One night in Florence...

The birthplace of the Renaissance, UNESCO world heritage site and capital of Tuscany, Florence is a beautiful city best explored on foot with a good map and guide book.

We travelled to Florence by train from Venice, it was easy to find the right platform and train carriage. The journey took just over two hours by high speed train with a couple of stops along the way. The Trenitalia service was very good. We travelled in business class but there are three other levels of service on the high speed trains, Standard, Premium (between standard & business) and Executive which includes a meal and drink as well as access to a meeting room onboard. A drink and snack are included with business class; it was a very comfortable and relaxing way to travel.

A short transfer (we probably could have walked) from the station took us to our second hotel, SINA Villa Medici. It was the first SINA property. In 1958 the founder of the chain, Ernesto Bocca fell in love with the beautiful building, bought it and converted it into a 5 star hotel. The hotel has been recently renovated and is now part of the Marriott Autograph Collection. Close to the Arno River as well as the station, the hotel is 15 minutes walk from the centre of Florence. Many of the rooms have balconies which overlook the beautiful garden and swimming pool. Great if you are visiting in the summer and would like to cool off after a busy day sightseeing. The suites on the fifth floor have terraces with stunning views of the city and surrounding hills. We had lunch in the conservatory area of the restaurant. Delicious freshly made pizzas and pasta! 

After lunch it was time to explore the city and our first stop was Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica Di Santa Maria Novella. Officially the oldest pharmaceutical and perfume company in the world, it was founded by the friars of the Santa Maria Novella church who began to study and experiment with herbs from their gardens. We were given a tour of store which is also a museum and learned about the history of the company and its’ products which range from perfumes to chocolates, lotions and their famous pot pourri.

After some shopping time we continued on through the city, past the Santa Maria Novella Church and onto the famous Il Duomo di Firenze or Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. We walked around the Duomo and Giotto’s Bell Tower and onto the Palazzo Vecchio. The queues for the Uffizi Gallery were still very long even at 5pm! We reached the River and took photos of the Ponte Vecchio Bridge before heading back through the city. If one of us had thought to bring a map then we would have discovered a lovely walk along the river back to the hotel! But then we wouldn’t have stopped at a little wine shop for a glass of prosecco. It was so light and very different to any I have tasted at home so we decided the Italian’s must keep the best proseeco for themselves!!

My tips for visiting Florence – invest in a good map and guidebook, take comfortable walking shoes and pre-book your visits to as many galleries and sites as you can, the queues especially for the Duomo and the Uffizi were very long.