As the queen of Tuscany, the city of Florence alone embodies the arts and delights of an entire region. One does not know where to look between Piazza San Giovanni, with its Duomo, its Bell Tower and its Baptistery, and Piazza della Signoria symbolized by its David in the attire of Adam. Between art and gastronomy, Florence is the guarantee of a successful stay. Buon viaggio a tutti !
Exceptional museums
The centre of Florence is divided into four districts: San Giovanni (the "tourist" centre), Santa Maria Novella (the area around the railway station and the fabulous church of the same name), Santa Croce (where the Church of Santa Croce and the Synagogue are located) and finally Oltrarno, the area on the other side of the Arno river, probably the most "Florentine" of the four and currently the most "trendy"; it is reached by crossing one of the bridges - the famous and picturesque Ponte Vecchio, for example. As far as museums are concerned, it will be difficult to make a choice: there is the inevitable Uffizi Gallery (where the most famous works by Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and many others are exhibited) but also the splendid Museum of San Marco, adjacent to the church of the same name (the cells decorated with frescoes by Fra Angelico are simply spectacular); contemporary art enthusiasts will not be outdone thanks to the Strozzina Centre for Contemporary Culture (in Palazzo Strozzi) and Ex3, in the Oltrarno, which will inaugurate the season of dead leaves with an entirely free event, Digital Opportunity, dedicated to new creative possibilities in the field of multimedia technologies. In a completely different vein, the Ferragamo and Gucci museums are there to remind us of the prestige of Italian fashion and seduce glamour lovers in a city that has no shortage of it
A cradle of Western culture
You can therefore discover the treasures of Florence the Magnificent where Renaissance art flourished to make it a true jewel city. With its facades adorned with the most beautiful marble and its squares populated with statues of heroes, the city will seduce aesthetes and romantics alike. Fine arts, literature, political thought, spirituality... Western culture would be very different from what it is today if Tuscany and Umbria had not seen the birth of Dante, Giotto, Saint Francis, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Puccini or Modigliani... These great men have all deeply impregnated the places where they lived and revolutionized their fields of action. It is easy and so fascinating to walk in their footsteps in these regions where time, in some places, seems to have literally stopped...
The richness of nature
Far from the city, the charm of Tuscany and Umbria does not fade away, quite the contrary: the Umbrian and Tuscan nature would dazzle even the most urban among us. From the bare hills of the Siena region to the pearls of the Tuscan archipelago, from the tranquillity of Lake Trasimeno to the snowy peaks of the Umbrian Appenine (Mount Vettore is still 2,476 m high!), the traveller has a wide range of options for resourcing himself away from traffic jams. And both the sea and the mountains will offer good surprises in terms of gastronomy! Menus of land and sea will compete for your preference in the evening, after a trek in the Garfagnana, a mountain bike ride on Mount Subasio or a long sunbath in Orbetello or Elba..
An ideal destination for a greedy return to school..
Many travellers schedule their stay in Tuscany in July or August, but it is outside the high season that this region is best enjoyed. The heat wave, the long queues to enter museums and churches, the hotel rates are all elements that can dampen the enthusiasm of the visitor. The Indian summer offers an interesting alternative. The climate is particularly mild, so much so that until the first days of October it is quite possible to swim in the sea. Access to tourist sites is much easier: although Tuscany attracts visitors all year round, there are many more in summer! Not least of all, "off-season" prices are much more affordable after the summer inflation period. Finally, autumn, in addition to guaranteeing a more serene stay, dresses the Tuscan forests and hills in a resolutely romantic ochre colour, at the same time as it inaugurates, to the delight of gourmets, the "stagione dei sapori": the season of flavours.
Autumn is the season for harvesting and olive oil. The wine, above all, whether it comes from Chianti, Montalcino, Montepulciano or Maremma, is eagerly awaited and will be tasted on November 11th, for San Martino (St. Martin's Day), just a few days after the release of Vino Novello. Of course, many will not wait until November to revel in a good glass of wine! Late summer and early fall are punctuated by a series of events dedicated to Bacchus and its unique beverage. It would be impossible to mention them all: the sagra del Vino Santo in Montepulciano, the Festa dell'Uva d'Impruneta, or the Festa dell'Uva in Capoliveri (Elba Island). These sagre are also an opportunity to experience the Tuscan cuisine, taste the olive oil, as well as the many local specialties (grilled meats, pasta, etc.). There are also many itineraries proposed by agritourism farms all over Tuscany that combine wine and food tastings with visits to small medieval villages and local sights. It is true that the "Chianti Route" runs, at a short distance from Florence, between the small towns of Impruneta, San Casciano in Val di Pesa (where Machiavelli lived), Greve in Chianti (with an obligatory stop at the Falorni butcher's shop in Piazza Matteotti, a picturesque temple of cold meats!), Castellina in Chianti, etc., but it is also true that the "Chianti Route" runs through a number of small towns in the area. Another delicious aspect of Italian culture!
Smart info
When? Autumn and spring are the ideal seasons. The frequentation as well as the strong heat can be disturbing in summer. September and October still reserve beautiful sunny days and temperatures above 20°C
Getting there. Florence airport is mainly served by Alitalia, Air France. The low-cost alternative is Pisa airport, served by Ryan Air (Paris-Beauvais).
ALITALIA
AIR FRANCE
RYAN AIR
Useful. To find information, maps and brochures.
TOURIST OFFICE OF FLORENCE
