Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio – Skip San Lorenzo; this is where locals actually shop. Fresh vegetables, butcher stalls with tripe, old men drinking coffee at 9 a.m. Grab a plate of lampredotto (cow stomach in a bun) from the kiosk outside. That’s Florence, unapologetic.

Basilica di Santa Croce – Not just another church. It’s where Galileo, Michelangelo, and Machiavelli all rest. A reminder that Florence isn’t about nostalgia — it’s about legacy.

Trattoria Cibreo – Forget the tourist menus. Order the rabbit stew or chicken liver crostini. It’s earthy, soulful food. The kind you don’t post about, you just eat.

Rivoire Café on Piazza della Signoria – Sit with an espresso or a negroni, watch tourists shuffle by while Florentines cut through the crowd like they own the place. You’ll leave with the smell of tobacco and city stone in your head.

Uffizi Gallery – Go early, avoid the crush. Botticelli’s Primavera isn’t a painting, it’s a spell. The Medici weren’t just rich — they bent the world to their taste.

Da Nerbone at Mercato Centrale – A cramped counter, plastic trays, boiled beef sandwiches drowning in salsa verde. No ceremony, just pure flavor.

Osteria Tripperia Il Magazzino – A place that celebrates tripe like it’s haute cuisine. Order the polpette di lampredotto (tripe meatballs). It’s Florence daring you to eat like a local.

Arno River Walk at Night – Skip the Ponte Vecchio selfies. Walk the quieter banks, where street musicians play and couples drink cheap Chianti out of paper cups. The city feels more alive when it’s not trying to impress you.

Piazzale Michelangelo – Yeah, it’s crowded, but climb higher, up to San Miniato al Monte. Quiet, haunting, and the view doesn’t feel like a screensaver.

I’Brindellone – Go for bistecca alla fiorentina, the real deal: bloody, charred, and primal. Share it, or don’t. Just respect it.

Oltrarno’s Artisan Workshops – Wander through backstreets where leather workers, frame makers, and jewelers still hammer away like the Renaissance never ended. This is Florence without the museum labels.

Volume Bar – A repurposed old cobbler’s shop turned into a bar. Strong cocktails, locals smoking outside, and music that isn’t meant to entertain tourists.

Accademia Gallery – Go see David. Yes, it’s touristy. Yes, it’s worth it. The statue doesn’t look real until you’re standing under it, and then you feel small.

La Pentola Dell’Oro – This isn’t some sleek, reinvented trattoria with Instagram lighting. It’s rustic Florentine, and rooted in recipes older than the American Republic. The menu reads like a love letter to medieval Tuscany — wild boar with bitter chocolate sauce, rabbit, duck, dishes that taste like they came straight out of a Renaissance kitchen. This is food of candlelit feasts in stone halls, where meat was slow-cooked, wine was rough, and nobody cared about cholesterol.

Stibbert Museum – Weird, eclectic, and under-visited. A bizarre collection of armor and oddities from around the world. Florence beyond the Renaissance.

Enoteca Pitti Gola e Cantina – Across from the Pitti Palace, a small wine bar where the owners will pour you something rare, Tuscan, and unforgettable. This is how you say goodbye to Florence — with a glass in your hand, no rush to leave.