Florence, Pisa, and a winery in Tuscany

5.25.2023 – 5.28.2023 || Florence | Pisa | San Gimignano || Italy

After spending four days in Rome and three days in Capri, we headed to Tuscany. We selected Florence as our home base for the last three days of our Italian vacation. I last visited Florence 21 years ago, as a backpacker. I didn’t go into museums or galleries so I was eager to experience Florence again. I planned a lot of activities for this portion of the trip – we pre-booked tickets to the Uffizi Gallery, Accademia Gallery, the Duomo bell tower climb, restaurants, a full day exploring Pisa and a winery in San Gimignano, and more in between.

Where we Stayed:

Compared to Rome, the sights in Florence are in a smaller radius around the city center. We chose to stay at Hotel Cerretani Firenze due to its proximity to the Duomo and we could use All Accor points. The biggest selling point is the location, otherwise this is a standard hotel experience.

What we Did and Where we Ate:

We arrived at the train station in Florence around 2pm, quickly checked in to the hotel, and then set out for lunch. We mostly ate pizza and pasta in Rome and Capri and were ready for the paninis in Florence that everyone talks about. We were hungry and it was raining so we breezed through the Piazza del Duomo since we would have plenty of chances to return. The marble, stones, and tiles are one of my favorite things about Florence!

Our first panini experience in Florence was at I Fratellini. We were lucky to get a sandwich since we arrived after 3pm and they ran out of the traditional bread. No complaints here that we had to get the large. The spritz to go hit the spot, too. They have been doing this since 1875 and know how to make a panini so come here when in Florence – we recommend the pork and the roasted vegetable!

After speed eating paninis on the street, we headed past the replica David statue and continued on towards the Uffizi gallery.

We spent some time exploring the various rooms looking for Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael’s work. The views were incredible whether on the walls, the floor, the ceiling, or out the windows.

Afterwards, we headed over to Ponte Vecchio, the pedestrian bridge over the Arno River that is lined with gold jewelry shops and so many tourists. After walking through the streets of Oltrarno, on the other side of the bridge, we found a great view by crossing back over Ponte Santa Trinita.

We ate dinner in the courtyard of a1400s Renaissance-style mansion at Cantinetta Antinori, as in the Antinori family that produces wine. This is a great spot all around to try Tuscan dishes like shrimp and artichokes, cannellini beans, and a massive cheese platter for two. Side note: we may have seen Donatella Francesca Versace, the Italian fashion designer, hosting a cocktail gathering of sorts in the courtyard shortly after I took the photo in the bottom left.

We took an evening stroll through the Piazza del Duomo after dinner and went back to see some of the sights at night like we did in Rome.

The third time we were in the Piazza del Duomo we actually visited the cathedral and the baptistery but the major highlight was climbing over 400 steps to the top of the dome. The climb was broken up into a few sections with stops along the way and a few windows (bottom right) to get a glimpse of our progress to the top. There was a notable viewing platform at the lower part of the dome (top right) and then the best view was saved for the top of the dome where we spent 15 minutes or so before it was time for our group to descend.

We worked up an appetite and headed to Da Vinattieri for another panini. The bread was better here but the menu was heavy on meat so I would give the panini prize to I Fratellini from our first day in Florence.

After lunch we headed to Accademia Gallery best known as the home of Michelangelo’s sculpture David.

After spending most of the time inside museums and galleries we spent the rest of the afternoon outside. We walked over Ponte Vecchio into Oltrarno and stopped at Enoteca Pitti Gola e Cantina for a flight of champagne before walking around The Boboli Gardens.

The Boboli Gardens ticket comes with entrance to Villa Bardini. At this point we walked close to ten miles so we were running out of steam to fully appreciate the gardens and view of Florence from Villa Bardini.

Dinner at Trattoria 13 Gobbi was an experience and was hard to capture the ambiance. We arrived at 7:30 when they opened and found a crowd of people outside who also all had 7:30 reservations. The entire restaurant filled up and the staff slowly managed to take everyone’s orders. The vibe was authentic, a bit rustic, and what I would call traditional Tuscan food. We enjoyed the white beans and tuna (not pictured), the eggplant and the personal steak and potatoes.

We spent our last day in Italy outside of Florence. We hired a driver and headed for Pisa to see the leaning tower and other sights in the main piazza. We didn’t climb the tower but we did visit the cathedral and other buildings before grabbing gelato.

Our next stop was at Tenuta Torciano, a family owned winery near San Gimignano that the company we booked the driver through strongly suggested we visit. I had high hopes for a tour around the vineyard, a tasting, and lunch since we had similar experiences in Sonoma and Napa in California. Upon arriving, we enjoyed a glass of rosé in the garden while they finished setting up our tasting and then spent the rest of the two hour visit inside a private room. The food and wine were great, however, I thought we were going to be seated outside in the vineyard. By the time the meal was over it was time to head back to Florence so we didn’t get a chance to explore the property beyond these photos. A reason to return!

We certainly got to experience the highlights of Florence, Pisa, and a Tuscan winery over the course of three days. Whether you simply wander through the streets in search of the best panini, visit museums, art galleries, and gardens, or check out the shops, one thing is certain, Renaissance art and architecture is everywhere so enjoy the scenery because it one of a kind all around Tuscany.

Question: What is your favorite way to experience Tuscany?