next come across the Piazza Della Signoria. This square is an outdoor museum for sculpture. This square leads you through to the Uffizi. We visited as I said in January and on the day of our planned visit to the Uffizi (Saturday) we arrived at around 10ish and walked straight in with no queues or scrums.

Now I am not a massive art lover. I like good art and an appreciate art but get quickly tired of galleries. The Uffizi is one of the most important galleries in the world basically displaying the private art collection of the Medici family, the former Royal family esq. elite of Florence. So here you go....strap yourself in...I found the Uffizi a let down. I have been to the Prado in Madrid, the Lourve in Paris, the National in London to name drop some of the worlds greatest galleries and what these galleries have, which for me not being an art lover is important, is the painters than everyone knows. The Mona Lisa, the Sunflowers, Guernica. The only painting I recognised in the Uffizi was the Birth of Venus. The big names are all there thought.

The best part of the Uffizi for me is the southern end which gives brilliant views over the Arno and to the Ponto Vechhio. The South West corner gives one of the best spots to photograph the Ponto. At the end of the Uffizi 2nd floor is a bar area too which has an outdoor area which looking north gives great views back over the Duomo. So for me who loves photography and is take it or leave it about art I would recommend the Uffizi if only for the photography opportunities.

Having seen the Ponto Vecchio and the Arno the next obvious step is to head that way. Unlike the Duomo which to me pictures don't do it justice with the Ponto Vecchio I think I was expecting more. It was with the blue sky beautiful and aesthetically beautiful but some how I wanted more. Crossing the bridge you find the bridge is completely given over to gold jewellery shops.

On the south side of the Arno, the Oltarno you should spend some time just to wander the tight lanes and get lost in the real lived in part of Florence. Better food options are this side of the Ponto Vecchio too. We have for a light snack 2 foot longs and a bottle of wine to share for 8 euros in a café on Santa Spirito. This might have been only a sandwich but Italian cheese and bread (I'm veggie) so my partner vouches for the meat tastes so so much better than anything Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys, Waitrose can muster. What on earth do we do to food in this country.

Blimey just re-read my read so far and is becoming a thesis so will hurry this up. The final place I will talk about is the last of the big sites. The Galleria Dell A'ccademia is home to one of arts most prized assets, Michelangelo's David. The Galleria is about 100 metres north from Duomo. Having bee through the Uffizi I had to be honest had my fill or religious arts so headed straight for the big one, or tiny one!!! The statue itself is as one of those things you have to see, like the leaning tower or the Ponto Vecchio you simply cannot go to Tuscany with seeing it.

There is no doubting the scale and quality of the work carved out of one slab of marble. However as someone who loves photography the Galleria has one major downfall. The insane policy of no photographing David. As you approach the statue you are being watched by a team of around 12 jobs worth cretins who at the slightest movement towards you pocket take great pleasure in shouting "no photo no photo". All day this is all they do. Talking a seat for 5 minutes and watching these people in action makes me feel better about my job and the relative good I offer society!!! However if like me you came not just to see the statue but also to photograph it I managed to get my shot from around 50 meters away with a zoom on. The shot was through a gap in the doors at the end of the gallery aisle and is perfect. I really hope that my photo not using a flash from that distance hasn't caused any damage to the lump of igneous marble. Oh and as a result I didn't feel the need to pay two euros for a postcard. Sorry....

Blimey read that back I think I might have deep routed issues. Bashing on and wrapping up Florence to me before I went was in my mind a place of beauty, romance and the dolce vita. Having spent a long weekend there I can confirm that it is all of these things and so much more.

Summary: To see Italy see Rome, Venice and Florence. All stunningly beautiful