We left Venice in a minivan (six of us + luggage) and headed to our next destination, Florence. To add a little more excitement, the minivan was a stick shift. You can just imagine the European Vacation references we made as we entered each round-about! I’ll go into more detail about that later in a travel tips post.
We rented a four bedroom apartment through Trip Advisor that was everything you would picture an apartment in Florence to be! The ceilings in the main rooms and a bedroom were all hand painted and the lighting was gorgeous!
Our apartment was located just across the Ponte Vecchio (1345) which was only a short walk to shop and dine. And lucky for us, Gelateria la Carraia was very close to our apartment for those moments when you just have to have gelato (which was a daily occurrence)!
Like Venice, Florence is filled with beautiful buildings and structures, many of which are adorned with flowers.
The Duomo which is Europe’s 4th largest church and the tallest building in Florence, is located in the heart of the city.
It’s really impossible to get a picture of the entire building at once because it is enormous!
During the day, the streets are filled with tourists taking full advantage of the great shopping in the city. This picture was taken late at night after a wonderful dinner at Frescobaldi – we like to use our best Italian accent when saying this 😉
Michalangelo Square is perched on a hillside overlooking the beautiful city. The drive up to the square was lovely and compares to a drive through the Hollywood Hills in LA only much older.
You might also like:
Venice
Murano & Burano
How to Pack for Ten Days in Italy in One Carry On Suitcase
Our Apartment in Rome
Florence was one of my favorite cities in Italy when I traveled there many years ago as a 16-year-old. All of Italy was wonderful, but I especially loved Florence. The apartment you rented looks spectacular. I hope you'll share more photos of Florence. I've been enjoying your travel posts. Venice looked amazing. I didn't make it there, but would like to one day.
Claudia
Thank you Claudia! Yes, we loved Florence, but used it as a central location for other day trips such as Tuscany and Modena. Would love to go back and explore the art galleries and check out the leather sales!
Hands down my favorite part of Italy. So beautiful.
What an amazing trip to take with your family, Rene. I loved seeing your Instagram photos and it is such a treat to see these gorgeous pictures as well. I cannot believe that apartment you stayed at!!!!! The ceilings! The chandeliers! Wow! My husband and I went to Venice and Rome years ago and would love to return with our kids, especially to Sicily where my father in law's family is from. I will have to add Florence to the bucket list too after seeing this post. The entire country is so rich in history and art, everywhere is a feast for the eyes isn't it?