Italy > Tuscany > Florence > Florence
Florence
N 43°46.086', E 11°15.195'
2012-06-08
http://www.visitflorence.com
Our rating: 8.80
Overall rating: - Rate this place - 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Florence is one of the major tourist cities in Italy. It is often combined with a visit to Rome, as Florence is easy to reach by train from the capital. Our plan was to visit the two main places in the city - the Ponte Vecchio Bridge and Piazzale Michelangelo at sunset - and also walk in the old city. The most interesting attraction of Florence is the Ponte Vecchio Bridge, built in 1345. Although now there are no butcher shops here, it managed to keep the original appearance. The souvenir sellers replaced the butchers. Because of yellow colors the bridge looks better in the evening.
Ponte Vecchio ©Yuriy Buriak
It's a good idea to view the city and the bridges from the Michelangelo Square. You can come there by bus #12 or #13 from the city center. On this map you can see the location of the area and how to get there. A taxi from the Ponte Vecchio will cost about 12 euros.
Views of the Ponte Vecchio from the Michelangelo Square ©Yuriy Buriak
Sculpture of David on the Michelangelo Square ©Yuriy Buriak
You can make romantic pictures :)
©Yuriy Buriak
The old city has many treasures and a large number of tourists. The main place of interest is the Uffizi Gallery , one of the major collections of paintings and sculptures in Italy. We didn't plan to visit it, but if you decide to visit it, then better buy a ticket in advance here . Piazza Santa Maria Novella is one of the biggest in the city. Here is a church with the same name built by Dominican monks in the XIII century.
Piazza Santa Maria Novella ©Yuriy Buriak
At those times more than 100,000 people lived in Florence, which was quite a lot. The city developed rapidly, and the mainstay of the economy was wool trade. Wool traders sponsored the construction of the main cathedral of the city, Santa Maria del Fiore. At that time it used to be the largest cathedral in the world.
Santa Maria del Fiore ©Yuriy Buriak
Santa Maria del Fiore. Giotto's Bell Tower ©Yuriy Buriak
Santa Maria del Fiore ©Yuriy Buriak
Nearby is the San Lorenzo Cathedral, founded in the IV century. Inside you can see works by Donatello and Michelangelo. By the way, fans of the Ninja Turtles will be interested to know that Leonardo and Raphael also played a role in the history of Florence.
Basilica of San Lorenzo ©Yuriy Buriak
On the Piazza della Signoria you can see the Old Palace, the seat of power of the Florentine Republic where the most important decisions were taken. Now here is the registry office and City Hall. The square is also interesting due to large number of interesting sculptures.
Palazzo Vecchio ©Yuriy Buriak
Piazza della Signoria ©Yuriy Buriak
Sculptures on the Piazza della Signoria ©Yuriy Buriak
Sculptures on the Piazza della Signoria ©Yuriy Buriak
Copy of David by Michelangelo ©Yuriy Buriak
Sculptures on the Piazza della Signoria ©Yuriy Buriak
More photos of the old city
Holy Trinity Bridge (Ponte Santa Trinita) ©Yuriy Buriak
Bas reliefs in Florence ©Yuriy Buriak
Some event in the middle of the square ©Nastya Mironets
Amazing butcher shops in Italy ©Yuriy Buriak
Someone drew me :) ©Yuriy Buriak
Florence ©Yuriy Buriak
Streets in the old city of Florence ©Yuriy Buriak
We stopped to learn the score in the opening match of Euro 2012. ©Yuriy Buriak
Florence ©Yuriy Buriak
Unusual courtyard in Florence ©Yuriy Buriak
Guide to Florence Large map of Florence Getting there: The main airport is in Pisa , from there 80 minutes by train to Florence . The city itself also has an airport , but a small one. Train is the best way to get to Florence . You can get there from anywhere, the easiest way is from Rome , Milan , and Bologna . Also the high-speed line "Naples - Turin" runs through the city . Website of bus lines in Florence . Route map is here .
Tags, Italy: city , observation deck Tags, all countries: city , observation deck
- Rate this place -
Location : ------------ 1 - Far beyond the settlements, you must spend minimum a day 2 - Near the small town, you need to walk long distance 3 - Can be reached only by car 4 - A small town with a poor public transport 5 - Outside the settlements, but with excellent transport links 6 - A small town with excellent transport links 7 - Medium-size city 8 - Suburb of the capital or major city, the ability to reach by public transport 9 - Big city 10 - Capital
Impressions : ------------ 1 - No point in visiting 2 - Boring, wasted time 3 - You can visit, if you have a lot of free time and nothing better to do 4 - A lot of things, but not so interesting 5 - It seems to be interesting, but hard way to spoil the impression 6 - There is something interesting, but the rest is not worth the attention 7 - Probably interesting, but for everybody 8 - Very cool, but difficult to see everything and long-distance trails 9 - Very cool, but there are similar facilities in other locations 10 - Very cool, this is not anywhere else
Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) : ------------ 1 - Crowds, impossible to see everything normally 2 - A lot of tourists, a long wait 3 - A lot of tourists, the organization is lame 4 - A lot of tourists, but good organization 5 - There are many tourists, but they are concentrated in one place and you can walk freely 6 - Many tourists everywhere, but the large space is compensated 7 - The average number of tourists. To photograph, you must wait 8 - Tourists are, but they do not interfere 9 - There are few tourists 10 - You are alone
State : ------------ 1 - Only title left 2 - Dull ruins 3 - On restoration 4 - The picturesque ruins 5 - Have not been restored, the state is poor 6 - Partially destroyed, but the rest of the normal state 7 - Have not been restored, good condition 8 - OK, but it is possible to make better 9 - Looks good from the outside, partial repair inside or without repair 10 - In excellent condition, well-groomed area
Picturesque (for the photographer) : ------------ 1 - - 2 - - 3 - Horrible background, normal pictures only from the top 4 - wires and cars do not allow make normal photo 5 - Interfere with foreign objects 6 - In the city, but more or less normal photo can be made 7 - Beautiful, but you can take pictures with just one point 8 - Very nice, but you can only shoot at a certain time 9 - Very nice, but hard to get to the good weather or permanently interfere with tourists 10 - Very nice, but occasionally interferes with the weather or tourists
* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help
Our rating - 8.80
Location : ------------ 1 - Far beyond the settlements, you must spend minimum a day 2 - Near the small town, you need to walk long distance 3 - Can be reached only by car 4 - A small town with a poor public transport 5 - Outside the settlements, but with excellent transport links 6 - A small town with excellent transport links 7 - Medium-size city 8 - Suburb of the capital or major city, the ability to reach by public transport 9 - Big city 10 - Capital
Impressions : ------------ 1 - No point in visiting 2 - Boring, wasted time 3 - You can visit, if you have a lot of free time and nothing better to do 4 - A lot of things, but not so interesting 5 - It seems to be interesting, but hard way to spoil the impression 6 - There is something interesting, but the rest is not worth the attention 7 - Probably interesting, but for everybody 8 - Very cool, but difficult to see everything and long-distance trails 9 - Very cool, but there are similar facilities in other locations 10 - Very cool, this is not anywhere else
Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) : ------------ 1 - Crowds, impossible to see everything normally 2 - A lot of tourists, a long wait 3 - A lot of tourists, the organization is lame 4 - A lot of tourists, but good organization 5 - There are many tourists, but they are concentrated in one place and you can walk freely 6 - Many tourists everywhere, but the large space is compensated 7 - The average number of tourists. To photograph, you must wait 8 - Tourists are, but they do not interfere 9 - There are few tourists 10 - You are alone
State : ------------ 1 - Only title left 2 - Dull ruins 3 - On restoration 4 - The picturesque ruins 5 - Have not been restored, the state is poor 6 - Partially destroyed, but the rest of the normal state 7 - Have not been restored, good condition 8 - OK, but it is possible to make better 9 - Looks good from the outside, partial repair inside or without repair 10 - In excellent condition, well-groomed area
Picturesque (for the photographer) : ------------ 1 - - 2 - - 3 - Horrible background, normal pictures only from the top 4 - wires and cars do not allow make normal photo 5 - Interfere with foreign objects 6 - In the city, but more or less normal photo can be made 7 - Beautiful, but you can take pictures with just one point 8 - Very nice, but you can only shoot at a certain time 9 - Very nice, but hard to get to the good weather or permanently interfere with tourists 10 - Very nice, but occasionally interferes with the weather or tourists
* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help
Visitor's rating - 0.00
Location : ------------ 1 - Far beyond the settlements, you must spend minimum a day 2 - Near the small town, you need to walk long distance 3 - Can be reached only by car 4 - A small town with a poor public transport 5 - Outside the settlements, but with excellent transport links 6 - A small town with excellent transport links 7 - Medium-size city 8 - Suburb of the capital or major city, the ability to reach by public transport 9 - Big city 10 - Capital
Impressions : ------------ 1 - No point in visiting 2 - Boring, wasted time 3 - You can visit, if you have a lot of free time and nothing better to do 4 - A lot of things, but not so interesting 5 - It seems to be interesting, but hard way to spoil the impression 6 - There is something interesting, but the rest is not worth the attention 7 - Probably interesting, but for everybody 8 - Very cool, but difficult to see everything and long-distance trails 9 - Very cool, but there are similar facilities in other locations 10 - Very cool, this is not anywhere else
Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) : ------------ 1 - Crowds, impossible to see everything normally 2 - A lot of tourists, a long wait 3 - A lot of tourists, the organization is lame 4 - A lot of tourists, but good organization 5 - There are many tourists, but they are concentrated in one place and you can walk freely 6 - Many tourists everywhere, but the large space is compensated 7 - The average number of tourists. To photograph, you must wait 8 - Tourists are, but they do not interfere 9 - There are few tourists 10 - You are alone
State : ------------ 1 - Only title left 2 - Dull ruins 3 - On restoration 4 - The picturesque ruins 5 - Have not been restored, the state is poor 6 - Partially destroyed, but the rest of the normal state 7 - Have not been restored, good condition 8 - OK, but it is possible to make better 9 - Looks good from the outside, partial repair inside or without repair 10 - In excellent condition, well-groomed area
Picturesque (for the photographer) : ------------ 1 - - 2 - - 3 - Horrible background, normal pictures only from the top 4 - wires and cars do not allow make normal photo 5 - Interfere with foreign objects 6 - In the city, but more or less normal photo can be made 7 - Beautiful, but you can take pictures with just one point 8 - Very nice, but you can only shoot at a certain time 9 - Very nice, but hard to get to the good weather or permanently interfere with tourists 10 - Very nice, but occasionally interferes with the weather or tourists
* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help