Best Sunset View in Florence: Piazzale Michelangelo
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It was our second morning in Florence. Having slept wonderfully after a fantastic meal at Trattoria 4 Leoni the night before, we sprung out of bed at first light to the sound of house sparrows chirping cheerfully over the crisp chime of cathedral bells...
...or that’s how it would have gone, if we weren’t jetlagged. But we were very jetlagged, so we woke instead to our friend politely knocking on our door around 9:30. We’d slept through the sparrows. We’d slept through the bells. We’d slept through the sunrise. But we would not miss the sunset.
We rolled out of bed and shuffled out to an already-bustling Florence. After our customary cappuccino and chocolate croissant at a local café, we set out for Florence’s famous Mercato Centrale to stock up for that evening’s main event: a sunset picnic at the Piazzale Michelangelo.
Shannon learned of the Piazzale Michelangelo during her first visit to Europe back in 2004. A friend who was studying abroad in Florence at the time led her up a steep, winding path to a hilltop basilica—San Miniato al Monte (Saint Minias of the Mountain)—overlooking the city. Michael and Shannon made the trek together in law school, and it became one of our favorite places in Italy. So, we were quick to suggest it to our friends for our Florence itinerary. “You absolutely can’t miss it,” we insisted. “The view is worth the hike.” Being athletic, health-minded people, they agreed.
It turns out that we were wrong, in a sense. It’s definitely worth the hike, but one can very easily miss it. Even if one has, say, been there twice and confidently assures one’s friends that she knows the way. One could instead start up the hill too near the Ponte Vecchio and wind up hopelessly lost on narrow, winding roads in the outskirts of Florence. Or so we discovered when about half an hour into our sweaty climb, we crested a hill to find that this particular “monte” did not belong to San Minias. San Minias’s “monte” was clearly visible about a mile away, as the crow flies.
Let’s be honest – travel does not always go as planned. We try to embrace all of our misadventures as much as possible, as they often offer something new or something we would’ve otherwise missed. This is the very reason that we titled our little family business Unkempt Adventures. In this instance, we worked off some of the picnic we were about to have and enjoyed the olive tree-lined road we walked along. For everyone who would like to take our unintentional hike, feel free to plan to visit the Giardino Bardini and Forte di Belvedere for an off-the-beaten-path experience in Florence. For those who prefer more direct paths, Walkabout Florence outlines a few options.
Once we finally made our way up the (correct) hill to Piazzale Michelangelo, it was just as I’d remembered—beautiful, sweeping views of the city as the incredible Florentine sun began to approach the horizon. One thing that had changed considerably since we last visited was the number of people who joined us at the Piazzale. There was still plenty of room for us to find a nice seat, but the days of this hidden gem seem to be behind us.
The Florentine sunset, viewed from the Piazzale Michelangelo in Firenze, Italia
Nonetheless, we spread out our picnic and enjoyed a fabulous time with friends as the last rays of sunlight escaped. We’ll definitely return again when next we visit Florence – maybe with our kids!
