Florence

The sights of Florence can be covered within walking distance of each other.

Panoramic view from Piazzale Michelangelo

In the morning after our arrival, we went for a walking tour to Piazzale Michelangelo to catch a panoramic view of the city of Florence.  After that, we walked back to the city square where we would be on our own to explore Florence for the day.

Duomo, campanile, dome and cathedral

(left top) We saw the Duomo and 82m-high campanile (bell tower).  The campanile was designed by Giotto.

(left bottom)  The dome was the first of its kind since antiquity.  The entrance is outside the cathedral

(right) We were shown a spot by this kind guy, where we got a complete photo of this huge cathedral.

Gate of Paradise (Porta del Paradiso)

 (above pic) The baptistry is famous for its gilded bronze doors, particularly the Gate of Paradise, which has 10 panels depicting scenes from the Old Testament.  The enlarged pic on the top right showed, from left, women attending the birth of Jacob and Esau, Isaac sending Esau on the hunt and (on the right) Jacob receiving Isaac's blessing, with Rebecca standing nearby. On the roof, Rebecca is hearing God's warning about the eventual conflict between her two unborn sons.  Description is copied from: http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/italy/florence/ghibertiparadise/ghibertiparadise.html

Piazza della Signoria

(picture above) Piazza della Signoria resembles an outdoor sculpture gallery.  Some of the sculptures spotted are:

(left top) Donatello's Marzocco, the heraldic Florentine lion;

(left bottom) Copy of Michelangelo's David (we saw the original at Galleria dell'Accademia.  Part of the sculpture was under restoration and we could not get a good picture of the original).

(middle) Perseo (Perseus) brandishing the head of Medusa

(right) sculpture of the Rape of Polyxena

According to the "Lonely Planet - Italy", there are plenty of other interesting sights to see in Florence.  If you are lucky to stay in Florence for 4 to 5 days, it recommends you pick up "Lonely Planet - Florence", for more insightful details.

Tour Notice - Daylight Saving

When we reached Florence, we were informed to turn time of our watches an hour back.  We were lucky the next morning was not as hectic - morning breakfast followed by 8 am walk around Florence.  Do note we had a morning call on check-out day at 6:45 am, baggage to be outside the room by 7:15 am, breakfast started from 7:15 am and we had to board the bus by 8:15 am to our next destination.

UNESCO - The Historic Centre of Florence is in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
See: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/174