Rivoire

Rivoire. Regrettably filled
with tourists and overpriced, Rivoire
still occupies one of the greatest
pieces of real estate in the world.
Smartly clad waiters hustle to
deliver lunch platters and elegant
sandwiches—as though anyone’s
paying attention to anything but
the view. Piazza della Signoria.

Piazza della Signoria.

Piazza della Signoria.
The monumental heart of Florence
(and Tuscany’s most famous square)
is an open-air museum of sculpture,
dominated by Michelangelo’s David
(a copy of the original, which used
to stand here). The powerful mass
of the Palazzo Vecchio dominates
one side of the square; another is
defined by the 14th-century Loggia
dei Lanzi, filled with ancient and
Renaissance statues (the most celebrated
being Bevenuto Cellini’s
Perseus holding aloft the severed
head of Medusa). Also check out
Giambologna’s Rape of the Sabines,
which marks the point (1584) when
Tuscan tastes abandoned drama in
favor of melodrama.

Uffizi

Uffizi. This is one of the
world’s great museums, and its single
best repository of Renaissance art. In
room after room, you’ll confront masterpiece
after masterpiece—including
Leonardo da Vinci’s Annunciation
(with an angel that could be Mona
Lisa’s brother), Michelangelo’s Holy
Family, Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of
Venus, Giotto’s Ognissanti Madonna,
and more. In Italian, uffizi means
offices, and that’s what Vasari
deigned this building to be in 1550.
But it’s come a long way, bambino.
These Uffizi will dazzle you. (Serious
art devotees may want to spend the
entire day here

Florence in One Day

Florence in 1 day? “Impossibile,” a Florentine might tell you
before throwing up his hands in despair and walking away, convinced
you are mad. But 1 day in Florence is better than none—
provided you rise with the roosters and move with steely discipline
and stamina, to make the most of it. This “greatest hits” itinerary
begins with the highlights of the Uffizi, the most rewarding and time
consuming stop. After lunch in Piazza della Signoria, you’ll take in
the city’s majestic ecclesiastical complex: the Duomo, the Baptistery,
and Giotto’s Bell Tower. Then you’ll round out the day with a trek to
see Michelangelo’s David at the Accademia—a mandatory stop—
followed by a stroll across the Ponte Vecchio and a Tuscan meal in
an authentic buca (cellar). START: Take bus B or 23 to the Uffizi.

Don’t follow these ideas to the letter; use them as building blocks for your trip.

Rule #6: Don’t follow these
ideas to the letter; use them
as building blocks for your
trip.
This guide was designed to help you
piece together your own dream getaway.
You can plan your time in Florence
using one section and then
hop about Tuscany, in the next few
days, using another. It’s like an a la
carte menu—select one item from
column A and another from column
B, according to your own tastes and
interests, to make the most of our
advice.

Every now and then, let the train take the strain.

Rule #5: Every now and then,
let the train take the strain.
It’s cheaper, greener, and hassle free
arriving in your Tuscan town for the
day by train. The Italian network is
inexpensive, accessible, and easy to
use—even for beginners. Not every
town is handily reached by rail, but
the highlights of the region’s northwest
like Lucca, Pisa, or Prato

Plan your excursions around lunch.

Rule #4: Plan your excursions
around lunch.
If you’re driving from town to town,
plan to reach your destination by
noon. Restaurants usually serve
lunch until 2 or 2:30pm, but you’ll
need time to park (which is often
tricky) and to locate the address of
your restaurant (ditto). If you don’t
want to follow a schedule, pack a
lunch before setting out and follow
your bliss to the ideal picnic spot
somewhere under the Tuscan sun.
There’s no shortage of them.