Day 1. A weekend in Florence

On By Little Miss TravellerIn Europe, Florence October 2011, Italy
image
Piazza Della Signoria Florence

We took an early morning flight from London Stansted airport to Pisa from where we caught a train into Florence’s Santa Maria Novella station.  It’s easy to transfer from Pisa airport to the train as the railway station is just outside the Arrivals Hall.  Rail tickets are cheap in Italy and there is no need to book in advance.  The journey into Florence takes less than an hour and soon we were entering the apartment we’d booked for the next few days which was a stones throw from the cathedral.

Palazzo dei Compo, Florence
Palazzo de Compo Florence
Our accommodation, the Palazzo dei Ciompi apartment was located in an historic 19th century building.  We were fortunate to have a large, private roof terrace as the building only seemed to have two, and this would be nice to sit out on during our stay. 
imageOur apartment in Florence

Soon we were ready to start exploring and our first stop was the Duomo (cathedral) with its magnificent 15th century terracotta tiled cupola, believed to be the largest masonry dome in the world.  There was a short queue to enter the cathedral but this moved quickly, entrance to the main church is free but other areas such as the Belltower are chargeable.  After admiring the stunning interior we headed off to the nearby Piazza della Signoria (the main square) dominated by the splendid Palazzo Vecchio (town hall). The square is large and full of life, we enjoyed afternoon tea in one of the cafes surrounding the square, sitting awhile sipping our drinks and people watching.

Continuing, we arrived at the picturesque Ponte Vecchio, the oldest of the bridges that cross the River Arno.  The original wooden bridge was washed away in floods and its replacement was built in 1345.

Ponte Vecchio, Florence
Ponte Vecchio

It’s lined with tourist shops and was crowded with sightseers but viewed from a little further along the river it’s a delight. The end of our first day in Florence,

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37 thoughts on “Day 1. A weekend in Florence”

  1. It has been so long since we were in Florence (1984). We were on a cheap bus tour that was far less than satisfactory. They kept us at their kickback restaurant and gift shop until it was too late to get in to see Michelangelo’s David. We were in Pisa in 2019 though and rediscovered how great Italy can be. Thanks for sharing, Marion. Allan

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  9. I loved Florence back in 2003 when I spent a whole summer traveling around Italy. It had a special vibe to it.
    By the way, I followed you again because for some reason WP was showing me I wasn’t following you, though I’m sure I was! This has been happening to me lately and my Reader feed is pretty empty – no wonder! Anyway, that was just in case you were wondering!

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  10. Pingback: Day 3. Rome’s Spanish Steps and an afternoon in Bracciano – Love Travelling

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  15. I much enjoyed viewing your pictures and reading your thoughts about your Italian travels. My wife and I spent five weeks in Italy in 2014. I rented a car and we stayed at VRBO rentals (Vacation Rental By Owner) in Padova, Venice, Florence, Viareggio (Tuscany), Orvieto, Amalfi and finally just outside of Rome where we spent over a week. Your pictures of Florence brought back many fond memories.

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  16. Gina

    Thank you for visiting and liking my post! Your post reminded me my trip to Firenze last month. I wanted to stay there for a few more days, like you did. I will definitely revisit the city in the future.

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  20. Pingback: Day 1. Our first day in Florence | Blogging about all things

  21. I visited Florence earlier this year and stayed in a hotel with cats only was a few metres away from Ponte Vecchio (but without a river view so the price wasn’t extortionate!). There’s something about staying in the centre of a city, even if it was noisier than in the outskirts.

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