Two days in Florence
Summary
As cradle of the Renaissance, Florence quite rightly is seen as one of the “must visit” sites in all of Europe. The Duomo, Michelangelo’s David and the Ponte Vecchio are world-class sites that are enjoyable for both art and non-art lovers, and the setting looking out across the terracotta roofs and to the distant Tuscan mountains really are beautiful. But, I would say that a big part of Florence’s enjoyment is dependent on your knowledge of Renaissance art and, if you don’t have that, it can get a tad tiring. If, like me, you are in that less cultured group, I would suggest either learning more about it before the visit (I would recommend reading the fascinating biography of Leonardo da Vinci for a bit of a starter that certainly helped me with a bit of context), or limit your visit to 2 days
highlights
#1 The magnificent Florence Domo with its stunning façade and even more impressive interior
#2 Michelangelo's David Statue (or at least the best replica of it!) in Palazzo Vecchio
#3 The wonderful views from the Campanile Tower that look all across the city and to the surrounding Tuscan hills
#4 Strolling across the Ponte Vecchio, one of the world's most famous bridges
Experiences nearby
The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences
Other Cultural Centres around the World
Score Detail
Background - how many times have you asked someone what a travel experience was like and the response was "amazing" or "awesome"? That response is nice to know, but it makes it hard to differentiate that experience compared to others. That is exactly what these scores are trying to do - differentiate the experience by giving a score out of 10 based on 6 categories and then giving an overall experience score
This overall experience score is calculated by: take the highest of the "Culture" or "Nature" score (1-10) + "Fun factor" (1-10) + "Avoiding the crowds" (1-10) + highest of the "Unique" or "World Famous score" (1-10). Then convert into a score out of 100
Extra detail - the logic being that I find all of the 6 individual scores important, but I don't want to mark an experience down just because it doesn't cover both "Culture" and "Nature", or because it isn't both "World Famous" and "Unique". Take the examples of Safari in The Serengeti and walking through Rome - they both appeal at opposite ends of the nature / culture spectrum, and you can have a fantastic time without needing to appeal to both sides. So, their overall scores aren't penalized for their lack of one or the other, and I've done the same for "World Famous" vs "Unique". But . . . I do think that the "Fun factor" of an experience is important, irrelevant of other factors, and so is "Avoiding the Crowds" (or where there are crowds that add to the experience). So, both of these scores are standalone