Florence

Florence is a city of ochre stone on the Arno, small enough to cross on foot in a morning. The dome of Florence Cathedral went up in the fifteenth century without a central scaffold; it can be seen from everywhere, and a narrow stair climbs between its two shells. On the Ponte Vecchio, goldsmiths' shops have hung over the water since the Middle Ages. The Renaissance was born here and never left: Botticelli's Venus at the Uffizi Galleries, Michelangelo's David at the Accademia Gallery, the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo in the Basilica of Santa Croce. Across the river, the avenues and statues of the Boboli Gardens rise towards the hill, and the Oltrarno workshops still work leather and gold leaf by hand. Piazzale Michelangelo holds the postcard view, dome, bell tower and hills inside a single frame. Bistecca alla fiorentina comes thick and rare, with a glass of Chianti.