• Leather: Florence is the place. Skip the cheap stalls and head to the Scuola del Cuoio, the Leather School behind Santa Croce, where artisans have been training since after World War II. You can watch them work. It’s right on our Saturday route.

• Marbled paper: A true Florentine craft. Giulio Giannini e Figlio near Palazzo Pitti has been making marbled paper and leather-bound journals since 1856. Perfect for our Monday in the Oltrarno.

• Perfume, soaps, and potpourri: The Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella started as a monks’ pharmacy in the 1200s. The shop alone is worth seeing, and the soaps make lovely gifts.

• Gold jewelry on Ponte Vecchio: Goldsmiths have lined the bridge since the 1590s, when the Medici kicked out the smelly butchers. Even if you don’t buy, it’s fun to window shop.

• Artisan pieces from the Oltrarno: Frames, ceramics, jewelry, and furniture restorers. Many have been working in the same little workshops for generations.

• Chianti Classico and olive oil: Pick up bottles on our Chianti day. Look for the black rooster on the neck of the bottle, the sign of true Chianti Classico.

• Cantucci: Tuscan almond biscotti, made for dunking in Vin Santo, the local dessert wine.

Cosa Mangiare | What to Eat

• Bistecca alla fiorentina: Florence’s famous T-bone, sold by weight and served rare. Don’t ask for it well done. Big enough to share!

• Ribollita: A hearty Tuscan soup of bread, beans, and greens. The name means “reboiled.”

• Pappa al pomodoro: A thick tomato and bread soup. Tuscans waste nothing, especially bread.

• Lampredotto: The adventurous one! A Florentine street food sandwich made from tripe, sold from carts around the city. Locals line up for it.

• Schiacciata: Florence’s answer to focaccia, split and stuffed into big sandwiches. Expect lines at the famous spots.

• Crostini toscani: Toast topped with chicken liver pâté. A classic Tuscan starter.

• Tuscan bread: You’ll notice it has no salt. The story goes that it started during a salt tax or a blockade by rival Pisa centuries ago, and Florentines just never went back.

• Gelato: Florence claims to have invented it, for the Medici court. Try the crema Buontalenti flavor, named after the man who supposedly created it.

• Cantucci and Vin Santo: The classic Tuscan way to end a meal. Dip the biscotti in the wine.

• Wine windows: Look for tiny arched doors in palace walls at hand height. They’re buchette del vino, where wealthy families sold wine straight from their cellars in the 1600s. A few reopened during COVID to sell wine, coffee, and gelato.

• The Medici balls: The Medici coat of arms, a shield with red balls, is everywhere: on churches, palaces, and doorways. Start counting and you won’t be able to stop.

• The red lily: Florence’s symbol, the giglio, shows up on flags, manhole covers, and souvenirs all over town.

• Il Porcellino: A bronze wild boar at the Mercato Nuovo. Rub his shiny snout and put a coin in his mouth so it falls through the grate, and you’ll return to Florence.

• David is everywhere: The David in Piazza della Signoria is a copy. The original was moved into the Accademia in 1873 to protect it from the weather.

• The Vasari Corridor: Look up as you cross Ponte Vecchio. That long covered walkway on top of the shops was the Medici’s private passage between their palace and their offices, so they never had to walk among the people.

• Ponte Vecchio survived: It was the only bridge in Florence the Germans didn’t blow up as they retreated in 1944.

• The 1966 flood: Around Santa Croce, look for small plaques high up on the walls marking how high the Arno’s floodwaters rose. Some are over your head.

• Brunelleschi’s dome: Still the largest brick dome ever built, finished in 1436. Nobody knew how he’d do it, and he kept his methods secret.

• Michelangelo’s graffiti: On the wall of Palazzo Vecchio, look for a small face carved into the stone. Legend says Michelangelo carved it behind his back while listening to a boring man talk.

• Clet’s street signs: Watch the “no entry” and other traffic signs. A local street artist sticks playful figures on them all over town.