Salvatore Ferragamo Museum
Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.4 miles]
Footwear fantasies in everything from cellophane to gold, by Florence’s legendary shoemaker to the stars.
Best for ages: 10+ | £6
Best places to stay:
This intimate 20-room townhouse hotel, occupying a 17th-century palazzo, is the coolest place to lay your head in Florence.
The original neo-classical interiors have been re-vamped, introducing a sophisticated retro feel.
There is a series of intimate sitting rooms with open fires, a cosy restaurant serving mod-Italian cuisine and a bar that spills onto a fabulous pavement terrace on the piazza in warmer weather.
The location is conveniently close to the train station and tram stops, the main attractions and the designer boutiques of Via Tornabuoni.
One of Italy’s original – and very best – boutique hotels and the first of the JK brand, it has the discreet feel of a private home or gentleman’s club. \
This is the perfect Florentine pied-a-terre; guests are treated as privileged friends.
The hotel stands on historic Piazza di Santa Maria Novella which is dominated by the eponymous church and its swirling marble façade.
The once- scruffy square was cleaned up some years ago and is now lined with tall, elegant townhouses, smart hotels and pavement cafés.
Closed to traffic, it is filled with pigeons, commuters en route to the station, tourists and students lazing in the sun.
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Bucket list experiences our writer says you must do in this destination, closest first
Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.4 miles]
Footwear fantasies in everything from cellophane to gold, by Florence’s legendary shoemaker to the stars.
Best for ages: 10+ | £6
Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.4 miles]
The octagonal, Romanesque Baptistery, thought to originate in the Dark Ages, is one of Florence’s oldest buildings. It is famous for its three sets of ornate bronze doors although the ones you see today are copies (the originals are in the Cathedral Works Museum).
Best for ages: 18+ | £4
Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.5 miles]
Florence’s great cathedral (duomo) – crowned by Brunelleschi’s ground-breaking dome – is the city’s religious heart.
Best for ages: 18+ | £16
Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.5 miles]
A ride down the river Arno in a traditional wooden boat or ‘barchetto’ is one of the more unusual ways to see the city.
Best for ages: 4+ | £45 | 1 hour
Other worthwhile experiences in this destination if you have the time or the interest, closest first
Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0 miles]
An ex-cinema houses the fabulous private model railway collection belonging to the late Marchese di San Giuliano. The centrepiece is a 280-square metre model, one of the largest in Europe; the landscaping (from mountains to seascapes) is exquisite.
Best for ages: 4+ | £12
Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.2 miles]
This famous pharmacy, established by Dominican friars in Florence in 1221 and housed in a 13th-century frescoed chapel, has served up herbal remedies and therapeutic treatments to Florentines for centuries. The signature soaps, potpourri, lotions, potions and herbal remedies make brilliant gifts to take home.
Best for ages: 13+ | Free
Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.2 miles]
This 16th-century palazzo is home to one of Italy’s most innovative public art galleries. Rotating exhibitions showcase artists as diverse as Jeff Koons, Ai Wei-Wei and Bill Viola and Bronzino, Donatello and Pontormo. The ‘Strozzino’ gallery in the basement focuses on contemporary art and peripheral cultural events.
Best for ages: 18+ | £13
Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.4 miles]
This traditional Easter festival sees a towering cart laden with fireworks pulled through the city by white oxen accompanied by a procession of flag throwers and drummers in colourful Renaissance garb. In Piazza del Duomo, a mechanical dove swoops down from the cathedral to light the blue touchpaper.
Best for ages: 10+ | Free | 1 day
Destination guides including or relevant to this place to stay
Tuscany, Italy
A heady mix of incomparable Renaissance art, gorgeous palazzos, Tuscan cuisine and home-grown haute couture.
Tuscany, Italy
The astonishingly beautiful region of Tuscany has it all: art cities and ancient hill towns, high mountains and long sandy beaches, alongside luxurious hotels and some of Italy’s best food and wine.