We saved the best for last. The most famous and most visited place in Tuscany – Florence. Full of museums, top restaurants, pastry shops and teeming masses of tourist who overwhelm the streets and many bridges over the Arno river.
From the town of Montecatini Terme to the suburb (Scandici) of Florence, we were driving half an hour down the highway and left the car in front of the famous shopping center Coop (Ponte a Greve), where the parking is free of charge. We get to the center with a tram. The ticket price is € 1.20 – you can use it for 90 minutes and applies to travel by bus also. You can buy it at vending machines or tobacco shops.
In front of the main railway station, which is also the last tram stop, we continued to walk past the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella – to the main attraction Duomo in the city center. What stands out is its 91 meters high dome, designed by Filippo Beunelleschi. According to the Coliseum in Rome and the Leaning Tower of Pisa it is certainly one of the most recognisable landmark in Italy. Admission is 15 euros.
Have you ever seen a toast, which would be to big for your home toaster? We didn’t just see it, but we also taste it. And yes, in addition to the best ice cream in San Gimignano, in Florence we tried the best and tastiest toast. They are prepared in a small modern »toasteria«.
Toast were freshly prepared and you can choose between the tried and tested versions offered on the menu, or you can compose your own choosing. We took the toast with mayonnaise, scrambled eggs, bacon and cheddar cheese, which has proved to be insanely good and we paid € 5 for it. If you ever wander around here and you’re a fan of delicious toasted sandwiches, we recommended you to visit I’tosto. You will not regret! P.S.: there is only half of it on the photo 🙂
Are you still not sure why you should go on your next trip to Florence? Maybe you would be satisfied at least in one of the 70 museums. They even have Gucci’s museum for fans of fashion! The largest collection of renaissance works, where you can admire the artwork of da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli and other world-class artists, can be found in the Uffizi Gallery. In the case of entry, you need to pay € 8 for admission and to this add a couple of hours waiting in line.
As usual, we did not visit any museum, but we walked to the Piazzale Michelangelo, which is 20 minutes away from city center. Over there you can admire Florence from a bird’s perspective… and burn some calories to get on top of this hill 😀
In short: Tuscany is cool!
S & B
