You’re standing in front of Florence’s most important church. There was another, older cathedral here until 1296, when construction of the Duomo began. It went on for almost 150 years.

The olde...

Turn left here, onto Via Roma. You'll probably be distracted by all the beautiful stores, but carry on until the road opens up onto a monumental square.

All the most important sites in Florence ...

The beautiful Piazza della Repubblica is just ahead. To get a full view of it, I recommend that you stand in front of the elegant Gilli Café, to your right. It has gold signage below its awnings.
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Turn left here, just after the Zara, and look out for a brown, box-shaped building.

The church just ahead, to your right, with niches and sculptures all along its perimeter, is Orsanmichele. Try to stay on the sidewalk to the left or right of its entrance, because electric minibus...

Turn right here, and get back to the main street. It's the same street you left to visit Orsanmichele.

Okay, turn left here and keep going until you reach a covered market area where leather and souvenirs are sold. The Mercato Nuovo was laid out 500 years ago, to sell silk, wool and soap. By then, t...

Take a look at the tiny market to your right. If you find yourself in this area between 10am and 5pm, you might be wondering why there are crowds here.

Look more carefully and you'll spot a gild...

From here, you have a full view of the square and palace that have epitomized Florentine political power for the last seven centuries. The word Signoria, which means lord, is used for both of them,...

Walk up the steps ahead of you, opposite the main gate, and have a look around. This portion of the building dates back to the 13th century, but the frescoes and the stucco decorations on the colum...

In this second courtyard, you are right under the big Council Hall that was added to the original building in the 1400s.

In 1540, a crucial event in the history of Florence happened right here....

Turn left now, but please be careful. If you love taking photographs, I know that you’ll be distracted by the street artists that are always hanging around here, but there are also lots of tour gr...

If you turn around now, it looks like the bell tower of the town hall is almost a part of this U-shaped building. This is exactly what Giorgio Vasari, architect of the Uffizi Gallery, wanted to ach...

We have reached the Ponte Vecchio, or Old Bridge. We're going to walk across it. If you want to stop for other pictures, the view is most beautiful on both sides from about halfway along the bridge...

Keep going straight when you come of the bridge, onto Via Guicciardini.

With its tall buildings, it's an austere looking street. The ones closest to the river are obviously more recent than the ...

Stop for a moment at the tiny square on your left.

The granite column you see was installed here in the late 14th century. It marks the site of the first Christian cemetery in Florence. But a go...

Pitti Square, just ahead, is one of the city’s largest squares and the heart of the Oltrarno, as locals call the left bank of the Arno.

Palazzo Pitti, which dominates one entire side of the squ...

We're turning right at this intersection, but if you look to the left for a moment, all the way to the top of this street, you'll see a little square with a column at its centre. If you look past i...

On your left, there is a stunning palace with an almost bichrome fresco. The house was built by Grand Duke Francesco de’ Medici for the beautiful Venetian girl Bianca Cappello, who was first his mi...

The Santa Trinita Bridge in front of you is the perfect location for pictures of the more famous Ponte Vecchio. Its name comes from the nearby church of the Santa Trinita, or Holy Trinity in Englis...

We are entering Florence’s most exclusive fashion street. I know, big brands have conquered every single city, worldwide, but I think it’s interesting to remember that some of them started their bu...

If you look to your left, you'll see the Church of Santa Trinita.

It's almost 800 years old, but there was an even older church here before it, first documented at the end of the 11th century. ...

The gigantic Palazzo Tornabuoni, to your right, occupies an entire block. It is now privately owned and has been divided into apartments. People can either become individual owners or members of th...

The Antinori Palace is coming up on your left.

There's an important difference between this palace and the others we've come across on our walk. You see, the Antinori family still owns it. They...