5 Things You Need To Do In Florence

Ah… Italy. Historic architectures and a brilliant scenery- it’s a feast for the eyes, mind and body. If you’re trying to satisfy your inner wanderlust, Italy is the way to go baby! Let me take you through the brilliance of Italy.

If you’re planning a trip to Italy soon, then keep reading!

Since this trip was packed with more than one city, I will be breaking the trip down to four parts: Venice, Florence, Assisi, and, finally, Rome.

Each part will include a detailed description of what what we did throughout that city.

We planned this trip at the end of October of 2019 so, this piece was way overdue. LOL. Sorry, y’all! But, I believe my group chose October, because it was the cheapest month to travel! Flights and all. We, also, went with a church group. Altogether, I spent around $4,000 for 11 days. Don’t let the price tag discourage your lust to travel.

Without further ado, come along to our second city of beautiful Italy: Florence.

Pre-lude

Florence- the “city of dreams” famously described by the famous Mark Twain exhibits the ageless art, gothic architecture, and mythology. Though our time in this city was short, we experienced a great amount of treasures of what Florence had to offer.

We began the morning with a tour of the Piazza della Sigmoria, The Doumo, Basilica de Santa Croce, Giotto’s Bell Tower, and “Gates of Paradise” doors at the Baptistry.

It was…busy. But, beautiful.

Piazza della Signoria

We spent a good bit of time in this square. Piazza della Signoria is a square that was a gallery of stone sculptures like the infamous Fountain of Neptune, Medusa, the bronze equestrian statue of Cosimo and Hercules. Such rich history and myths that were displayed in this square. I found it enriching.

The Duomo

Next, we approached the exquisite gothic and roman architecture, Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral AKA The Florence Duomo. This massive cathedral can be seen for miles due to its brick domes that was hand stacked by the brilliant Brunelleschi himself which stamped the beginning of Italian Renaissance. It was considered one of the largest cathedrals during its time.

Basilica de Santa Croce/Giotto’s Bell Tower

After a little walk from the Duomo, we came across this beauty. We did not stay here too long due to the high volume of tourists. But, fun fact! Michelangelo Buonarroti, famous artist of the 14th Century, was buried at this Basilica! (CRAZY!) If you step back just enough from the entrance, you can see the proud and sturdy Giotto’s Bell Tower! From what I remember, there was a plaque on the wall of how high the water rose when it flooded!

“Gates of Paradise”

Lastly, we went to the Baptistery where the famed entryway dubbed the “Gates of Paradise” due to the golden four paneled door that stood front and center. This was a magnificent piece of artwork done by Lorenzo Ghiberti. I could not stop staring! I’ve included a video because my pictures did not do it any justice! The intricate details of these panels were just incredible.

Surprisingly, we did not eat much while we were here. I had a few gelatos to cool down and then, at a small restaurant- Boccadama. I was curious what this meant in English. Google translated it to “mouth of a lady.”

I thought it sounded sweet. Granted, everything in Italian sounds romantic considering it is a Romance language.

That concludes my day trip in Florence! I hoped you enjoyed it!

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What we used for the trip