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My Italy trip summary continues with the amazing city of Florence, which has it all. A walkable city with beautiful art galleries and shopping everywhere. While it’s filled with tour groups and buses, it still manages to keep its Tuscan charm.

The base

I stayed at the Hotel Tornabuoni Beacci (Via Tornabuoni, 3). The rooms were average and a little old feeling, but the location was excellent, located in the centre of the shopping district and within walking distance to everything.

To do

• While the Galleria dell’Accademia and Uffizi are must-dos, make time for the awesome Bargello Museum (Via del Proconsolo 4), which featurs beautiful sculptures including a Michelangelo room with the works of the artist and his students.
• Soak up Italian fashion at the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum (Via dei Tornabuoni 2) and a look at lots of amazing shoes.
• The San Lorenzo Food Market is a huge, indoor foodie haven full of any Italian specialty you can think of.
• Embrace Florence and walk Ponte Vecchio, the pedestrian bridge with beautiful views, live entertainment, jewellry shops, and lots of tourists.

The food

Chef Fabio Picchi has three fabulous dining options in Florence – definitely go to one of them:

• First option: fine dining Ristorante Cibreo, featuring a different menu nightly
• Second option: Cibreo cafe, a cozy bar offering drinks and coffee plus the Cibreo Restaurant menu
• Third option: Cibreo Trattoria. At a more affordable price point, this bustling trattoria features a more casual take on the Cibreo experience

I ended up a the Cibreo Cafe and we had a lovely meal with excellent service. I ordered the polenta for my starter but mentioned the fish minestrone looked good, so our waiter brought a sample of the minestrone as well! We decided against having dessert, but they gave us a slice of lovely cheesecake with our bill. And then after paying, our waiter poured us two glasses of lovely dessert wine.