48 hours in… Florence
WHERE TO STAY
Book in for a night at JK Place Firenze, the five star hotel of choice for the likes of Bono and Kylie Minogue. Situated on the Piazza Santa Maria Novella, it also boasts a roof terrace bar with incredible views over the city.
WHERE TO EAT
One of the most talented young chefs in Europe, Marco Stabile, is cooking up a gourmet storm at the Michelin-starred Ora D’Aria just behind the world-famous Uffizi gallery. Ask for the chef’s table in the cellar for an intimate dinner, or book in for a reasonably-priced, but still impressive, tasting menu for lunch.
WHERE TO GET A GELATO
Don’t be tempted by one of the many tourist traps offering “real Italian gelato” that’s pumped with preservatives to form enormous mounds of ice cream. Look out for Perché No, a small family-run shop where the gelato is fresh and available in every flavour imaginable.
WHERE TO GO
The Uffizi Gallery is one of the oldest and most famous art galleries in the world, guarded around its entrance by sculptures of great artists and thinkers from Florence. Go an hour before closing time to beat the queues and the crowds so you can get near Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus.