Florence, Italy - What to see and do

I have been tasked to determine how many days we should spend in Florence and Venice on our trip to Italy in a few months. I am going to use this post to highlight all the places I am thinking of seeing while we are in Florence.

Florence is a city best know for it's Renaissance art, street markets and grand churches. I've been there before but that was way back in 1996 and I wasn't old enough then to really appreciate the city.

Some of the must see sights for me are:

• Galleria dell'Accademia - This is where you will see Michelangelo' David. One of the mos famous sculptures ever. There are also a number of Renaissance paintings to be found in the gallery. I hear you should make reservations ahead of time though or be prepared to wait a while in line.
• Uffizi Gallery - This gallery contains some of the greatest Italian paintings around. I am not big on paintings and my wife is even less so but we will still likely visit this gallery.
• Duomo, Duomo Museum and climbing the Duomo Dome - The massive Gothic cathedral and the museum across the way with lots of sculptures. The dome is one of the many things to climb with a great view. If there is something to climb with a view it is on my list.
  
• Institute and Museum of the History of Science - Great artifacts from the early days of science and the middle finger from the right hand of Galileo Galilei.
• Ponte Vecchio - Famous bridge with many shops.
  
• Pitti Palace and gardens - Former home of the Medici family with lots of art. My sister reccommended this place for the beautiful gardens though.
  
• Piazzale Michelangelo - A great panoramic view of the city!
• Santa Croce Church - Burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians, such as Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Gentile and Rossini, thus it is known also as the Pantheon of the Italian Glories.
• Bargello - Sculpture museum and former barracks. I've read that it is not very crowded.

And the secondary sights are:

• Medici Chapel - Tombs of the Medici family, designed and carved by Michelangelo.
• San Marco Museum - Early Renaissance artwork by Fra Angelico.
  
• Basilica of Santa Maria Novella - Church built in the 13th century that contains famous frescoes from the Gothic and early Renaissance periods.
  
• Brancacci Chapel - Church with a famous fresco by Masaccio.
• Giotto's Tower - Another view like the Duomo Dome but with a few less steps and a shorter line.
  
• Baptistery - Possibly the oldest building in Florence. Bronze doors are the gates of paradise. Next to the Duomo.
  
• Medici-Riccardi Palace - Home of Lorenzo the Magnificent with more art.
  
• Palazzo Vecchio - Florence town hall and former Medici home.
  

What Others are saying about Florence:

• Florence, Italy (Lots of pictures)
• Vanessa and Lisa take Florence by storm!!
• Florence churches and chapels
• Firenze, a.k.a., Florence - Day 1
• Saturday in Florence - April 19,2008 and Ahh, Florence.......you stole our hearts
• Firenze or Florence
  

My New Travel Blog

I created this blog for blogging on travel. I mostly intend to use it to post while traveling but I don't know if I will have enough time to spare for that. In the meantime I think I will use it to post my travel planning. I may even go back and talk about some previous places. Should I back date those posts?

My wife and I have travel fever. On our honeymoon we went to Scotland and England with a spontaneous 2 day excursion to Paris. Ever since that trip we have made it a point to take a quality trip every Summer. Fortunately I have 15 days of vacation a year so we can take 3 week vacations and make the most of a trip far from home.

Two years ago we traveled to Mexico and last year we went to Germany, Austria and Switzerland. This year is Italy with a side trip to Normandy. 18 days of fun in Europe spending those really expensive Euros.

The adventure awaits!