The conveniently located, if a little noisy, Atlantic Palace Hotel – Florence

We’re on our way home from a short city break to Florence – on Jane’s ‘bucket list’ and a place she’s wanted to visit for ages. We flew EasyJet from Luton to Pisa, caught the train to Florence and stayed at the Atlantic Palace on Via Nazionale – equidistant between the train station on the Duomo. All very easy and convenient. We visited a few of the many cultural attractions including: the Cathedral, Dome, Baptistry and Campanile; the Uffizi; Museo Horne; Palazzo Pitti; Ponte Vecchio; Piazza Della Signoria; Museo dell’ Opera del Duomo and did a couple of City walks. On our return we stopped-off and did the sites in Pisa. Looking forward to a rest now!

A few general views from the historic centre of Florence – beginning with the utterly amazing Duomo

Statue of Brunelleschi, key figure in the design & construction of the Duomo – a founding father of the Renaissance

The Baptistry

and the Campanile – we climbed both the tower and the dome!

Jane ‘leaning on a lamp-post’ and The Dome, at night

The interior of the Museo dell’ Opera del Duomo  – an un-missable stop on any cultural itinerary

Containing this incredibly old and amazing sculpture

and the Penitent Magdalene by Donatello, carved in wood, mid 15th c

Interior of the Horne Museum – my personal favourite

Ponte Vecchio bridge at night

View from inside the Royal Apartments, Palazzo Pitti – during a not infrequent down-pour

One of the paper-making shops

Exterior of the Bargello Museum – the old gaol and one of the oldest buildings in Florence

Finally, in this introduction, a bit of street art.. probably be in a museum in two hundred years time!