Chris and I had always wanted to visit Italy. Since our stay was one week, we wanted to visit as many cities as we could while savoring our experience.

We knew we absolutely had to see Florence, so we made sure to add the city to our itinerary. I’ve put together some photos and notes from our 24-hour stay if you’d like to take a look…

Florence City Guide

Florence is a beautiful city, and it was so exciting just to be there and experience it for ourselves. I remember checking my step counter at the end of our day — we had walked over 10 miles!

Since we only had 24 hours in the “cradle of the Renaissance,” I tried to plan most of our stops in advance to make the most of our time. I found Miss Adventures’ blog post How To Spend 1 Day In Florence via Pinterest, which was so helpful. Chris and I used her map as our base and then we planned our stay from there.

Our Day in Florence

As soon as we left the train station, we walked through town to get to our hotel. Our friends recommended the Riva Lofts, which are over the bridge and outside of the city. It took a little extra effort to get there, but the effort was worth it: the hotel and grounds were so beautiful it was hard to leave once we got settled in. Our apartment had a gorgeous view over the canal and the city, the pool was incredible, and they served us the most delicious breakfast in the garden the next morning.

Our concierge made us dinner reservations at Signorvino, which is right on the Arno and looks over Ponte Vecchio. If you’re in Tuscany, make sure to enjoy the wine and steaks, which the region is so famous for. We also loved zucchini flowers and ordered them every chance we could. Yum.

Early the next morning, after our colazione, we headed to the Galleria dell’Accademia to see Michelangelo’s David. We purchased our tickets ahead of time, which saved us hours in line. 

David is majestic in person and half of the fun is the spectacle of it all. When you round the corner the immensity of the sculpture and of the crowd is captivating. One of my favorite photos to take is of all the other tourists also taking photos. Cheap thrills.

We spent the afternoon strolling around the Piazza Duomo di Firenze, saw the original site of David in the Piazza della Signoria, ate lunch at Pino’s Salumeria Verdi and gelato at Gelateria Dei Neri (pistacchio e nocciola per favore), and sipped caffè until it was time to leave.

Of course, we wished we could have experienced so much more, which is always the best reason to return. Until next time, Firenze! 💗🇮🇹

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Want to see more travel posts? Check out our travelogues and city guides for Milan, Bolzano, Verona, Amsterdam, Iceland, and Marfa.