Climb up the 400+ steps of the Duomo for the most amazing view of Florence and Tuscany. And some pretty spectacular artwork up close. This favorite place was hard to choose, as there are so many masterpieces and inspiring things in Florence. At least at the top of the Duomo, you can see them all.

ps. The Dome is an architectural phenomenon.

For me Florence was one of those places where you had some really bad impressions of the place but some really great ones as well.

We (my family and I) were staying in the suburbs of Florence at a place called Il Paridisimo (don't know how its spelt) which is I think a 5 acre family owned since like the 15 century which has now been turned into self contained villas. The family were really nice and gave us some home made olive oil and tomato sauce all from their own crops on arrival, which made us feel so welcomed. However the next day we caught the train into the city and unfortunately the train stop which is just near the duomo isn't the nicest part of town. It smelt a bit like a urinal and there were lots of gypsy beggars about the place. Don't get me wrong I don't mean to be mean but its not the nicest introduction to a place. I did find though once we moved away from there towards the Ufitzi and the Peti Palace it was really nice and seemed less crowded (except for round the fake statue of David-you can't take a photo of the real one). There is a really nice reastaurant tucked away though that is cheap and I think better than anywhere else we ate in Italy. I'm now going to expose the hidden secert... it's called Mario's its web address is http://www.trattoriamario.com/ which has a map of where to find it.
So overall Florence isn't bad and can be really nice I think its just a case of avoiding those places if your not up for the packed, dirty crazyness of it or just having a heads up so yur not absolutely freak like I was. I think I would have enjoyed all of it had I know how it was around the duomo. Hope this helps. Happy travelling :)

Also known as the Duomo, it is the landmark building of Florence , just wait till you see it in your group photo dominating the skyline. The dome was designed by Brunelleschi is his masterpiece, the frescoes inside stained glass windows are breathtaking. There are 464 steps to the top of the Dome.

A simple glance at the facade of the cathedral is worth the trip: it is an ensemble of geometric design in green, white and pink marbles. Climb to the top of the cupola to have a view of Firenze

Very, very beautiful cathedral. Best seen very first thing in the morning to avoid the throngs, especially in high season. Also - avoid buying a coffee, lunch etc. from the cafes and restaurants in the immediate vicinity - unless you don't mind paying a bit extra - sometimes worth it for the people watching.