For those of you arriving a night or two early, it's always a joy to get to spend additional time in Florence! Here are our favorite extra things to do in town (and our two top hotels), ranked by our team:
Florence Duomo, Baptistery, and Museum, and Cupola climb. You'll need to purchase a ticket ahead of time here. The Cupola climb, for outstanding views, requires a timed reservation. The Baptistery is wonderful for its medieval / Byzantine era mosaics, which is a wonderful contrast to the Renaissance art in the rest of the city. You don't need to go in the Duomo (Cathedral) itself, as you'll see it during the tour, but make sure to visit the museum, which is smaller but still excellent, boasting the original doors of the Baptistery, as well as an incomplete Michelangelo that may be one of our favorites. We do enter the Duomo on tour, but it's actually more impressive on the outside than the inside.
The sculptures in the loggia outside the Palazzo Vecchio. Free, but not enough people get up close and admire the sculptures. Our favorite is the Perseus by Cellini.
The Bargello museum, the old police/military HQ in town, houses several outstanding pieces, including Donatello's take on David (created before Michelangelo's). A small museum, it's rarely, if ever, crowded.
The Uffizi is THE major art museum in Florence, and houses many spectacular works, including Boticelli's Spring and the Birth of Venus. It's quite busy (you'd need to purchase timed tickets ahead of time here), and you're already going to be seeing quite a bit of art on the tour, but if you're very much art history people, this is a must-see.
The Medici Chapel is another major site, with a few Michelangelo pieces (he also designed one of the chapels), but to my taste it's not necessarily unique.
Those are the main highlights with respect to churches and art museums in Florence apart from what you get on the tour. For dining, there are a few good affordable options. For a great food court near the church of San Lorenzo, you can try the second floor of the Mercato Centrale, which has at least ten different options, and plenty of seating. Near the Duomo museum is Panini Toscani, a good place downtown for a bite. For the traditional Florentine lampredotto panini, I like the hole in the wall for Panini Da' Vinattieri (there's a separate window to order lampredotto from). For a nicer meal, try the ravioli at Nuti, or the Florentine steak at Il Latini.
Enjoy your time in Florence!
Click the arrows next to the photos below to show more pictures of the hotel.
