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    Insight Guides Explore Florence (Travel Guide eBook)
    Insight Guides Explore Florence (Travel Guide eBook)
    Insight Guides Explore Florence (Travel Guide eBook)
    Ebook504 pages1 hour

    Insight Guides Explore Florence (Travel Guide eBook)

    By Insight Guides

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    About this ebook

    Pocket-sized travel guides featuring the very best routes and itineraries. 

    Discover the best of Florence with this indispensably practical Insight Explore Guide. From making sure you don't miss out on must-see attractions like Piazza Del Duomo, the Uffizi, Piazza San Marco, the Bobble Garden and Piazzale Michelangelo, to discovering hidden gems, including San Marco museum, the easy-to-follow, ready-made walking routes will save you time, help you plan and enhance your visit to Florence.

    Practical, pocket-sized and packed with inspirational insider information, this is the ideal on-the-move companion to your trip to Tuscany.

    - Over 14 walks and tours: detailed itineraries feature all the best places to visit, including where to eat along the way
    - Local highlights: discover what makes the area special, its top attractions and unique sights, and be inspired by stunning imagery
    - Insider recommendations: where to stay and what to do, from active pursuits to themed trips
    - Hand-picked places: find your way to great hotels, restaurants and nightlife using the comprehensive listings
    - Practical maps: get around with ease and follow the walks and tours using the detailed maps 
    - Informative tips: plan your visit with an A to Z of advice on everything from transport to tipping
    - Inventive design makes for an engaging, easy-reading experience
    - Covers: Orsanmichele to the Ponte Vecchio, Santa Maria Novella to San Marco, the Accademia to the Museo Archeologico, the Pitti Palace and more.

    About Insight Guides: Insight Guides is a pioneer of full-colour guide books, with almost 50 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides with user-friendly, modern design. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps as well as phrase books, picture-packed eBooks and apps to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherInsight Guides
    Release dateSep 1, 2019
    ISBN9781839051524
    Insight Guides Explore Florence (Travel Guide eBook)
    Author

    Insight Guides

    Insight Guides wherever possible uses local experts who provide insider know-how and share their love and knowledge of the destination.

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      Book preview

      Insight Guides Explore Florence (Travel Guide eBook) - Insight Guides

      How To Use This E-Book

      This Explore Guide has been produced by the editors of Insight Guides, whose books have set the standard for visual travel guides since 1970. With ­top-­quality photography and authoritative recommendations, these guidebooks bring you the very best routes and itineraries in the world’s most exciting destinations.

      Best Routes

      The routes in this book provide something to suit all budgets, tastes and trip lengths. As well as covering the destination’s many classic attractions, the itineraries track lesser-known sights, and there are also ex­cursions for those who want to extend their visit outside the city. The routes embrace a range of interests, so whether you are an art fan, a gourmet, a history buff or have kids to entertain, you will find an option to suit.

      We recommend reading the whole of a route before setting out. This should help you to familiarise yourself with it and enable you to plan where to stop for refreshments – options are shown in the ‘Food and Drink’ box at the end of each tour.

      Introduction

      The routes are set in context by this introductory section, giving an overview of the destination to set the scene, plus background information on food and drink, shopping and more, while a succinct history timeline highlights the key events over the centuries.

      Directory

      Also supporting the routes is a Directory chapter, with a clearly organised A–Z of practical information, our pick of where to stay while you are there and select restaurant listings; these eateries complement the more low-key cafés and restaurants that feature within the routes and are intended to offer a wider choice for evening dining. Also included here are some nightlife listings, plus a handy language guide and our recommendations for books and films about the destination.

      Getting around the e-book

      In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

      Maps

      All key attractions and sights mentioned in the text are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

      Images

      You’ll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of the destination. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.

      © 2019 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

      Table of Contents

      Recommended Routes For...

      Art enthusiasts

      Children

      Food and wine

      Medici Florence

      Parks and gardens

      Rival cities

      Shopping

      Views

      Explore Florence

      Florence today

      Geography and layout

      Three squares

      Across the Arno

      A potted history

      Beginnings

      The Commune

      Renaissance flourishing

      Foreign rule

      Unification and independence

      Contemporary Florence

      Modern mayors

      Food and Drink

      Markets and vegetables

      Fagioli

      Olive oil

      Chestnuts

      Meat dishes

      Sweets

      Eating out

      Wine

      Key names

      Vin Santo

      Shopping

      Fashion

      Designer names

      Leather and textiles

      Paper

      Opening times

      Entertainment

      Music, opera and dance

      The Maggio Musicale

      Opera and dance

      Chamber music

      Theatre

      Cinema

      Nightlife

      History: Key Dates

      Beginnings

      The Renaissance

      Foreign rule and independence

      The 21st century

      Piazza del Duomo

      Piazza del Duomo

      The Duomo

      The façade

      The crypt of Santa Reparata

      Notable artworks

      The dome

      Climbing the dome

      The Campanile

      Loggia del Bigallo

      The Baptistry

      Baptistry doors

      The interior

      Museo dell’Opera del Duomo

      The ground floor

      The first floor

      The second floor

      Donatello’s workshop

      Orsanmichele to the Ponte Vecchio

      Orsanmichele

      The interior

      Piazza della Signoria

      The Loggia of the Lancers

      Palazzo Vecchio

      The courtyard

      Room of the Five Hundred

      Other first-floor highlights

      Quarters of the Elements

      Quarters of Eleonor of Toledo

      Hall of Justice and Room of the Lilies

      Other second-floor highlights

      Special tours and the Children’s Museum

      Gucci Garden

      Piazzale degli Uffizi and the Ponte Vecchio

      The bridge’s occupants

      The Uffizi

      The building

      Layout

      The second floor

      The early Renaissance

      The High Renaissance

      Michelangelo and the Florentines

      The first floor

      The Bargello and Santa Croce

      The Bargello

      The collections

      Badia Fiorentina

      Santa Croce

      The interior

      Museo dell’Opera di Santa Croce

      Santa Maria Novella to San Marco

      Santa Maria Novella

      The cemetery

      The interior

      Museum and cloisters

      Mercato Centrale

      San Lorenzo Market

      Medici Chapels

      Capella dei Principi

      Sagrestia Nuova

      Laurentian Library

      Highlights

      Lorenzo’s staircase

      Lunch break

      San Lorenzo

      Famous tombs

      Medici-Riccardi Palace

      Piazza San Marco

      Church and Museum of San Marco

      The Dormitory

      The Accademia to the Museo Archeologico

      The Accademia

      The collection

      Hospital of the Innocents

      Santissima Annunziata

      Archeological Museum

      Around Piazza Della Repubblica

      Piazza della Repubblica

      Strozzi Palace

      Via de’ Tornabuoni

      Santa Trinità

      Ferragamo Museum

      Davanzati Palace

      Highlights

      Mercato Nuovo

      Oltrarno

      Santa Felicità

      Casa Guidi

      Piazza Santo Spirito

      Santo Spirito

      Brancacci Chapel

      San Frediano

      The Pitti Palace and Boboli Garden

      Pitti Palace

      Palatine Gallery

      Mythological decoration

      Royal apartments

      Niche Museums

      Decorative Arts Museum

      Modern Art and Costume Galleries

      Boboli Garden

      Statuary, structures and stonework

      Buontalenti Grotto

      Giardino Bardini

      San Miniato Al Monte

      Bardini Museum

      San Miniato Gateway

      Piazzale Michelangelo

      San Miniato al Monte

      The interior

      Miniato mausoleum

      The descent

      The Belvedere

      Ending the walk

      Fiesole

      Towards Piazza Mino

      Roman Amphitheatre

      Bandini Museum

      San Romolo Cathedral

      San Iacopo Chapel

      Sant’Alessandro

      Back to Florence

      Medici Villas

      Villa Corsini

      Villa Medicea della Petraia

      The interior

      The park

      To Poggio ai Caiano

      Villa Medicea Poggio ai Caiano

      Back to Florence

      San Gimignano

      Piazza del Duomo

      The Rocca

      Siena

      Il Campo

      Palazzo Pubblico

      The Duomo

      Cathedral Museum

      Baptistry

      Santa Maria della Scala

      Pinacoteca Nazionale

      Pisa

      Piazza dei Cavalieri

      Santo Stefano

      Field of Miracles

      Leaning Tower

      The Duomo

      The interior

      Baptistry

      Holy Field

      Pisan museums

      Romanesque and gothic churches

      Accommodation

      The Duomo

      Piazza della Signoria

      Santa Croce

      Piazza della Repubblica

      San Lorenzo

      San Marco

      Santa Maria Novella

      Oltrarno

      Fiesole

      San Gimignano

      Siena

      Restaurants

      The Duomo

      Piazza della Signoria

      Santa Croce

      Piazza della Repubblica

      San Lorenzo

      San Marco

      Santa Maria Novella

      Oltrarno

      Outside Florence

      San Gimignano

      Siena

      Nightlife

      Theatre

      Cinema

      Bars and live music

      A-Z

      A

      Age restrictions

      Addresses

      B

      Budgeting

      C

      Carbon off-setting

      Children

      Climate

      Clothing

      Crime and safety

      Customs and duty-free

      D

      Disabled travellers

      E

      Electricity

      Embassies and consulates

      Emergencies

      Etiquette

      F

      Festivals

      G

      Green issues

      Guides and tours

      H

      Health

      Insurance

      Pharmacies and hospitals

      Hours and holidays

      Business hours

      Public holidays

      I

      Internet

      L

      Left luggage

      LGBTQ travellers

      M

      Maps

      Media

      Print

      Television and radio

      Money

      Credit cards

      Banks, exchange and ATMs

      P

      Police

      Post

      R

      Religion

      S

      Smoking

      Sports

      Gyms

      Tennis

      Swimming

      Football

      Student travellers

      Strikes

      T

      Telephones

      Mobile phones

      Time zone

      Tipping

      Toilets

      Tourist information

      Transport

      Arrival

      By rail

      Public transport

      Taxis

      Driving and car hire

      Bicycle hire

      V

      Visas and passports

      Y

      Youth hostels

      W

      Weights and measures

      Women travellers

      Language

      Useful phrases

      At a bar/restaurant

      On the menu

      Getting around

      Online

      Social media

      Books and Film

      Books

      Art and architecture

      Culture and history

      Literature

      Films

      Recommended Routes For...

      Art enthusiasts

      Don’t miss the Uffizi Gallery, the world’s best collection of Renaissance art (route 3), or the Accademia (route 6), home to Michelangelo’s David. Walk 4 covers the Bargello’s sculpture and the famed Santa Croce frescoes.

      iStock

      Children

      Keep kids amused in the Boboli Garden (route 9), the Children’s Museum (route 2) or the Archaeological Museum (route 6), which has mummies. Then treat them to ice cream at Vivoli (route 4).

      Britta Jaschinski/Apa Publications

      Food and wine

      Good routes for foodies include no. 5, which heads to the Mercato Centrale with its food stalls and cafés. Route 7 ends at one of the city’s most popular tripe stands – not for the faint-hearted, but certainly authentic.

      Britta Jaschinski/Apa Publications

      Medici Florence

      Route 2 visits the Palazzo Vecchio, erstwhile home of the Medici, while their family tombs are in the Medici Chapels (route 5). Route 12 takes you out of the city centre to focus on several villas built for the Medici.

      Fotolia

      Parks and gardens

      The city’s main park, the Boboli Garden (route 9), showcases statuary, grottoes and formal gardens, as well as the Pitti Palace. The Medici Villas (route 12) are also notable for their lovely gardens.

      Steve McDonald/Apa Publications

      Rival cities

      Easy day trips from Florence include long-time rivals Siena (route 14), Pisa (route 15) and San Gimignano (route 13) – a superb hilltop village and the best-preserved medieval settlement in the country.

      Steve McDonald/Apa Publications

      Shopping

      Pop into the Mercato Centrale on route 5 for local shopping (especially food). Alternatively, take a stroll along Via de’ Tornabuoni, the city’s most prestigious shopping street, and then end at the Mercato Nuovo, on route 7.

      iStock

      Views

      The best views are from Piazzale Michelangelo and San Miniato al Monte church (route 10). The Boboli Garden (route 9) is also a great lookout. For splendid Tuscan countryside, head to Fiesole (route 11).

      Britta Jaschinski/Apa Publications

      Explore Florence

      Famous for its contributions to science, literature, art and architecture, the city state of Florence is where the modern world began, and today it still retains a lively mix of dissent and luxury, the sublime and the earthy.

      In most people’s minds the name of Florence is indelibly linked to that of the Renaissance, when the extraordinarily rich flowering of artistic and intellectual life under the enlightened rule of the Medici, coupled with the city’s immense banking wealth, made it the most important centre in Europe.

      The view from Piazzale Michelangelo

      Britta Jaschinski/Apa Publications

      Florence today

      Contemporary Florence is without doubt one of the finest open-air museums in the world, and the tourism that this fuels has itself become a major new source of wealth. Rarely, however, is it considered as a city in contemporary terms, except perhaps for its shopping. Yet even here, the fine handicrafts and stylish fashion accessories for which it is now almost equally famous are ultimately rooted in Florence’s own early mercantile and creative traditions.

      Yet struggling to break free of its historical straitjacket is another, more hidden Florence, which, when the surface is scratched, reveals itself to be a sophisticated, tuned-in, complex and even slightly troubled modern city, and anything but one suffering from the passive nature of a resigned tourist capital.

      In the Boboli Garden

      Britta Jaschinski/Apa Publications

      Geography and layout

      Built along the banks of the Arno, Florence is cut in two by the river, with the older part of the city lying to the north. The river has, perhaps, been a mixed blessing for the city – on the one hand supplying it with water and a transport link, but occasionally unleashing devastating floods, as happened in 1966 (for more information, click here).

      Three squares

      The old historic centre might be thought of as clustering around three piazzi, or squares, each of which represents a different centre of influence. Piazza del Duomo surrounds the city’s cathedral and is the centre of spiritual power. To the north of here lie three of the city’s major churches, Santa Maria Novella (close to the decidedly secular area around the railway station), San Lorenzo and San Marco.

      To the south of Piazza del Duomo is Piazza della Signoria, surrounded by palazzi (palaces) with medieval crenellated towers. Here is the Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace), from where the Medici ruled over Florence. It is still the centre of temporal power in the city, as home to the Commune (the city government).

      To the west lies Piazza della Repubblica, the square laid out to represent a ‘New Florence’ during the 19th century, when the city was temporarily capital of the newly independent Italy. This might be seen as a symbol of the city’s mercantile and artisan traditions. Close by are upmarket shopping streets and the main branches of the city’s banks.

      Historic street

      Britta Jaschinski/Apa Publications

      Across the Arno

      The river not only provides a welcome sense of space after the narrow medieval streets of the old centre, it is also crossed by a number of elegant bridges, the most famous of which is the Ponte Vecchio. The views along the river are extremely beautiful, and the roads that run along its banks – popular for an evening stroll – are named after it: Lungarno (meaning ‘Along the Arno’).

      Beyond the southern bank of the river is Oltrarno (Across the Arno), settled later than the area to the north. This was for a long time a gritty working-class district, full of workshops, but is now becoming gentrified, with trendy bars (it is also popular with students), but still remains slightly off the main tourist routes. Dominating the area, however, is the grand palace of the Medici, the Palazzo Pitti, with the beautiful Boboli Garden beyond.

      Overlooking it all, from its vantage point on top of the hills, is the shrine of Florence’s first martyr, the glorious church of San Miniato al Monte.

      Don’t leave Florence without…

      Having breakfast Firenze-style. Start the day with a cappuccino and cornetto at Caffè Scudieri on the Piazza di San Giovanni (19r). This smart, long-established café/pasticceria is right in front of the Baptistry, in the pedestrianised Piazza. For more information, click here.

      Climbing the Duomo. Amble around the Piazza, admiring the Baptistry, Campanile (bell tower) and the iconic Duomo (cathedral). Those with stamina can tackle the 463 stairs spiralling to the top of the cathedral’s dome to admire Brunelleschi’s engineering genius and the fabulous views. For more

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