Greater Florence now spreads several
kilometres down the Arno Valley and
onto the hills north and south of
the city, but the major sights are
contained in an area that can be
crossed on foot in under thirty
minutes.
A short walk southeast from the
train station brings you to Piazza
del Duomo , site of the Duomo
itself and the neighbouring Baptistry
. The compact district from here
south to the river is the inner
core, the area into which most of
the tourists are packed, and which
boasts the best-preserved medieval
parts of Florence and the majority
of its fashionable streets. Just
south of the duomo is Florence's
outstanding sculpture gallery, the Bargello
. The large Piazza della Signoria
, some 300m south of the duomo, is
overlooked by the Palazzo Vecchio
and the famous picture gallery of
the Uffizi .
West of the duomo, and backing
onto the train station, is the
unmissable church of Santa Maria
Novella . Immediately north of
the duomo is the grand church of San
Lorenzo , at the heart of a
throng of market stalls around the
covered Mercato Centrale .
Clustered together just northeast of
San Lorenzo are the monastery of San
Marco , with its paintings by
Fra' Angelico; the Accademia
, home of Michelangelo's David
; and Piazza Santissima
Annunziata , Florence's most
attractive square. The main
attraction in the eastern quarters
of the city centre is the vast
Franciscan church of Santa Croce
.
South of the river - preferably
via the medieval Ponte Vecchio
, which is still picturesquely lined
with shops perched over the water -
lies the Oltrarno district,
where the array of museums within
the Palazzo Pitti exerts the
strongest pull, and the church of Santo
Spirito stands at the focus of a
lively student quarter. Overlooking
the city from the south is the
lavish hilltop church of San
Miniato al Monte .
