Late afternoon is a perfect time to take a walk around the historic centre of Florence and to get some sort of idea of what the city is about. Depending on where you are staying you will start off at one point or another, but this is the route we suggest you take:
Piazza Pitti: with the famous Pitti Palace and the Gardens of Boboli. All the area that extends between the Piazza Pitti and the Piazza S. Spirito is charming and there are few tourists.
Ponte Vecchio: the city´s main bridge and the only to survive from medieval times. Full of shops that sell gold and silver jewellery. Many of them existed in the Middle Ages.
Piazza della Signoria: the most famous square in Florence and an authentic open-air museum. It was here that Michelangelo originally placed his David. Today there is a replica in its place but we prefer to think of it as the real one and see it in all its splendour instead of enclosed between four walls. The Palazzo Vecchio is to the back of it.
Piazza Della Repubblica: a square with a lot of atmosphere in the centre of the city.
Piazza del Duomo: with the city´s cathedral, Santa María de Fiore, which stands out for the originality of its decoration (in pink, green and white marble) and for its dome (it´s worth going in to have a look, it is free but watch out because it closes between 15.30 and 17.00 depending on the day). Also of note in front of the cathedral´s central door are the baptistry and the belfry (you can pay to go in but we don´t recommend it). Pay attention to the baptistry's carved door, a replica of "Gates of Paradise" by Lorenzo Ghibert. The original door has been recently restored and is on display in the Museum of the Cathedral (15€).
