Florence, Italy is known to be a walkable city, with its small, cobblestone streets and narrow sidewalks that wrap around the historic city center. Throughout my time in Florence, I was able to explore these winding streets and discover all that the city had to offer.  

In this photoset, I’m sharing a list of my must-see spots in various neighborhoods to check out while studying abroad in or visiting Florence. 

The Duomo 

In the city center, the red shingles on the Duomo rise above the other buildings, allowing it to be the main attraction in this lovely city. This is a stunning piece of architecture that I never got tired of looking at, and I made sure everyone who visited me got a chance to look at it for as long as they needed (it was never enough time).  

While walking around Florence’s streets, I was always able to find my way back to the Duomo! Since the city is relatively small and very walkable, I was never really lost and loved wandering the streets to discover more. 

Visitors can even walk through the inside of the cathedral for free to see the magnificent paintings on the inside of the dome. If you’d like a better view of the city, I would recommend climbing the bell tower attached to the cathedral. You can climb the Duomo as well, but if you climb the bell tower then you get to see the beautiful Florentine cityscape with the Duomo included in the view too! 

The view of the Duomo, the Florentine skyline, and Tuscan hills from the top of the bell tower. 

Uffizi Gallery 

A few blocks away from the Duomo is the Uffizi Gallery, an art gallery which is home to many famous paintings by artists like Michelangelo, Leonardo, Botticelli, Caravaggio, Raphael, and more. I loved walking through this museum and spent hours wandering through the hundreds of art pieces.  

Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus” painting in the Uffizi Gallery. 

In the far end of the museum in the sculpture hallway that overlooks the Arno River, you can look out the window to see Ponte Vecchio (this translates to “Old Bridge” in Italian). Walking across this bridge is a must! It is incredible to see the old jewelry shops located there while stopping to take in the beauty of the river. 

The Ponte Vecchio is home to many old jewelry shops over the Arno River. 

Gelato, Soccer, and More!  

No matter the weather, you must have gelato when in Florence. If you’d like a unique gelato, I highly recommend an affogato from Vivoli. This mixture of gelato and espresso is a wonderful combo to try!  

An affogato from Vivoli. 

One of the many photo booths located in Florence that offer a lovely memory to be made. 

Catching a Fiorentina soccer match was also always a blast, as was ice skating at the outdoor rink near the train station.  

Attending a Fiorentina soccer match was always a great time! 

Ice skating with friends! 

Odeon Cinema Firenze 

One of the cool experiences I got to have in Florence was watching a movie at the Cinema Odeon Firenze, which doubles as a movie theater and a bookstore! This beautiful cinema has a bookstore on its lower level and seating for the theater above, making it such a unique experience. There are many theaters around Florence that play movies in their original language or that have English subtitles, and I really enjoyed watching movies while abroad.  

The Odeon cinema which doubles as a bookstore and a movie theater! 

Piazzale Michelangelo 

If you’d like to see one of the best views for a Florentine sunset, I would recommend walking over to Piazzale Michelangelo, across the river. Although it is usually quite crowded with tourists, getting to sit on the stone steps and watch the sun set is a lovely experience.  

The view of the Duomo from Piazzale Michelangelo. 

All of these experiences will help me remember how amazing my semester in Florence was, and how beautiful this city will always be.

This post was written by McKenna Yates, a CEA CAPA Content Creator from University of Colorado Boulder who studied abroad in Florence, Italy.