Must-see attractions in Florence

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    Galleria degli Uffizi

    Home to the world's greatest collection of Italian Renaissance art, Florence's premier gallery occupies the vast U-shaped Palazzo degli Uffizi (1560–80),…

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    Basilica di Santa Maria Novella

    The striking green-and-white marble facade of 13th- to 15th-century Basilica di Santa Maria Novella fronts an entire monastical complex, comprising…

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    Palazzo Vecchio

    This fortress palace, with its crenellations and 94m-high tower, was designed by Arnolfo di Cambio between 1298 and 1314 for the signoria (city government…

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    Museo di San Marco

    At the heart of Florence's university area sits Chiesa di San Marco and an adjoining 15th-century Dominican monastery where both gifted painter Fra'…

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    Duomo

    Florence's duomo is the city's most iconic landmark. Capped by Filippo Brunelleschi's red-tiled cupola, it's a staggering construction whose breathtaking…

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    Museo dell’Opera del Duomo

    This awe-inspiring story of how the duomo and its cupola came to life is told in this well-executed museum. Among its sacred and liturgical treasures are…

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    Cupola del Brunelleschi

    A Renaissance masterpiece, the duomo's cupola – 91m high and 45.5m wide – was built between 1420 and 1436. Filippo Brunelleschi, taking inspiration from…

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    Galleria dell'Accademia

    A queue marks the door to this gallery, built to house one of the Renaissance's most iconic masterpieces, Michelangelo's David. But the world's most…

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    Museo delle Cappelle Medicee

    Nowhere is Medici conceit expressed so explicitly as in the Medici Chapels. Adorned with granite, marble, semiprecious stones and some of Michelangelo's…

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    Basilica di Santa Croce

    The austere interior of this Franciscan basilica is a shock after the magnificent neo-Gothic facade enlivened by varying shades of coloured marble. Most…

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    Palazzo Pitti

    Commissioned by banker Luca Pitti in 1458, this Renaissance palace was later bought by the Medici family. Over the centuries, it was a residence of the…

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    Museo del Bargello

    It was behind the stark walls of Palazzo del Bargello, Florence's earliest public building, that the podestà (governing magistrate) meted out justice from…

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    Corridoio Vasariano

    This 1km-long covered passageway, currently closed for restoration work, connects Palazzo Vecchio with the Uffizi and Palazzo Pitti. Vasari designed it in…

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    Museo di Palazzo Davanzati

    Home to the wealthy Davanzati merchant family from 1578, this 14th-century palazzo (mansion) with a wonderful central loggia gives you a view into…

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    Museo degli Innocenti

    Shortly after its founding in 1421, Brunelleschi designed the loggia for Florence's Ospedale degli Innocenti, a foundling hospital and Europe's first…

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    Giardino di Boboli

    Behind Palazzo Pitti, the fountain- and sculpture-adorned Boboli Gardens – slowly but surely being restored to their former pristine glory thanks to a €2…

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    Cappella Brancacci

    Fire in the 18th century practically destroyed 13th-century Basilica di Santa Maria del Carmine, but it spared its magnificent chapel frescoes – a…

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    Campanile

    The 414-step climb up the cathedral's 85m-tall campanile, begun by Giotto in 1334, rewards with staggering city views. The first tier of bas-reliefs…

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    Museo Novecento

    Don't allow the Renaissance to distract you from Florence's fantastic modern art museum, at home in a 13th-century pilgrim shelter, hospital and school. A…

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    Basilica di San Lorenzo

    Considered one of Florence's most harmonious examples of Renaissance architecture, this unfinished basilica was the Medici parish church and mausoleum. It…