Florence

Tips on weekend trips to Florence:

1. Take the Eurostar Saturday morning because it only takes an hour and a half to get there, giving you a full day and saving the cost of a night in a hostel.

2. Get the Florence card if you really think you’ll spend more than 50 euro on museums. We didn’t, but it was a good motivator to try and see as many museums as we could. Some were worth it, and some were not. The National Archeological museum was definitely a hidden gem that housed tons of Egyptian artifacts.

3. Carefully read the museum schedules, they are confusing and hard to coordinate. I read the wrong schedule, and since museum doors close early; I never got to go into the Uffizi.

4. Sketch The David! By the time you’re done you’ll have the statue memorized, which is priceless.

5. Just like St. Peter’s, go up in the dome early, and don’t pay to go into the Duomo. You go into the Duomo to get into the dome, so it is two for one… only with an incredible view!

6. It’s a tourist town, and they milk you for it. But it has an extremely dense collection of interesting history that I’m glad I was able to experience.