Florence 3-day Itinerary

The world’s largest and most important collection of Renaissance and Mannerist art, home to 5,400 works spans art history from ancient Greece through to 18th-century Venetian painting.

Florence’s great cathedral (duomo) – crowned by Brunelleschi’s ground-breaking dome – is the city’s religious heart.

One of Florence’s two big-name art museums, home to a world-class collection of 14th- and 15th-century art, and Michelangelo’s iconic masterpiece David.

Benozzo Gozzoli’s glorious fresco depicting the Procession of the Magi dates from 1459 and covers the tiny ‘Cappella dei Magi’ in Palazzo Medici-Riccardi. Painted in brilliant jewel colours, it shows a procession of richly-attired kings, knights and servants travelling through a fairytale rural landscape.

The first floor of Florence’s traditional produce market, Centrale Mercato, was transformed in 2014 into a dazzling food hall where producers offer everything from freshly-made mozzarella, truffle pasta, barbequed ribs, artisan bread and cheeses to hand-made chocolates. Pair a guided tour (to find ingredients) with a Tuscan cooking class after.

For visitors who want to learn to make as well as eat the local specialities, this cooking school is a good place to start. Hands-on classes taught by pro chefs include making pasta, pizza, gelato, Tuscan meat and vegetarian. You can opt to tour the Central Market first too.

Housed in the city’s most imposing palazzo, Florence’s second-largest art gallery is home to masterpieces by Raphael, Rubens, Botticelli and Van Dyck.

This shady green oasis in the centre of Florence is one of the most beautiful gardens in Italy and makes a wonderful escape on a hot, summer’s day.

This small wine bar specialises in wines from small, independent producers and always has something interesting on offer. Order one of the bubbling, melted cheese-topped crostini to soak it up; the one with truffle-infused sausage is particularly good.

This hole-in-the-wall ice cream shop (on pretty Piazza della Passera in the Oltrarno) dishes up some of the best gelato in the city centre, all made in small batches from fresh ingredients and without any kind of artificial flavourings. Think pistachio, pink grapefruit, zabaglione and coffee; flavours move with the seasons.