London, Paris, Florence - Places to go??

Dh and I are going to Europe for 10 days. He's going for work and I'm tagging along. Any must see places or restaurants? TIA!

Re: London, Paris, Florence - Places to go??

OMG I love Paris....and Venice...and Dublin, Stockholm, Copenhaguen, Barcelona, Madrid, Vienna, Munich, Zurich...never been to Florence or London except in the airports. So many places to chose from! What time of year??

Re: London, Paris, Florence - Places to go??

Florence: Uffizi Gallery, Palazzo Vecchio
Just walk around in the shops

Re: London, Paris, Florence - Places to go??

Re: London, Paris, Florence - Places to go??

yes most likely it will be cold.

Re: London, Paris, Florence - Places to go??

I have been to Italy in Jan and it was similar to NY - 30's, 40's sometimes 50's

I have been to Florence three times and studied there for 6 weeks (I was an art history major).

Here is a list of what I would suggest - Now I have no idea how long you will be there so after the list i will hit the top must sees.

Museums:

Uffizi - amazing museum with many famous paintings.

Bargello - has sculptures by many famous renaissance sculptures - donatello, michelangelo etc.

Pitti Palace - Palazzo pitti - many famous paintings - raphael etc, PLUS if you go into the gardens there are some gorgeous views of florence.

The Accademie Gallery - the original sculptures of the david etc are here

Churches:

Duomo – Santa Maria del Fiore – Cathedral of Florence - Climb to the top of the dome it is beautiful up there.

Church of Santa Maria Novella - some famous frescos in there - however it is by the train station and the neighborhood is eh - so watch for pickpockets.

Basilica di Santa Croce - this is an amazing church with fresco's by Giotto

Baptistry - this is across from the Duomo and is famous for the doors sculpted by Ghilberti

Santa Maria delle Carmine -Massaccio fresco's

Convento di San Marco - Fra Angelico painted fresco's in the monk's cells this is amazing if there is time.

square:

Piazza della Signoria - copies of some famous sculptures- etc - there are a lot of cafe's and restuarants there - great place to eat or just people watch and walk around. There are free concerts here all year - Andre Borchelli has given free concerts in this square

Other:

Ponte Vecchio

I would say if you are tight on time I would see:

Uffizi, Duomo (baptistry and giotto's bell tower are all right there), Pitti palace, Santa Croce, and Academia - and Piazza Della Signoria

Now there are MANY MANY MANY other places and things to see in Florence - in the three trips and the 6 weeks I lived there can you believe I STILL have not seen everything -

I can answer these same questions for you in London and Paris if you would like.

Re: London, Paris, Florence - Places to go??

I have never been in the winter but I have heard that England's winters are a little less cold than ours.

It's too bad you're not going in the warm weather- the Open Air Theatre is my favorite place in London but it's seasonal.

I recommend seeing shows in London, if you like theater. When I was there I found that the prices are more reasonable that NY but the shows I saw were wonderful (The King and I, The Constant Wife, My Fair Lady). They have a TKTS booth in Leicester Square but the lines are nowhere near as long as they are in NY. Also, if you or DH is a student you may get a discount by going directly to the theater's box office. My friend and I were both grad students and we got lots of student discounts.

Westminster Abbey was awesome, and the Tower of London too. The Crown Jewels were overrated, IMO, but there are some great stories to be told by the Beefeaters.

As for Paris, they have TONS of museums- the Cluny is neat if you like Medieval art. The Pompidou Center is all modern and I loved the Orsay, even more than the Louvre. I found it less overwhelming.

Re: London, Paris, Florence - Places to go??

You picked some of my favorite cities in Europe. My aunt lives in Paris so I spend a lot of time there. Its so beautiful. Definitely check out the Musee Rodin. Its a small museum in Auguste Rodin's home and has the most beautiful gardens around the house. Musee D'Orsay is also amazing- but pretty big.

And Florence...what can I say- once I was there I never wanted to leave. There is so much culture and beauty in teh city- oh and the food!! Yummy.

I also love Greece. I went to Mykonos with a girlfriend and had a blast!!! Lots of partying and sitting at the beach all day!

Re: London, Paris, Florence - Places to go??

Where in London are you going to be staying?

I would definitely do the Tower of London. Most museums are free. If you're into art, definitely do the Tate and Tate Modern, if not so much, go to the National Gallery. There's the British Museum, Shakespeare's Globe, Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral. Then there's the "walking around" sight-seeing stuff like Parliament (you can sit in on a session, but it's so boring!!! DH loves it of course! ), Big Ben and Tower Bridge.

If you need restaurant or bar suggestions, FM me. Have a great time!