Airline Tickets to Florence

Florence is the capital of picturesque and very popular Italian province Tuscany, which is located at the bank of the Arno River. This city gave the birth to the Renaissance, as the cultural event and to such epoch-making people as Michelangelo and Machiavelli. Florence is full of monuments of art, culture and history. Most of the Florence palaces, churches, museums and historical buildings were built in the Renaissance style. This wonderful Italian city for centuries, actually, was under the rule of the Medici. Thanks to them many of the Florence art objects were created. This family was very much interested in fine arts, architecture, sculpture and literature. At those times Florence had the status of the most powerful city-country.

Nowadays Florence has the population of 356 000 people. Florence is a unique city, in some way it can be called an open-air museum. But if you carve for nightlife, it's not the very place you need. Florence is the city for admiring the atmosphere of the past and the absolutely special culture.

The Ponte Vecchio. The old bridge over the Arno River, named the Ponte Vecchio – one of the basic Florentine symbols, the image of which can be found almost at every photo with the sights of Florence. This bridge is one of the main tourist attractions. The Ponte Vecchio is the most ancient bridge, surrounded by the medieval constructions. The only place, from where you can't see it, is this very bridge. At those times there was so little space, that they had to build houses on bridges, and the Ponte Vecchio serves as a good example. Nowadays there you can buy golden, silver, nephritic wares and also look at the panoramic view on the Arno River. In the center of the Ponte Vecchio you'll see the monument of Cellini, the famous sculptor and jeweler.

Uffizi. One of the most famous museums in Florence is the National Museum of Art, Sculpture and Graphics Uffizi, located on the top floor of the Palazzo degli Uffizi of the 16th century. Primordially the building served as offices for The Medici Family, but then they decided to keep art works there, so that everybody could have a look at them. The collection contains works from the late period of the Middle Age and early Renaissance to the Baroque.

In the central hall Greece and Roman sculptures are exhibited, the pearl of the museum are surely such world-known paintings as 'The Battle of San Romano' by Paolo Uccello, 'Virgin with two angels' by Philip Lippi, by 'The Birth of Venus' by Botticelli, 'Virgin with a goldfinch' by Raffaello, 'Bacchus' by Caravaggio and 'The self-portrait in old age' by Rembrandt. And it's only a small part of the collection: it also contains paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Titian and Rubens. The exposition is so large that it's almost impossible go through at once, so it's quite reasonable to make some pauses and have a cup of tea in the cafes, located nearby. The Uffizi Museum is very popular with tourists, so quite often you can see very long queues of those, who want to watch at these masterpieces. In summer one can queue for even 5 hours, so it'll be a good idea to reserve the tickets.

Read further about Florence in our City Guide ...

Florence Airport, Italy, Via del Termine 11, I-50127 Florence, ITALY
Tel: +39 055 306 1300
Fax: +39 055 306 1355
Email: vespucci@safnet.it