Florence was a lovely place to spend two days. I really enjoyed just wandering around between the huge, if austere (showing that Florence’s developmental roots in medieval Europe), palazzo and stumbling upon some particularly fine churches. The cathedral has a hugely impressive façade and of course Brunelleschi’s dome is one of the great architectural achievements of the renaissance. The interior was a little underwhelming though after the exterior. The dome was undergoing renovations whilst I visited, and it seems that the exterior had been cleaned on three sides, but the rear was a little grubby.

I also visited the Academia gallery, worth it for the Michelangelo sculptures including David and his unfinished works intended for the tomb of Pope Julius II, but the other exhibits were a little disappointing as I have no great interest in iconography and early religious art.

Palazzo Vecchio (pictured) was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be and worth a visit if you want to avoid the queues elsewhere. The Medici chapel was impressive and culturally important, the full price entrance fee was a little steep though. I would also recommend the hike up to Piazzale Michelangelo for the best views of the centre. I also really enjoyed the train station, which is a fine piece of fascist modernist architecture and sold excellent coffee, I know this wont appeal to everyone though!

I can understand how some people may be annoyed by the vast swathes of tourists, I visited in November and the queue for the Uffizi gallery was still about 1h 30m, but I just had fun wandering off down back lanes and finding cheaper ice cream shops.

Florence is a fine European city with a cultural wealth that only a few world cities can match, just be prepared to spend your time there with a lot of other people.

-If you are an EU citizen carry your passport with you as if you show it you can get reduced entry to all state owned attractions-