Florence Day Trip — Fashionably Kate

While my mom was visiting me in Rome, we decided to take a day trip to Florence. We both loved it. Florence is a beautiful city with a much different feel than busy Rome, and it was so easy to do a day trip there by train.

Our Itinerary:

Train - We took a high speed train that departed Rome at 8:20am. The train was a very pleasant experience and we were in Florence by 10am.

Duomo - Once we arrived, we walked to the Duomo, which is less than a 10 minute walk from the train station. We were able to walk everywhere as the major things in Florence are all quite close together, which makes it easy to navigate and fit a lot of different things into the day. We admired the Duomo from the outside, but decided to pass on joining the massive lines to go inside. We explored a bit for the next hour and a half, walking through Piazza della Repubblica, along by the river, and popping into some of the cute boutiques (there is a lot of shopping there, ranging from €10 leather goods up to all the high end stores).

Galleria dell’Accademia - Next we went to the Galleria dell’Accademia, which we had reserved tickets for online in advance (which I would recommend doing to skip more crazy lines). This is the museum that Michelangelo’s David is in, and this is definitely the main attraction. The museum is pretty small, and the rest of the art is beautiful as well, but we walked through it quickly enough. However, it’s definitely worth it for David alone; it’s pretty incredible to see in person.

Panini Toscani - After that, we walked back towards the Duomo to get lunch at Panini Toscani, which had come highly recommended. It did not disappoint - it’s this adorable little panini shop where they give you samples of 4 different cheeses and 3 different meats right when you walk in the door. Then you choose which one of each that you want in your panini, along with the bread, and some additional toppings like tomato, peppers, and arugula. Our sandwiches were so good. We also each got a glass of wine and were able to sit out at a table outside the shop, which is right in front of the Duomo, so it had a really nice atmosphere.

Gucci Garden - Our next stop was the Gucci Garden museum in Piazza della Signoria. It’s fun and worth a quick visit for those who like fashion and its history like myself. There’s not a ton to see so it only took us about 40 minutes. It’s also free for students. There is a very impressive gift shop with custom Gucci items (that are of course super expensive). I wanted some momento so I bought the cheapest thing in the store, a $10 Gucci postcard!

Santa Croce - Next we came across Piazza Santa Croce, a cute square with the beautiful church Basilica di Santa Croce. There was no line for this church and we were able to get tickets to go in right away. It was stunningly beautiful and has lots of impressive statues and memorials, so I think it’s definitely worth a visit inside (some of my friends who had been to Florence before actually told me that they thought the inside of this church was a lot more impressive than the inside of the Duomo).

Leather Market - As we headed in the direction of Trattoria ZaZa, the restaurant we were going to for dinner, we came across the Leather Market. I had heard of it, but wasn’t sure exactly where it was, but it ended up being right in front of ZaZa. There are countless stalls, all pretty much selling the same authentic Italian leather bags, wallets, and other goods. It’s up to you to find where you can get the best price, as you’re able to bargain, especially if you’re buying multiple items. My mom and I both got crossbody purses for a total of €35 together, so a pretty good deal!

Dinner at Trattoria ZaZa - We had made a dinner reservation for 6pm here, another restaurant that came highly recommended. It was pretty quiet when we first got there, but started fill up as we ate. The food was so yummy! They are famous for their truffles, so I had shrimp pasta with truffles. My mom had lamb to switch it up from all the pasta, and both of our dishes were really good. Originally we wanted to sit outside on the patio, but they seated us inside. However it’s a very cool and unique atmosphere inside so I think that was actually the way to go.

Gelato at Don Nino - Of course the day would not be complete without gelato! Our last stop was Don Nino, which is one of my favorite gelato places from Rome. They also have a location right near the Duomo, so we went there on the walk back to the train station.

Then we took our train back to Rome around 8pm. We would have loved to stay longer, but we had a super successful day!