Destination: Florence
Why Go Now Text Size A A A
Florence, famously dubbed the “city of stone” by writer Mary McCarthy, regards itself as a living museum. And considering it has counted among its residents the likes of Michelangelo, Raphael, Dante, Donatello, Brunelleschi and the entire Medici clan, it certainly has the cultural cachet—and monumental works of art—to substantiate the claim. Change is slow to come by in the small Tuscan capital, as seen in the anticipated—and some say long-overdue—expansion of the Uffizi Gallery, which began early in 2007 some ten years after the project was first announced (a new modern exit area designed by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki remains a major point of contention, recalling the controversy caused by I. M. Pei’s glass pyramid addition to Paris’s Louvre in 1989). But travelers hardly come here expecting the cutting edge. In many ways, visitors—particularly art lovers, who could spend a lifetime exploring treasure troves of architecture, paintings, religious artifacts, sculpture, furniture and objets—still sense something in Florence that Johann Wolfgang von Goethe noted more than two centuries ago: “In the city we see the proof of the prosperity of the generations that built it,” he wrote after a trip in 1786. “The conviction is at once forced upon us that they must have enjoyed a long succession of wise rulers.”
Search By Keyword
Popular Destinations
Indagare News Flash
- News: Indagare named Best Travel Website by Vanity Fair. Read an interview with our founder on Vivre.
- Editor’s Picks: An interview with Eric Raisina on Cambodia and style inspiration. Join an art lover’s trip to Art Basel Miami with private dinners, visits to collectors and hotel rooms already booked. New gorgeous beach front houses in Punta del Este for rent. Last-minute holiday options for a short getaway or a big adventure. Plus: Our insider report on Turks and Caicos and Santiago, with advice on what to do and where to stay, eat and shop.
- Member Advice: Have you been to Madagascar? A member wants advice on whether to go. Offer tips on what’s new and fun in Montreal.
- Coming soon: Insider reports on Bangkok, Boston, Anguilla and Phuket.
- What’s your travel IQ? Take the quiz USA Today called “a killer” and establish your Indagare quotient.
- Postcards: Family trip to Captiva, a hotel for bibliophiles in New York, and a special discovery in Sicily. Submit a postcard.
- Indagare Insiders: Top picks in Delhi from Fiona Caulfield; Colin Cowie’s tips on packing, flying and tipping; the design duo behind Kirna Zabete on shopping the world. Club 55’s Patrice de Colmont on St. Tropez, Eva Lorenzotti on Cairo and Loulou de la Falaise on Paris.
- Reviews: In-depth guides to Buenos Aires, Delhi and Deer Valley.
- Indagare Plus: Remember that hotels marked by an Indagare Plus symbol offer preferential rates and benefits to members.
- Sample Indagare: By signing up for bi-weekly email blasts on new hot spots and insider tips. Join our mailing list.
- New feature: Members share your profiles, comments, favorite articles and IQs. Just click on the Profile tab on the upper right of your screen and look for the Edit My Profile blue tab.
- Indagare means to discover, explore, seek, scout in Latin.