City Walk Guide | Florence: A Dreamy Art Summer Camp in June

August 30, 2026 25 min read City Walk Guide | Florence: A Dreamy Art Summer Camp in June Cheng Tianchong The best people in life are free. Personal homepage (continuously optimizing): https://tianchongcheng.com 25 min read My reason for being drawn to Florence is absolutely rare: because a significant part of SEVENTEEN's Nana Tour was filmed in and around Florence. Ever since I watched this variety show last summer, I haven't been able to get this place out of my head, wondering what kind of magic summer in Italy possesses to make everything look so beautiful and stylish on camera. Having finally waited until this summer, I managed to piece together some vacation time to head to Italy and find out for myself. Thus, a summer scroll of Florence unfolded before my eyes.

Pre-trip Advice Regarding itinerary planning: There is so much to see in Florence that you might not be able to spend enough time at every attraction. Therefore, route planning is particularly important, and you must make choices—you can't gain something without giving something up. Regrets are inevitable, so it's better to leave an opening to come back next time. You can first select two or three must-visit spots based on the artworks you want to see, and adjust the rest flexibly according to your time and energy. At the same time, I recommend scheduling visits to major art attractions on different days; otherwise, seeing too many artworks at once might be too much to 'digest.' Finally, be sure to book major attractions in advance to avoid excessively long on-site queues or being denied entry without a reservation. This city, which relies entirely on walking, truly tested my legs.

Regarding anti-theft: When traveling in Europe, taking anti-theft measures is essential, and 'high-risk areas' like Italy, France, the UK, and Spain require extra vigilance. Before departing, a certain social media app pushed numerous related posts to me, making me constantly unsure if my anti-theft gear was sufficient. Only when I actually stood on the streets of Rome and Florence did I realize it wasn't nearly as terrifying as self-media portrayed.

From my personal experience, I believe doing the following will prevent major issues: First, maintain anti-theft awareness. Don't just drop your bag at your feet to take photos; keep your backpack within your line of sight at all times. Second, watch your bags on public transport; simply shielding them with your arm is enough.

Third, don't act as if 'thieves are everywhere.' You need to stay relaxed; the more nervous you are, the more likely you are to be targeted by pickpockets. Maintain psychological composure.

As long as you have anti-theft awareness, normal travel shouldn't be a big problem.

Day 0.5: Arno River & Ponte Vecchio — Accademia Gallery I arrived in Florence right around noon. After a brief rest, I thought I'd arrange an 'entry-level itinerary' for myself. Half a day isn't much time, making it suitable for getting a simple overview of the city before visiting a relatively low-pressure art venue. With this in mind, I chose a combination of the Arno River and the Accademia Gallery.

Arno River When mentioning Florence, the Arno River is an unavoidable presence. In its early days, the Arno provided water for Florence's residents. Later, during the embryonic stage of capitalist development, it also supplied crucial industrial water for Florence's leather, wool, and other handicraft industries. It's safe to say that Florence's prosperity is inextricably linked to the Arno River. Today, the Arno River serves more as an excellent starting point to observe the cityscape of Florence. Standing on the bridge in the middle of the river, you see buildings lining both banks, tourists walking by, and the Ponte Vecchio in the distance blending with the mountains. When I saw this scene for the first time, for a brief moment I felt transported back to when Florence was just beginning to prosper. That thriving cityscape remains vibrantly alive on both banks of the Arno today. In the urban construction language of many domestic cities, 'waterfronts' are occupied by numerous skyscrapers, as if only this can highlight a city's prosperity. But Florence is different. Even without tall buildings along the Arno's banks, it cannot hide the vibrant vitality of this small city. Thanks to the characteristics of the Mediterranean climate, summer weather in Italy is always stunningly good. So, past noon along the Arno River, the flourishing cityscape is set against a backdrop of blue skies and white clouds. Before coming, I always heard people say summer in Italy is as beautiful as an oil painting. But only when you truly see with your own eyes the azure sky, jade-green river, and yellow buildings do you believe others weren't exaggerating. Summer in Italy truly has every frame shining as brightly and richly as an oil painting.

Florence Accademia Gallery The Accademia Gallery is not large. Even entering at 5 PM like I did, there is ample time to tour the core collection, making it very suitable as an art stop in a half-day itinerary. The Florence Accademia Gallery was originally built to provide art academy students with copies to replicate. In 1873, the gallery welcomed the most significant event since its founding—the relocation of Michelangelo's masterpiece, *David*. The David statue was originally placed in Florence's Piazza della Signoria and was later moved to the Accademia Gallery to protect it from prolonged exposure to wind and sun. Later, the gallery added many other sculptures and paintings from the Renaissance, gradually forming its current collection scale. The first hall upon entering displays many Renaissance paintings, including works by masters like Botticelli. Even for someone like me who doesn't deeply understand art, after walking around, one can quickly recall the style of Renaissance works. This hall is not large, and the artworks are placed relatively densely. Walking inside gives you a feeling of being truly surrounded by art, something many domestic art galleries fail to achieve. After soaking in this atmosphere, the true shock slowly begins.

Unfinished Slaves and David Everyone who comes to the Accademia Gallery is there to catch a glimpse of the world's most perfect man. The curator clearly understands this, placing the David statue in the most central core of the entire exhibition area. After leaving the first hall, you first enter one end of a corridor, and at the other end stands David. In addition to paintings, the sides of this corridor house four of Michelangelo's unfinished sculptures. These four statues depict four different 'slaves,' but because they are not final products, they look like people embedded in stone, frantically struggling—which, in a way, aptly hits the theme of 'slaves.'

After passing these four unfinished sculptures, David appears in full before your eyes. Because I went when the gallery's reservation and crowd control were relatively strict, there wasn't a situation where people were packed so tightly in front of David that you couldn't move. Everyone could find a good angle to appreciate this sculpture up close (here I criticize the terrible situation at the Palace Museum's centennial exhibition last year when *Along the River During the Qingming Festival* was first displayed).

Everyone will surely admire the front of the sculpture for a long time, so I specifically remind you not to forget to pay attention to its sides and back. The muscle lines on David's sides and back are more pronounced, and the bones and joints are more prominent. Seeing these two sides will make you even more amazed by Michelangelo's profound understanding and exquisite translation of human anatomy.

The only regret is that there isn't a higher vantage point in the exhibition hall to closely observe David's head; you can only look up from below on all sides.

Plaster Cast Hall The Accademia Gallery also has a hall I consider a must-see: the Plaster Cast Hall. Most of the models displayed here are works by Lorenzo Bartolini and his students. There is a wide variety and a large number of them; you can find busts, full-body statues, and heads of celebrities and intellectuals. Among these works are finished pieces and semi-finished products. Many still bear obvious production marks. The entire viewing process feels like watching marble gradually take shape under a sculptor's hands. Although I'm not an art student, I was still shocked by the sculptors' hands after seeing this. I believe everyone who finishes touring the Plaster Cast Hall will share this feeling.

Day 1: Tuscan Hot Air Balloon — Citywalk — Basilica of Santa Croce Tuscan Hot Air Balloon Florence's hot air balloons aren't particularly famous, especially compared to Turkey. But as someone with acrophobia who had never tried a hot air balloon, and since riding one allows you to enjoy the pastoral scenery around Florence, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and give it a try. There are quite a few hot air balloon experiences across the Tuscany region, operated by different companies, naturally with different start/end points and sightseeing ranges. The one I booked was Tuscany Ballooning, operated by a small family company. It has two features: first, it only flies in the early morning when wind conditions are most stable and you can see the sunrise; second, the flight range covers Tuscany's most classic vineyards and complete pastoral landscapes. Additionally, it offers a shuttle service as long as you stay within the Florence city area (though, of course, the price is also 'considerable').

The hot air balloon flight time is generally around 5 AM, requiring departure from Florence by 4 AM. Upon arrival, the balloon preparation was already half done, and we could still watch half of the inflation process. I had originally chosen the 16-person large balloon, which was the cheapest, but due to on-site personnel changes, I was given a free upgrade to a small balloon with only 4 people, though the price remained the same—quite a bargain.

The flight lasts about 1 hour; including takeoff, landing, breakfast, and transfers, the whole process takes about 2.5 hours. After takeoff, we could slowly enjoy the pastoral scenery of the Florence outskirts.

High altitude is a very unique perspective. Different crops look like mere plots of land on flat ground, but from high up, they look like different colors colliding and blending on a palette, exactly matching my imagined pastoral style. The entire flight isn't simply a process of ascending and then descending; the pilot adjusts the altitude based on location to facilitate passengers' observation of vineyards, farmlands, villages, and hill details.

Since the flight coincided with sunrise, we clearly saw the colors of the pastures and farms change. As the sun gradually rose, the fields shifted from their original green to a yellow-green hue dyed by sunlight. If you're lucky, you might even see some deep reds (like how yellow hair fades to a slightly reddish tone at the end of bleaching).

During the flight, the altitude fluctuated between dozens of meters and around 800 meters, giving tourists ample time to enjoy the wonderful pastoral scenery from different perspectives. Additionally, the specific altitude is subject to the day's weather conditions. The weather was great on the day of my flight, so we even flew close to 1,000 meters at the highest point, causing this acrophobic patient to stand like a zombie, completely afraid to move, trembling while taking photos with my phone.

Fortunately, the scenery was so beautiful that as long as I didn't look down, I could convince myself to finish the flight. It's worth reminding that prices for several hot air balloon projects in Florence are not low. Taking the one I chose as an example, the flight price (including breakfast after landing) was around 2,000 RMB, and the round-trip shuttle service from Florence was about 1,000 RMB.

Compared to hot air balloon projects in Turkey, it definitely lacks cost-effectiveness. Please choose carefully based on your preferences and budget.

Art of the Streets After experiencing the hot air balloon early in the morning and returning to the hotel to rest, it was already afternoon when I went out again. As a Cityboy, I naturally wouldn't miss the opportunity for a Citywalk in every city, so I decided to take a random stroll through the streets of the main urban area before heading to the Basilica of Santa Croce. Florence's main urban area isn't large, and major attractions and commercial districts are relatively concentrated and reachable on foot, so daily Citywalks in various corners of the city became routine. The city's streets are narrow, flanked mostly by yellow houses, making it easy to capture great photos in the afternoon light. I love walking along the road, observing all kinds of people on the street and at shop entrances. Europeans mostly seem quite relaxed, giving me a feeling of finally slowing down. At the same time, as long as you observe carefully, you'll find that Florence's artistic atmosphere penetrates every corner of the city. Bulletin boards on the streets, blackboards at shop doors, and flower bouquets everywhere all declare to people that art has seeped into the city's blood. While strolling through Florence's streets, I suddenly understood the meaning of the words spoken by my idol: 'As long as I can travel with a camera, I am very happy.'

Basilica of Santa Croce After wandering through the city's small shops, it was time for today's main event—the Basilica of Santa Croce. In its early days, the Basilica of Santa Croce served as a large public religious space for city residents. Today, it resembles an Italian Pantheon, famous for burying many renowned figures. A statue of Dante stands in the square outside the basilica. Holding the *Divine Comedy* and wearing a laurel wreath, Dante looks out at the public from the square. Meeting his gaze evokes a faint sense of dread. Dante was born in Florence, but due to exile, he was not buried there after his death. To express their reverence for this great writer, the people of Florence placed his statue and a cenotaph in the Basilica of Santa Croce. Before entering the basilica, please do not miss this sculpture, because all the stories begin here.

Inside the Basilica of Santa Croce, it is now a fusion of a church and a celebrity mausoleum. The entrance is located at a side door near the main altar. After entering, you can circle around from one side to visit the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, and Rossini.

I happened to go on a day with relatively few people, and the church was very quiet. Standing before the graves of these famous figures naturally induces a solemn feeling. Most people have probably heard that Machiavelli's epitaph reads 'Tanto nomini nullum par elogium' (No eulogy can be equal to such a name).

Actually seeing this line of text (even if you can't understand it, it's easy to recognize that specific phrase) still delivers a profound psychological shock. Besides the tombstones of these great men, there is another must-see item in the church: Giotto's frescoes. Many artists believe that it was Giotto who led painters to focus more on depicting authentic human bodies and emotions, so his frescoes can be seen as a kind of prelude to the Renaissance.

Even in Italy, places that combine architecture, art, and historical figures like this are rare. So, when visiting Florence, absolutely do not miss the Basilica of Santa Croce.

Day 2: Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore — Citywalk — Piazzale Michelangelo Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore Before departing, unsure whether I'd have excess energy to climb the dome after the hot air balloon ride, I decided to schedule the visit to the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore for another day. Construction of the cathedral began at the end of the 13th century, with multiple designers participating in its design and construction over time.

Near the cathedral, there is a spot easily overlooked by many tourists—the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. Tickets to this museum are often included in the cathedral's combo ticket. Based on my personal experience, this can serve as a primer before visiting the cathedral.

First, it houses many drawings and models of the cathedral's dome, helping tourists understand the difficulty of its construction and the specific building process. Second, it displays many artifacts from the original church, including ruined wall facades and original reliefs from the bell tower. After viewing these first, you will naturally have a deeper understanding of the cathedral's history, making your visit much more manageable.

Finally, and most importantly, the museum itself houses many highly important artworks. The most worthwhile to see are Michelangelo's *Florentine Pietà* and Donatello's *Mary Magdalene*. The *Pietà* is a very important work from Michelangelo's later years, showing a distinct difference in sculptural style from his youth, while *Mary Magdalene* is a wooden sculpture, completely different from the marble sculptures commonly seen in Florence, offering a greater sense of fragmentation and realism.

If time permits, please be sure to visit here before entering the cathedral.

I recommend that after entering the cathedral, you first visit the crypt. The crypt is actually the ruins of an even older church that existed before the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore was built. Inside, you can see many column bases and walls of the old church, as well as the tomb of Brunelleschi, who made an outstanding contribution to the dome.

At the same time, the current crypt has added many materials introducing the cathedral's history, which I think is very suitable as a starting point for getting to know this church. Even if you didn't buy a ticket for the dome, you can still feel the shock of the dome's frescoes from the ground. The dome is about 100 meters high.

Looking up from the ground, the frescoes give a strong sense of 'compression,' making you feel completely enveloped and surrounded by the paintings. Of course, I think the dome ticket is very much worth buying. The 463 steps to the top are narrow, and the continuous climb is tiring, but I could clearly see myself walking through the passage between the double-shell dome, gaining a more intuitive feel for the brilliance of this dome design.

Upon reaching the top, *The Last Judgment* appears above you. The official visitor route dictates circling the dome once before finding the entrance to the rooftop terrace, giving tourists relatively ample time to observe the details of the dome's frescoes. During the circling process, you can clearly observe the angels, hellish figures, and the massive Christ figure in the center of the painting.

Even someone like me who doesn't understand art will be conquered by these lifelike details. Although this *Last Judgment* is generally considered inferior in artistic value to the one Michelangelo completed in the Sistine Chapel, because people can observe the work from such a close distance and an upward angle, its visual impact remains incredibly stunning and incomparable.

After circling the dome to admire the frescoes, you can re-enter the passage and step out onto the rooftop terrace outside the dome to overlook Florence. Summer in Florence does not disappoint anyone who spends money and exerts effort to climb to the top, because the beautiful scenery seen from outside the dome cannot be replicated by any painting or photograph. If I were to use a painting as a metaphor for this scene, the blue sky remains the canvas's base color, white clouds look like white paint casually splashed by a painter, and the red roofs and yellow walls form the main subject of the picture.

Walking around the terrace, you can see Florence from every angle. When you look down at a city that began...