Capital of Tuscany Florence is a beautiful city with lots of history. From great authors such as Dante and Machiavelli and masters as Botticelli, Donatello and Michelangelo that left their mark on the city also making it a capital of the arts.

One of the things I like about Florence is been able to walk the city. I was staying at the Borghese Palace Art Hotel that was pretty central and found it to be a perfect location. Everything was walking distance and as soon as you get the hang of the city layout it`s quite easy to get around.

The first stop of my tour was at the Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens. When you get to the Palazzo you have different choices of tickets to purchase and the Palazzo and Gardens are totally worth it. You will need to plan almost a full day to see this site as the Palazzo as a lot of art on display and the gardens are quite vast.

To finish up my first day I stop to see and spend some time on Ponte Vecchio. The bridge built in 1345 has even survived Second World War. You will find jewellery stores line on the bridge a tradition that has been taken place since 1593. From the bridge you have great views on some of the other bridges and the city.

The next day I woke up early to get some good pictures of the Duomo before people started to crowd the place. I does get busy all around the piazza surrounding it and early morning gets you great light and less of a crowd. Following my early morning picture session I went to the Piazzale Michelangelo where you can get a full overview of the city from above. If you are not in the mood for a steep climb up the steps they also have buses that can take you there.

The famous statue of David is a resident of Florence but don’t be fooled by the one you will find in front of the Palazzio Vecchio on Piazza della Signora, that is not the real one. The real statue of David is at the Galleria dell’Accademia. I have to say I was a bit disappointed by the rest of the museum; the statue of David is really the only important piece.

If you are planning to visit a lot of sites you should definitely buy the Firenze Card that will get you access to most of the museum. I had decided not too so I was glad to know that museums were free on Sundays in Florence.

The Duomo to me was the most impressive site in the city. I ran out of time and had not booked in advance for the visit so I did not get to go inside but just the outside is magnificent.

As for food there is quite a few places to choose from here is a list of some of the places I got to visit during my stay.

Corte dei Pazzi

Osteria Del Proconsolo

Trattoria Il Francescano

If you want to bring back souvenirs, Florence is known for its leather products. I went shopping around and found some very decent deals. I decided to get a weekender bag to as it was both well-made and priced.

Florence was a beautiful city to visit and I would say that you can probably get to visit a lot in 4 days but you will get the full experience in 6 days if you like to really take your time in museums or other sites.