Florence is a city that effortlessly blends history, art, and charm, making it a perfect tourist destination in Italy. From the iconic Duomo to the masterpieces of the Uffizi Gallery, every corner of the city tells a story of Renaissance grandeur. Florence is also located just an hour away from the iconic leaning tower of Pisa, making it a perfect day trip!

What We Did

I was very excited to visit Florence because of the deep roots in Renaissance art!

• Uffizi Galleries - art museum that houses many famous Renaissance paintings, including The Birth of Venus and Primavera by Sandro Botticelli. The itself is also stunning, the intricately painted ceilings in the main halls are astounding.
• Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze - would a trip to Italy really be complete without a visit to see David by Michelangelo? The sculpture blew me away in person, which was something I did not expect. The scale and detail is incredible, especially considering that it was crafted from one block of marble. The gallery is filled with many other incredible works of art as well.
• Walk around the iconic Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, along Ponte Vecchio, the famous medieval bridge lined with shops, and Piazza della Signoria.
• Fotoautomatica - Take photos in a vintage photo booth! Make sure to bring 2€ coins. :)

Shopping for Leather Goods

It is relatively easy to buy leather goods on the streets of Florence, but we knew that we wanted to purchase things from local artisans to support the local small businesses.

• Scuola del Cuoio - the local leather school with a heartwarming history. The store and leather workshop is located behind Basilica of Santa Croce and produce high quality bags, jackets, belts, small leather goods, etc. at an outstanding value.
• Il Bisonte - perfect for modern style bags crafted with a sustainable mindset
• Pelletteria Artigiana Viviani - a small storefront and workshop focused on crafting women's bags by hand with leather sourced from Tuscan tanneries.

We also stopped by Officina Profumo - Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, a cosmetics store located in The Chapel of St. Nicholas with a history that dates back to 1221.

"To those who tell me that twenty days is a long time to make a bag, I reply that it lasts twenty years." - Renato Vivani

Day Trip to Pisa

On our second day in Florence, we decided to take the train to Pisa! It took between 1-2 hours each way, depending on train delays. The city of Pisa was very charming and I wish we had a bit more time to explore. After grabbing lunch at Cavalieri, we walked to the Piazza del Duomo to see the iconic Tower of Pisa! We also went into the cathedral, baptistry to listen to the acoustics and cemetery to see the frescoes that line the walls.

Where We Ate

To our surprise, finding restaurants and bars that felt authentic/local in Florence was very hard, but here are a few places that we really enjoyed!

Breakfast

• Brunellesco Caffé e Bistrot - The cutest little cafe with excellent pastries and espresso. I wish that this cafe was open on the weekends!
• SimBIOsi Organic Cafe - perfect for a quick espresso and pastry.

Lunch

• I Fratellini - yummy "take away" paninis to eat on the street!

Drinks

• Antiche Dogane - we stopped here a few times! It is located down the street from Galleria dell’Accademia and had a great selection of wines.
• BABAE - this restaurant has a famous "wine window" - we intended on stopping by for a drink before dinner, but the line wrapped around the block. So, we decided to skip it and head to a cozy pub, One Eyed Jack, around the corner and had a fun time watching the Euro 2024 football championship!

Dinner

• Logò Ristorante - If there is one place that you dine when you are in Florence, it should be Logò Ristorante! We opted to do the 4 course tasting menu and were blown away with the story that the food told us. I could not wait for the next course to come out. Each dish was crafted, visually and on the palate, on par with a Michelin star restaurant. We were also treated to a glass of welcome Prosecco and a few small bites before our first course came out. After the meal, we gave our compliments to the hostess to pass along to the chef - it turns out that they are married and run the business together! Even more of a reason why I adore this resturant.
• Osteria Cinghiale Bianco - recommended to me by a friend (s/o Emily Bowman Baking!) who studied abroad in Florence! I had the iconic pappardelle with wild boar and it soooo good!

Gelato

• Gelateria Artigianale Cantina del Gelato - the mango gelato was to die for!
• Gelateria dei Neri - the famous gelato shop! Sadly it was closed when we visted, so we were not able to try it. :(

Where We Stayed

We rented an Airbnb that had a view of the Duomo! The location was perfect - very close to all of the major attractions and right next to a garage where we parked our rental car.