Today it is a relaxing sunny morning in the Tuscan hills close to Pieve Fosciana. The family is still sleeping and relaxing from a long day yesterday at Florence, Italy. At 7.30 AM we headed to the city. A 2.15 hour drive from where our vacation house is located.
Since my parking ticket in Lucca (25 Euro – Italian police happy:-), I decided to prepare myself better and reviewed the different parking options beforehand. I chose the Parking Parcheggio SMN close to the train station which is 10 minutes walk from the city center. Around 10 AM we arrived without any problems in Firenze. Here’s a blog post on how our family organized the Florence visit towards our interests.
The 5 Places that we visited in Florence
There is so much to see in Florence…there are too many treasures to see in such a short time. So don’t try to cram in everything into a one day, but pick and choose and you’ll enjoy much better what you do see and do. That’s what we did and we decided to pick the hop on hop off bus first. Close to the train station you find the tourist center where you can buy those tickets and be advised for the bus stop location.
1. City Sightseeing Tour Firenze
At the train station SMN (Stop 1 for blue bus line A and red bus line B) we hopped on the blue bus line A. The advantage is that you can minimize the walking for the kids and you can discover fabulous Florence at your own pace. At the bus you can listen to an informative commentary in eight languages.
The first stop for our family was the hop off at Piazzale Michelangelo for breathtaking city panoramas.
Check the website with the 2 different lines and included stops. You can also download the maps there
Website : Official Hop On- Off City SightSeeing Tour Florence
2. Piazzale Michelangelo
Piazza Michelangelo is on a hill on the south bank of the Arno River, just east of the center of Florence, and offers a stunning view of the city. Many mistakenly believe that this piazza existed since the birth of Florence or that it was designed by Michelangelo. Actually it is a rather recent addition to the list of monuments in Florence, created in 1869 by Florentine architect Giuseppe Poggi, as part of major restructuring of the city walls in 1869.
Florence seen from a above is a must-do experience. Not just a perfect photo opportunity, but a moment of wonder. You are looking at the city that gave birth to incredible artists, amazing scientist and an enthralling history of discovery and power that has filled novels and movie theaters. No matter what time of day, you will find that Piazzale Michelangelo truly offers an amazing lookout over Florence.
Today, the piazza is filled with tourists, vendors, and a bronze replica of Michelangelo’s David. (The original is displayed at La Accademia Gallery.)
3. Roman Theatre at Fiesole
At the Piazza Michelangelo, we decided to change to the bus line B and take the bus to Fiesole. The bus took us through the Tuscan hills until the center of Fiesole.
Fiesole archeological site is located in the core center of the city and is what today can be described as “archaeological park characterized by important archaeological evidence and by the presence of historical, cultural and landscape-environmental”.
The Fiesole territory conserves monuments of great value placed in a setting of outstanding natural beauty, which makes this city unique. In Fiesole are indeed obvious material evidence of its important past; Archeological research of the Commission began in 1877, bringing to light an area that housed some of the major monuments of the ancient Etruscan and Roman city. We did visit the Roman Theatre and the museum that shows many artifacts and archeological findings of the city. Take a look at the breathtaking view from the Museum in the Tuscan hills.
Website to learn more about Fiesole : Residence Fiesole
4. Museum Leonardo Da Vinci
After a light lunch at Fiesole, we decided to hop on the bus again and head back to Florence. An exhibition dedicated to the universal genius of Leonardo Da Vinci, in the heart of Florence and with different traveling all over the world, the Museum of Leonardo da Vinci offers each visitor a unique experience where the sensory perception and knowledge of “Leonardo” marry, giving visitors the sensation to be immersed in a history of extraordinary relevance.
The museum Leonardo da Vinci in Florence contains the actual machine codes drawn from Leonardo and hosts five sections of Da Vinci’s work. The exhibit allows children to operate the rotating crane model as well as other models of Da Vinci’s inventions (about half are roped off as display only).
Website : Museum Leonardo Da Vince
5. Hard Rock Cafe Florence
After our visit to the museum, we did walk around the different famous places such as the Cathedral Duomo, a cathedral with a terracotta-tiled dome engineered by Brunelleschi and a bell tower by Giotto. The Galleria dell’Accademia displays Michelangelo’s “David” sculpture. The Uffizi Gallery exhibits Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus” and da Vinci’s “Annunciation.”. We did not enter any of those places as we decided to walk to the bridge Ponte Vecchio and get another view on the river side. Then it was time to head to our dinner location. I booked a table for the family at the Hard Rock Cafe.
Did you know that the first and original Hard Rock Cafe was opened in London in 1971 ?
Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton were two bewildered Americans who just wanted to find a good American burger during their London stay. The solution was to open a small American-style restaurant in an old Rolls Royce dealer, calling him Hard Rock Cafe . In 1983, the second Hard Rock Cafe opened in Los Angeles, giving life to the spread of the chain at a global level.
When I travel for business and/or I want a place for great Western food, Hard Rock Cafe is on my favorites list. I visited more than 10 Hard Rock Cafes so far in the world. For the family it was the first time and they enjoyed the great food. We ended our visit with some clothes shopping of Hard Rock Cafe as a memory.
Final Words
At the end of our day, we walked to the closest bus stop as the hop on hop off buses ride until 22.30 PM. At Ponte Santa Trinita we got the perfect view on Ponte Vecchio at night. We did a photoshoot there with the kids and Mrs DividendCake.
Around 10 PM we headed back to our vacation house satisfied and happy ! Florence is a city to visit for three or four days at least. We will come back one day. A arrivederci !
We hope you learned something from this blog post and keep on following us on Twitter and Facebook. We end this time with an Italian Quote.
Sources : Visit Florence Discover Tuscany
One Response Comment
Wow, Florence looks amazing. I didn’t know it was that nice. Piazzale Michelangelo looks especially great. And the view on Ponte Vecchio is amazing as well.
Great pictures!
Florence will go on my list of cities to visit. It’s too long already 😛