We have had a wonderful few days in Florence. So glad we decided not to do a day trip to either Bologne or Sienna after all – we wouldn’t have had time to do nearly all we wanted to. Even so, our sightseeing stamina leaves a lot to be desired, especially if you add in steps!
On the Firenze card
I think we have had good value from our Firenze cards. Even if we haven’t had 72 euro worth of entry fees, we have certainly avoided the long queues.
These are the first lot of the highlights we’ve seen with our card. They have all been highlights!
* Museo Di Casa Buonarroti – house of Michaelangelo – architecturally beautiful little museum with lovely examples of sculptures and frescos
* Basilica a Museo Di Santa Croce – arguably the most beautiful church in Florence with wonderful mosaics and side altars. So much wonderful art – we should have seen this earlier to fully appreciate it. Many surprising paintings. Also home to a leather school where we bought our leather sourvenirs.
* Palazzo Pitti and the Museo Giardino Di Boboli – lovely gardens on the other side of the Arno river. At this time of the year lots of green foliage but lovely structure. Place to appreciate views to the Tuscan countryside and to centre of Florence.
* Battistero Di San Giovanni – beautiful octagon-shaped building which stunned us when we first saw it built using green sienna stone. Inside ornately decorated ceiling.
* Giotto’s bell tower – Campanile Di Giotto – bell tower of Santa Maria del Fore – well worth the 400+ steps climb to the top for wonderful 360 degree panorama of Florence. Amazing to see the red roofs and how uniformly low the buildings are. On street level you are stunned by the architecture but the bell tower gives you the quintessential perspective seen in postcards and paintings of Florence.
Travelling with Teresa 