Florence, Italy

Florence was the second city that my husband James and I, and our son Micah & his wife Jancy visited on our trip to Italy in 2018. We stayed at an Airbnb that was mostly convenient, and probably would have been very convenient if we had already known our way around Florence but we spent a lot of time lost and trying to figure out where we were and where our destination was. GPS on our American phones did not work properly on the streets of Florence! It kept spinning us in circles. If we'd had 2 days in Florence we probably would have figured it all out by the end of the second day. I went back to Florence in 2025 with my daughter Rebecca, and Google Maps had improved immensely since the last time I visited! I didn't have any problem finding my way around. And Florence is a pretty easy city to figure out.

There is a lot to see in Florence, but on our visit in 2018 we didn't have much time and it was so congested with people in early May. There were lines at most places and even though I'd bought the Firenze cards that should let us skip the line, there were enough other people who had also bought the Firenze card that we still ended up wasting a lot of time in line. I was a bit frustrated by that, but there's no argument that Florence is a very beautiful place. I had bought cards for transportation also, but we never ended up using them because everything was close enough together that we just walked everywhere. We checked our bags at the train station for the day (which ended up costing 80 euro by the time we picked them up!). We wasted a little time waiting for the TI to open to pick up our Firenze cards so by the time we got to the Accademia museum there was already a long line. Everywhere we went we had to go through security, which wasted time too. But in the end, we did end up visiting every place that I had hoped we would. On my trip in 2025, we did not purchase Firenze cards. We just purchased tickets or tours to what we wanted to see. Both ways have their advantages, but if I were to go back to Florence again, I would probably go without purchasing Firenze tickets.

In 2018, we visited the Accademia where the famous Michelangelo statue of the David resides, Baptistry of San Giovanni, climbed the Duomo dome, went on an Inferno Tour of the Palazzo Vecchio (secret itineraries through unmarked passageways), walked on Ponte Vecchio (the most famous bridge in Florence), and visited the Uffizi Gallery. That evening we rode the train from Florence to Rome, but only after waiting in the train station for an hour as our train was delayed. The Airbnb that we stayed at was modern and clean, and the only down-side was that they had advertised having a dryer (not many places in Italy have dryers, they hang their clothes and everything else to dry) and I had planned on doing laundry in Florence. It was so wet from all the rain that we would never have been able to dry our clothes if we had washed and hung them that night. So that was a minor hiccup in our trip, but we were fine.

One of the biggest highlights of our 2018 trip was our tour of the Palazzo Vecchio since I love Dan Brown's Inferno movie so much and it was so fun to be able to see the specific places where it was filmed and even follow the secret passageways that they used in the movie. We saw where the painting says "Cerca Trova" in the Hall of 500 and even saw the area above the Hall of 500 where the woman supposedly falls through the ceiling (it's actually a wooden ceiling, not canvas, so she wouldn't have really fallen through). We came out the secret exit onto the street where hundreds of tourists were bustling around. We saw Dante's death mask, which actually wasn't a death mask because Dante was still alive when it was made (but it is really Dante). Not included in the tour, but while we were in Florence we visited the baptistry where Dante was baptized and which was also featured in the Inferno movie. I had already experienced the Duomo climb because I watched a video of someone climbing it before I booked it - I had to be sure that I was going to be able to handle it because of my great fear of heights. I was OK most of the time, until we got to the top of the dome and it was raining and the floor was slippery and I didn't dare go anywhere near the edge. Part of the climb included coming out on the interior of the dome and walking along a ledge that was framed with glass so we could look down into the Duomo. That was a little scary for heights also because it was like we were out in the air of the dome. We came out a level higher on our way down from the dome. The dome climb itself was a little claustrophobic (they warned us about that when buying the tickets), but luckily I don't have claustrophobia so I was OK. It was a work-out. But SO worth it!

The day we toured Florence we walked 10 miles (according to James' watch). James went on a run early that morning and got lost - and didn't have his phone with him and didn't know our address. It was kind of a miracle that he found his way back to our Airbnb. He said it was an awesome run, though. He ran 7 miles, so in all he went 17 miles that day. For all the rain that we got the night we arrived in Florence, we luckily had a pretty clear day the next day when we were touring Florence. It was fun to see the Duomo and Palazzo Vecchio at night. There was great gelato in Florence also!

Helpful Links:

"Inferno" Tour of Palazzo Vecchia

The Airbnb we stayed at in Florence

Firenze Card

Official website for Accademia Tickets

Official website to purchase tickets to climb the Duomo

Official website for Uffizi Tickets

Our 2025 Trip

We arrived in Florence by train from Verona, Italy. This time rather than getting an Airbnb I booked a hotel -- the Eco Urban B&B. It is only a 6 minute walk from the Firenze Santa Maria Novella Train Station, and I very highly recommend it. Breakfast is included in the price and it is very clean and modern inside. The staff was friendly and very helpful. I would definitely stay there again when I visit Florence. Their official website is here: Eco Urban B&B One of the things I loved the very most about staying here was the balcony on our room. We sat out on the balcony after returning home that night and just enjoyed the sounds and smells of Florence. It is very close to other buildings, so there definitely wasn't a view, but it was just fun to be out in the Italian air and hear the bustling city at night. One funny thing that happened when we stayed there was the help staff came in our room and didn't just tidy up the hotel items, they folded our clothes as well. I thought that was funny, and a bit much, but I know they were trying very hard to be helpful and to make us happy. The breakfast in the morning was delicious! We stayed in Florence for 2 nights.

After quickly dropping our suitcases off at the hotel, we headed to the Uffizi and Academia. I had purchased tickets in both of their very latest openings because our train arrived soon before both of them closed, and they aren't open on Mondays! We arrived on a Sunday, and would be leaving early Tuesday morning, so our only option was to tour both museums on Sunday evening. We were able to see everything that we wanted to in both museums, including Michelangelo's David, although we were definitely in a hurry!

During our stay in Florence we also toured the Duomo and did the Duomo climb. We purchased the Brunelleschi Pass, and this is what I highly recommend. It includes the dome, bell tower, baptistry, museum, and Santa Reparata. Tickets are 30 euro and very well worth the money. The highlight is the Duomo Climb, which I have done twice now and did fine despite my fear of heights. I also climbed the bell tower and was fine with that as well. The official ticket website for the Duomo is here: Duomo

We also went on the secret passageways tour of the Palazzo Vecchio. We had done the tour in 2018, but it was called the Inferno Tour back then. It was fun to do the tour again in 2025 because it was very different from the tour we did in 2018! I am amazed by how many secret passageways there are in the Palazzo Vecchio and I wonder how many more we didn't see! If you are going to see the Palazzo Vecchio, it is a definite MUST on your trip! This is the official website for this tour: Secret Passages

You submit a request to go on the tour and they book you when there is availability. They actually changed my booking time before we arrived in Italy, and luckily the new time still worked with the other things we had planned. The tour costs 22 euro and you also pay for your entrance to the Palazzo Vecchio. Walking through the Palazzo Vecchio, and especially the Hall of 500 is very impressive. Even if you don't want to go on the tour, take a few minutes to tour the Palazzo Vecchio on your own.

We visited the Boboli Gardens as well. I have written a blog post about it here: Boboli Gardens Their official ticket website is here: Boboli Gardens Tickets cost 10 euro for just the garden, or you can also purchase them in combination with the Pitti Palace, or with the Uffizi Gallery if you choose the Vasari Corridor option when purchasing tickets to the museum. I have not been through the Vasari Corridor yet, but definitely want to walk through it the next time I visit Florence! It is a secret passageway that connects the Uffizi Gallery with the Boboli Gardens. That is on my checklist for my next trip to Italy!

We walked on the Ponte Vecchio, which is free any time of the day or night. We ate some delicious meals in Florence. We enjoyed gelato, of course. We shopped for souvenirs.

When we arrived in Florence we went to our Airbnb first and then walked around the neighborhood looking for a place to eat. We found this great restaurant in our neighborhood and also a market to buy our breakfast. It started to rain and we walked around Florence in the dark and rain. We got soaking wet.

This was the living room in the Airbnb that we stayed at.

This is the kitchen of our Airbnb where Micah cooked us breakfast in the morning.

This was our balcony at our Airbnb and the wet sheets that she was trying to dry (that were getting more wet from the rain).

The train station

Michelangelo's David in the Accademia Museum

Everywhere we went was just filled with people. David was totally surrounded by people. It was hard to get close enough to take a photo.

That is the Duomo in the background.

The Duomo

The dome of the Duomo

The view of Florence from the top of the Duomo dome.

The view of the Palazzo Vecchio from the top of the Duomo

The upper level that we walked across on the interior of the dome. You can see the lower level that we walked across on the other side.

We found Rebecca's store a couple times while we were in Florence.

This is looking down on the Hall of 500 inside the Palazzo Vecchio

Ponte Vecchio. There are shops on either side of the bridge.

Standing on Ponte Vecchio

One of the paintings in the Hall of 500 in the Palazzo Vecchio

The ceiling in the Hall of 500 in the Palazzo Vecchio

The views from the balcony above the Hall of 500. The painting closest to the balcony is the one with Cerca Trova painted on the flag.

The round painting on the ceiling of the Hall of 500 is supposedly the painting that Vayentha falls through in the Inferno movie.

This is zoomed in on the painting where Vasari wrote "Cerca Trova" (seek and find) on one of the flags. No one knows why he included this in his painting.

This is the painting. The Cerca Trova flag is near the top in the center and is green. You cannot see it with the naked eye from the floor of the Hall of 500. To see it I had to take a photo of the painting and then zoom in on the photo with my camera.

Looking up at the tower of the Palazzo Vecchio

This is the TI where we waited until 9 am for it to open so we could pick up our Firenze cards.

We saw and heard police everywhere! Ambulances too.

In Italy they don't like to have plain white ceilings. They like to have paintings everywhere including on the ceilings.

Florence was filled with art

I am only posting a fraction of the thousands of photos that I took, and I only took photos of a fraction of the artwork that we saw in Italy!

This is the Baptistery of San Giovanni. It was in the Inferno movie as well. Dante was baptized here, as well as the Medici family and other notable Renaissance people. We had to wait in line a long time to get inside.

The doors to the baptistry

These photos are from our dome climb to the top of the Duomo.

A tiny window from inside the dome climb

Statues along the dome climb

A window on the dome climb

Looking down on the duomo from the dome climb

Micah and Jancy inside the glass cage on one of the interior walks along the dome.

Steep stairs to the top

This is the opening we came out of after our steep climb to the top of the dome.

Going back down

The interior of the dome

Lots of twisty steps on the climb

Inside the Baptistery

The baptismal font

Look at all the intricate carvings on the door

In front of the baptismal font

Scene from Inferno in the Baptistry of San Giovanni

The Palazzo Vecchio

Statues in the courtyard outside the Palazzo Vecchio

Our Palazzo Vecchio tour came with lunch. We had quite the time trying to find this restaurant! Google maps does not work on the streets of Florence when using American phones!

We saw armed military all over the place too.

There were people on the streets selling all kinds of things.

The view from Ponte Vecchio

A model of the Palazzo Vecchio

Lions everywhere

The beginning of our secret itineraries tour we entered through these double doors

One of the secret passageways we went through

Looking up at the bridge connecting the Palazzo Vecchio and the Uffizi gallery

more secret stairways

The Hall of 500 in the Palazzo Vecchio

Hall of 500

Going into the area above the ceiling of the Hall of 500.

All of this is still the Palazzo Vecchio

Dante's "death mask" is not really a death mask because it was made while he was still alive.

Beautiful ceilings everywhere

This is the Map Room. In the movie, Armenia's map is a secret passageway in the palace. And in real life it actually is. We went "through Armenia."

Our guide is about to open Armenia

About to go through Armenia!

This is a secret window in Palazzo Vecchio that the Cosimo's mistress used to peek through to watch what was going on in the Hall of 500.

This is a rooftop passageway between two buildings that the women would use to get from place to place.

This is outside the Uffizi

The Palazzo Vecchio and Uffizi are right next to each other. This is out in the courtyard by both buildings.

The Uffizi was very extensive with multiple floors and halls and rooms. It took a long time to make it through the whole thing.

The Uffizi Gallery was beyond crowded, and we waited in line a long time even with our skip-the-line passes! There are many famous paintings and artwork by famous artists on display in the Uffizi. "Madonna with Child" is one of the paintings that we saw.

Uffizi

Some of the delicious food we had in Florence.

This is cheese gnocchi that was very delicious!

I don't enjoy seafood, but James and Micah loved this dish!

The train station in Florence

Our train that will take us to Rome

Here is a youtube video of someone climbing the Duomo:
Duomo Climb

This is a movie clip from Inferno, filmed inside the Baptistery:

Inferno Baptistery Scene

Here is another Inferno youtube clip that shows a lot of the places we saw in Florence and Venice:

Inferno in Florence

This is another youtube clip and shows the "Cerca Trova" in the painting:

Inferno Cerca Trova

This is a Palazzo Vecchio youtube Inferno movie clip. They are actually in the Hall of 500 for this scene, but they reconstructed the ceiling so that they could walk across the beams. She couldn't really fall through the ceiling because it's made of solid wood:

Palazzo Vecchio Secrets