Buongiorno!
While I think I’ve done pretty well *not* making my recent trip to Italy my entire personality, I basically have no choice but to talk about it on the blog, right?
Cool, glad we agree.
So, not to brag, but…it was epic. My boyfriend and I went at the beginning of October. We flew to Florence and spent one night there. Then, we rented a car and drove to Cortona, Tuscany for three nights. After dropping the car off in Rome, we flew to Sardinia for another three nights. Lastly, we flew back to Rome to finish off our trip with a final night and headed back to NYC the following morning.
It goes without saying that we ate tons of authentic food, drank more than our share of delicious wine, saw some of the most stunning sites and crushed our daily step goal.
Since I’m just the tiniest bit Type A, I made a one-day Florence itinerary so we could capitalize on our limited time there. As much as I love museums, we decided in advance that we weren’t going to wait in any lines since we didn’t have tons of time—and to be honest, seeing everything from the outside felt totally sufficient. Plus, now we have an excuse to go back for our museum fix.
I’ve bolded the items we did end up crossing off our list but left the others on the list, too. It’s organized in a walking order that takes the least amount of time, includes walking distances between the spots, and links to ticket sites (+ includes prices) for those that require them. I’m nothing if not thorough.
We ended up spreading this out into one afternoon and one morning so that we could settle in and fit in a nap on the first day, but you could definitely do this all in one (full) day!
Florence One-Day Itinerary
We stayed at Il Loggiato Dei Serviti which was in an ideal location for walking to everything—and had a view of the Duomo—without being overwhelmed by the crowds.
- Basilica Santissima Annunziata
- Full disclosure: this actually wasn’t on my itinerary, but we stumbled into it right outside of our hotel and were blown away by how beautiful it was—and we’re not even church people!
- Galleria dell’Accademia to see Michelangelo’s Statue of David – 3 min walk from Basilica Santissima Annunziata
- €16 tickets
- Free tickets on the first Sunday of the month—get there even earlier than you think, though
- Piazza del Duomo – 10 min walk from Galleria dell’Accademia
- Florence’s famous Cathedral
- The cathedral is free to enter but has long lines—with a pre-purchased pass you can enter through the side (See Bell Tower ticket below)
- Psst: No shorts allowed inside!
- The Duomo (aka Brunelleschi’s Dome)
- 463 steps to the top
- Giotto’s Campanile (Bell Tower)
- 414 steps to the top (30-45 minutes)
- Need timed €20 tickets to climb it
- We had a cappuccino and pastry at Caffè Scudieri nearby—the pistachio croissant Bryan ordered was potentially the best pastry of our trip and I’m still jealous that I didn’t order one myself.
- Florence’s famous Cathedral
- Piazza della Repubblica – 5 min walk from Duomo
- One of the oldest squares in Florence
- Cafes, street performers, cute carousel at its center
- Palazzo Vecchio + Piazza della Signoria – 5 min walk from Piazza della Repubblica
- Sculpture gallery ft. a replica of David, the Fountain of Neptune and more
- Need timed €25 tickets to go inside and see the sculpture gallery, but the Piazza is totally worth seeing just from outside!
- We went into Gucci Garden, a gorgeous Gucci store connected to the Gucci Museum. They also have a chic outdoor café, but we went to Note Di Vino nearby for paninis and loved them.
- Uffizi Gallery – 3 min walk from Palazzo Vecchio
- Premier art museum and the 3rd most visited site in Italy
- Need €25 tickets
- Mercato Centrale + San Lorenzo Market – 10-15 min walk from Uffizi Gallery
- Mercato Centrale: Bustling market with food stalls
- San Lorenzo: Leather goods, clothing, souvenirs
- Mercato del Porcellino – 5-7 min walk from Mercato Centrale
- Newer leather market/goods + scarves
- Bronze statue of a boar to rub for luck
- Psst: bring cash if you want better deals!
- Ponte Vecchio– 10-15 min walk from Mercato del Porcellino
- Famous bridge with views of the river
- Lots of gold jewelry shops
- Gorgeous at sunset if you can get there
- Palazzo Pitti + Boboli Gardens – 8-10 min walk from Ponte Vecchio
- Former home of the Medici family
- Largest palace in Florence with stunning architecture
- Gardens are in the same complex—largest green space in Florence
- Need tickets: €22 for combined palace + gardens tour, €16 for just palace, €10 for just gardens; slightly extra cost for timed entry tickets
- Piazzale Michelangelo + Giardino Delle Rose – 20-25 min walk from Palazzo Pitti
- 360° views of Florence skyline—requires a climb up lots of steps
- Free rose garden
- Can walk 5-10 minutes further uphill to Basilica of San Miniato al Monte for even better views
- Basilica di San Lorenzo + Medici Chapel – 25-30 min walk (or take a bus/taxi as it’s uphill) from Piazzale Michelangelo; heading back toward city center
- Piazzo Santo Spirito – 10-15 min walk from Basilica di San Lorenzo
- More authentic vibe ft. cafes, shops, architecture
- Vibrant nighttime scene
- We got drinks at the Loggia Roof Bar which had incredible views, a cool vibe and great cocktails. The perfect spot for a Spritz!
Grazie for reading! 😉
Colorfully yours,
Haley
