City Hiking for Prime Duomo Views in Florence

Four Viewings and a Pizza

Florence is known for its famed museums, culture, and architecture, especially Brunelleschi’s Duomo. There are a variety of vantage points to view this Renaissance masterpiece that provide the opportunity for outdoor exploration and city hiking.  

We had immersed ourselves in art the prior day, so we were craving nature. We pre-purchased tickets online to the Boboli Gardens and splurged on an Uber from our hotel so as not to miss our timed entry. These gardens are in the Oltrarno area of Florence which translates as “the other side of the Arno”. Many native Florentines live in Oltrarno, so it tends to be a less touristy area than other parts of the city. We arrived mid-morning and noticed that there were few visitors at this time of day in September.

The Boboli Gardens are situated behind the Pitti Palace. Their layout was established by the Medici family and inspired many European Royal gardens. We started out along the grand pathways and admired the vast green expanses and statues.  Oltrarno is hilly and some of these paths are notably steep. 

The gardens are practically an outdoor museum with ancient and Renaissance statues and sculptures. Many of the oak trees are centuries old. We also noticed large fountains including the Fountain of Neptune, which Florentines nicknamed “the fork” because of his trident, and the Fountain of the Ocean. I found the outdoor amphitheater to be impressive along with the terraced area near the Kaffeehaus. The potted lime trees made me a little jealous since I’m attempting to grow one at home to lessor success. 

We walked for roughly an hour and a half on the hilly terrain and covered nearly two and a half miles as the day grew a little warmer. There are a variety of vantage points for good views of the Duomo. We paused to take in the cityscape views many times.

The Boboli Gardens lead into the Bardini Gardens which are included in the price of admission. There is arguably one of the best spots to view the Duomo at the top of Fort Belvedere which is at the beginning of the Bardini Gardens. 

The Bardini Gardens were originally a fruit orchard back in ancient times. They were restored in 2000 and reopened in 2006. It doesn’t take more than an hour to tour these gardens. If you hit it right in April or May, you might get lucky and see the wisteria tunnel in bloom. For September we saw some flowers, but alas no wisteria. 

The Bardini Gardens are well known for a Baroque flight of steps with another exceptional viewpoint over the city and six fountains. The hills continued in these gardens and the temperatures were climbing into the 80’s, so we stopped for a cool drink and a walking break at the Kaffeehaus. This is a great place for a break to soak in the panoramic vista.

After a little trial and error with my Italian language skills we figured out the way to Piazzale Michelangelo, approximately a twenty minute mostly uphill walk from the Bardini Gardens. 

Piazzale Michelangelo sits atop San Miniato hill and commands a prime lookout point on Florence’s largest hill. It is rather touristy and a steep walk but has some of the best views of the city including the Duomo. It is basically a large open square adorned with bronze reproductions of Michelangelo statues with Davide in the center place of honor. On a clear day you can see the Fiesole hills on the other side of Florence.

By the time we finished taking photos we realized it was lunch time and in addition to being hot and sweaty our stomachs were rumbling. We started walking towards Piazza Santo Spirito for some sustenance. I’ll admit by the time we arrived in this charming square we were rather hot and grumpy. Touring Bardini Gardens, Piazzale Michelangelo and continuing to Piazza Santo Spirito racked up a little over three more miles of walking. There are lots of restaurants and trattorias in this area and we scored a table at a crowded outdoor establishment and dug into some delicious pizza. 

Piazza Santo Spirito is known for its many markets and fairs, so we did a quick turn through the center to check out the various vendors, including one selling vintage Levi’s. We walked back across the Arno into the center of Florence for the last sightseeing stop of the day, the Torre di Arnolfo in the Palazzo Vecchio, roughly another hour of walking.

The Torre di Arnolfo was built in the 14^th century and is 95 meters high. It is one of the most imposing medieval towers remaining in Florence. If you are willing to climb the 416 steps, you will be rewarded with a breathtaking view of the city and the Duomo in particular. It was the cherry on top of the sundae for us even if we were huffing and puffing up the stairs.

We logged roughly eight miles of walking that day. Perhaps we pushed it a little more than we should have because we were exhausted by dinner time. We took a moment to watch the sunset over the far hills and then tucked into some delicious plates of pasta at Industria, a restaurant thankfully near our hotel. We enjoyed some of the best views that Florence has to offer and saw the majestic Duomo from many different locations. It was onto a different region of Italy the next day, so we toasted to Florence and Tuscany as we prepared to venture on.

TO VISIT THE GARDENS AND TOWER:

Pre-purchase Boboli and Bardini gardens tickets online

https://www.b-ticket.com/b-ticket/uffizi/default_eng.aspx.html

Pre-purchase Torre di Arnolfo tickets online and make sure you check the box for the Tower

http://ticketsmuseums.comune.fi.it/1_museo-di-palazzo-vecchio/?ref=portale

TO EAT:

Gustapizza: some of the best pizza in Florence near Piazza Santo Spirito in Oltrarno

Via Maggio, 46r, 50125 Firenze FL, Italy

Industria: great restaurant with outdoor seating near the Westin Excelsior

www.ristoranteindustria.it

TO STAY:

Westin Excelsior- a beautiful hotel right on the Arno River. They accept Marriott points and have a beautiful roof deck to watch the sunset. 

https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/flrwi-the-westin-excelsior-florence/overview/?scid=2234846f-48b6-48b7-860a-2841df543a06&gclid=CjwKCAjw8JKbBhBYEiwAs3sxNyzH1MsGQ749v7YtevMjzM7PLTEHnOOvlsmQ9yHnmk92hNTU9skwYRoCjlgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

TO PACK:

A PacSafe convertible purse/backpack with anti-theft features is worth every penny. Many museums don’t allow backpacks and you can easily switch it to purse mode. www.pacsafe.com