lorence is an easy stop on the train from Venice to Rome. It just makes sense to get out and look around. Probably the two most famous sites are the statue of David at the Galleria dell’Accademia and the Birth of Venus at the Uffizi Gallery.

David – you need to book tickets in advance that provide you with a set 15 min window to arrive, or you stand in a very long line to get in. Once you’re inside you’re allowed to stay as long as you like and there’s no queuing, you can just wander and take photos from whatever angle you can find.

1. Things to see

There are a few rooms the main draw is the one with David and has an arched ceiling above his head – but the other rooms have more statues, busts, heads, and full body statues as well.

You’ll probably stay between 1-2 hours, there’s not too much more to see.

Second up is the Uffizi Gallery, a very large u-shaped building with room after room of paintings. They should just put signs up and arrows on the floor that say ‘Venus this way’ to move people out of their quicker since I’d bet 80% are just there to see this painting. She’s on the far side of the building and there’s no exit there – so you have to walk back through the entire museum to exit. Is it worth it? Uffizi has far more to see than the Academia, but you have to be interested in painting. An art history background would help you appreciate the experience, otherwise, one room after the next start to blur together.

Other famous sites include the Ponte Vecchio, a bridge crossing a river with a jumble of shops on top-selling expensive silver and gold jewelry.

Santa Croce which probably gets more photos after David and Venus – a building full of geometric marble inlay and is a tourist staple.

There’s also the Neptune Fountain and another statue of David (outside) and smaller sitting in a square with many other statues.

Santa Croce

Candies

Florence

Academy

Venus

Door detail

Around Florence

David

2. Nightlife

At night the city both comes alive and becomes zombie apocalypse scary – with long dark alleys with no shops and that is barely lit. There are clumps of bars all over but you need to know where to look.

Florence like Rome has many small bars that spill over in the street you can often find them by just listening for a jumble of people talking and laughing and following the noise.

Beer halls

3. Spend

David has such perfect proportions it’s always amusing to see the Chinese magnets that are made of him, even the statues for sale to tourists, invariably he either looks like skinny emo or a football player with big muscles. None of them get it right.

There’s also an Apple store and other shops not too far from the Academy

4. Food

Eateries are plentiful and everyplace, aimed at tourists and you can get a full meal for a big price just about anywhere you look.

Gelato and sweets

5. Getting Around

You can walk from the train station to all the sites in Florence.

6. Costs

Getting into the museums is pretty affordable, and you can only see so many things in a day or two. Most of your money will go to eating and your hotel. If you can control those two, Florence can be quite cheap.

7. Tips

Italians just have too many tourists, from Venice to Rome – I think they feel overrun and many seem to have no compunction about ripping you off. So, buyer beware.

If you’re booking a trip through Italy, I’d give Venice and Rome more days than Florence. While Florence is fun it lacks the sheer number of attractions of Rome or the beauty of Venice.