Review of Florence with Photos

[yokeagan]

Ahhhh Florence! Loved this place. We (myself, my husband, and our 15 year old son) did the Norwegian Ultimate Florence & Pisa with David & Tower Climb excursion.

 

Amazing! We had a great guide! We were able to see Piazzale Michelangelo with its amazing panoramic view of Florence.

 

 

 

From there we drove to the city center and began our walking tour. We walked toward the renowned Ponte Vecchio Bridge.

 

A bridge (not Ponte) on our walk:

 

 

Ponte Vecchio

 

 

[yokeagan]

From there we walked to the Piazza Della Signoria. Full of statues, it is a wonder to behold!

 

 

It is most famous for it's replica of the David statue

 

The Fountain of Neptune is there as well. it is considered by many as the ugly statue.

 

[yokeagan]

From there we walked over to the Piazza del Duomo, home to the stunning Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.

 

 

 

 

 

[yokeagan]

We then walked to the Galleria Dell'Accademia where we viewed the original David statue (totally worth seeing) and a few other works. From there we were given about and hour and a half of free time to eat lunch and explore. Those who wanted to stay and view more of the Galleria could. We chose to walk back to the Piazza del Duomo and grab a quick bite. We stopped at this neat little place that had amazing pasta! (I don't remember the name). But it was a counter service restaurant where the food was good and quick. The guys wanted to go back to a few shops they saw so we split up. I wondered around and took some photos.

 

 

 

Street Performer

 

 

And grabbed some gelato!

[yokeagan]

The lines to get into the Cathedral were very long, so I wandered back over to the Piazza della Signoria to photograph some of the statues in the Loggia die Lanzi.

 

 

 

 

[yokeagan]

I had a little time left so I wandered into the very front part of the Palazzo Vecchio where they have some nice Frescoes.

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was time for me to meet up with the group and continue on to Pisa. I did the Pisa part of the review separately. I forgot to mention that we had a bus ride from Livorno over the Florence. It was a little over an hour ride. Also, there are no photos of the original David because you are not allowed to take photos in the Gallery.

[1SMURFF99A]

I had a little time left so I wandered into the very front part of the Palazzo Vecchio where they have some nice Frescoes.

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was time for me to meet up with the group and continue on to Pisa. I did the Pisa part of the review separately. I forgot to mention that we had a bus ride from Livorno over the Florence. It was a little over an hour ride. Also, there are no photos of the original David because you are not allowed to take photos in the Gallery.

 

I assume most cruise buses drop you off in the same area as I know there is limited access to the main part of Florence. Did you find you had a long walk from the bus to the main attractions? We are on Celebrity in Nov and doing a ship tour but have thought of a private tour as they could get you closer to things and pick you more often to travel to some places without so much walking. We can't walk quite as much as we used too.

[CruiseIreland]

Great photos and interesting review. Thanks for posting. Ken

[yokeagan]

They dropped us off about 3 blocks from the Ponte Vecchio bridge and then it picked us up close to the Piazza della Signoria. We were on a small van however, not a large bus as this was a tour of about 15 people. While there wasn't a lot of walking from the drop off place and the pick up place, there was a lot of walking to see all the sights. It's relatively flat with very few stairs, but I believe we walked around 3 miles total in Florence (i probably walked more because of my tendency to explore). Hope that helps you.

[Bykrunski]

Thanks for sharing ... lovely

[blondietoo]

Thank you for posting. We will be in Florence for 4 days in September after our Ocean Princess cruise. It will be our first time in Florence and seeing your pictures gets me really excited!

[tangerinebunny]

That's the first time I've seen a gelato shop without a line. Was it open?

[Keith1010]

Thanks for sharing all of this.

 

Keith

[KirkNC]

Thank you for posting. We will be in Florence for 4 days in September after our Ocean Princess cruise. It will be our first time in Florence and seeing your pictures gets me really excited!

 

You are in for a treat, it is a fabulous city.

[Keith1010]

Thanks for sharing the photos and the writeup with us.

 

Keith

[TMLAalum]

We'll be in Florence at the end of October! Your photos and commentary have added to the anticipation of spending several days there pre-cruise.

 

Thank you, yokeagan!

[Alohaaloha]

Your photos are stunning! I have been to Florence once before, and it is a port on our next cruise in September. Of all the places I have been in the world, Florence is my absolute favourite. You have captured it beautifully, many thanks for sharing.

[samavarcruiser]

Thanks for sharing your photos with us :)

[KPLIONMA]

How can you not love Florence...thank you for sharing your photos

[yokeagan]

Thanks for all the nice comments. As far as the gelato shop, yes they were open, but it was like 9:30 in the morning. ;)

 

And I cannot wait to go back to Florence!

[fue-fue]

great photos