A Guide to Beautiful Florence, Italy

Ah, Florence. The Renaissance city. A city of romance and adventure. A city hounded by millions of tourists each year. Found nearly in the center of Italy in the famous region of Tuscany, Florence is quite possibly a traveler's dream and nightmare. Its frescos and sculptures are marred by pods of tour groups, but the beauty of this city still manages to shine through the hordes of tourists that crowd its streets. Tourism isn't necessarily a bad thing, but in a city like Florence, you mostly want to feel as though you're experiencing the city as it was hundreds of years ago, without having to elbow your way forward to catch a glimpse of Michelangelo's David. There are the main, must-see sites of the city, of course. These include the Duomo, the magnificent domed cathedral in the middle of the city; the Uffizi Gallery, a collection of hundreds of works of art near the beautiful, but crowded, Piazza della Signoria or Ponte Vecchio, the bridge that crosses the Arno river.

Like many of Italy's towns and cities, it is best to experience the culture by taking to the streets. Let yourself get lost on the alleys. The best time to wander around is in the early evening. The tourists magically disappear leaving just you and the residents. Find a piazza and sit down, just to watch the people around you: the old fountain, children playing with a dog, a young couple arm-in-arm. The piazzas are everywhere and each is more enchanting than the next. As you wander, go ahead and buy some gelato and watch the way the lights reflect on the Arno.

Another place of fascination is the Santa Croce basilica housing the tombs of Galileo, Dante, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. Don't think that the basilica is just some church that houses dead people. The tombs are artistic, standing out among the frescoed walls and the pitched ceilings of the church. If you walk towards the end of the church you may even find a strangely familiar statue, one of a woman standing with a robe draped around her body, a torch in her hand, and a pointed crown on her head. A statue very similar to our own Statue of Liberty, given to us by the French, whose inspiration came from this very statue in Santa Croce. As you walk inside the church, you may find yourself tripping on the uneven floor, looking down, you'll find the engraved outlines of people buried under your feet. If you don't find churches or tombs in any way interesting at all, the gardens alone are worth visiting in Santa Croce. Classically Italian with flowers and statues, it's worth the time to find a bench and just breathe in the warm air.

If you visit Florence you must visit Piazza Michelangelo. Positioned across the Arno river, high on a hill, it overlooks the Renaissance city. The view there isn't anything one could ever adequately describe, the closest maybe being E.M. Forster's Room with a View. Go during the sunset, the light that the sun casts on the old buildings and domed cathedral make the tourist standing next to you absolutely disappear. It's completely worth the climb up the hill to get to the Piazza and really, it is this sight that puts Florence into perspective for a visitor.

Whether it is the road not taken or the road taken by millions, the sights of Florence are inspiring, beautiful and allow a slight glimpse to a place once called home by Michelangelo, Botticelli and even Machiavelli.