Florence

Florence is one of those cities that feels like stepping inside a painting. Tucked among the rolling hills of Tuscany in central Italy, it was the birthplace of a extraordinary period called the Renaissance, when artists, architects, and thinkers completely changed the way humans saw the world. Much of that world-changing creativity happened right here, in these very streets, over five hundred years ago.

The city is packed with jaw-dropping art and architecture at every turn. A vast cathedral dominates the skyline, crowned by a magnificent red-tiled dome that engineers once thought was simply impossible to build — until one brilliant architect proved everyone wrong. Nearby, a single museum holds more legendary paintings than most countries possess in total, while a medieval bridge still stretches across the Arno River, its little shops glittering with jewellery just as they have for centuries.

And somewhere in the heart of Florence stands a towering marble statue so astonishingly detailed that it is hard to believe human hands created it. Florence rewards the curious — there is always something extraordinary waiting around the next corner.