Florence Italy
2016

Walking from Ponte Vecchio to Piazzale Michelangelo and back

This inspiring walking tour will introduce you to one of Florence's most authentic neighborhoods, San Niccolò. San Niccolò is an old residential area located below the famous Piazzale Michelangelo. Here still hangs the atmosphere of an authentic Florentine district. The bars and terraces that are mainly visited by the working locals in the morning and at noon, are populated by young people in the evening. In this district you will also find the only city beach in Florence, the beach on the Arno, where you can sunbathe in the summer. Above San Niccolò is the famous square Piazzale Michelangelo, from where you have a fabulous view of the entire city. A little higher is one of the most beautiful churches in Florence,
the San Miniato al Monte. This walk takes 1.5 to 2 hours. If there is little time, you can also shorten the walk. There is also a bus that will take you to Piazzale Michelangelo and you can then just walk down.

This is an inspiring walk that shows you the most authentic and less touristy part of the city. The walk starts from Oltrarno, starting at the Ponte Vecchio. At the end of Ponte Vecchio, turn left onto Via de'Bardi. After about five hundred meters you will pass some beautiful or interesting Renaissance palaces. At no. 36 is the Palazzo Capponi alle Rovinate with its beautiful façade. At number 28, in Palazzo Canigiani, Sir John Pope-Hennessy (1913-94), English art historian and honorary citizen of the city of Florence, lived and died. At no. 22 is the small church of Santa Lucia dei Magnoli.