A day in Florence

I only have one day in Florence, how should I spend it?

If you want to see Florence in a single day, you'll have no time to pace yourself. It's art-on-the-run time—and it'll be key that you book ahead for tickets into the Uffizi and Accademia, so you don't waste hours in line.

Reserve the earliest tickets possible for the Accademia to see Michelangelo's David. Spend no more than 30 minutes here so you can be admiring Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise on the baptistery in front of the Duomo by 10am. Seeing the inside of the Duomo itself takes only 15 minutes, but you might want to give yourself another hour to make it up to the top of Brunelleschi's dome.

After lunch-on-the-go at I Fratellini wine bar, make your way to Santa Croce to pay your respects to the earthly remains of Michelangelo and Galileo and to see Giotto's frescoes. You might also want to pop into the famous leather school. Exit the piazza by the north (right) end. Take a right on Via Verdi and an immediate left onto Via dei Lavatoi, which will spill out onto Via Isola delle Stinche right above Vivoli ice cream parlor, with the best gelato in the city.

Next, make your way west to the Uffizi to peruse some of the greatest art Italy has to offer until they kick you out just before 7pm. In the twilight, wander amid the statues of Piazza della Signoria and get an eyeful of the Palazzo Vecchio.

Stroll across the Ponte Vecchio before dinner and wander back through the medieval heart of Florence between Piazza della Signoria and the Duomo after a gut-busting Tuscan feast at Il Latini lubricated by plenty of good wine.

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