This is the crossroad between Piazzale Michelangelo, Firenze Sud, Sant'Ambrogio, the bike paths,…read moreand lungarno. The best part of the piazza, as another reviewer stated, really is the walkway to Piazzale Michelangelo and the amazing views from the bridge. There is ample, but often hard to find street parking, an average but always rammed sushi restaurant Koko, and the notorious and easygoing Bobo Checkpoint. Anyone who knows me well knows why, if not just ask ;). You can have a reasonably filling aperitivo or a coffee, or catch a soccer match here on their enclosed patio. There are some benches and a small piazza for passing the time before heading to your destination.

Piazza Santa Croce is spacious, beautiful, and full of character. The basilica is breathtaking, and…read morethe piazza feels lively without being overwhelming. Perfect for people-watching, a coffee stop, or soaking in Florence's atmosphere--especially lovely in the evening.

Named after the fameous churce at the end of the piazza, the Basilica of Santa Croce, this is a fun…read moreopen air area in Florence. The piazza is all paved, however, there is usually a famers market (mostly prepared goods vs produce), and the people watching can be pretty spectacular. It was a easy 15 second walk from my apartment, and the adjacent Taxi stand made getting to the airport a breeze. There are no services or greenery, but the steps of the church can be used as a nice place to sit. It is dotted by a large number of restaurants, leather shops, and gelato places. Its a cool place to simply stop and take a breather and the church is worth a visit as it houses the remains of many famous Italian's and the interior is quite nice as well

A lovely piazza that is the traffic hub for this area just out of the historic centre. On one side…read moreis borgo la Croce, which is the beginning of the pedestrian area, full of shops and restaurants, and the path to the duomo. On the other side is via Gioberti, one of the most packed shopping streets in Florence. There is a huge underground parking lot and street parking as well. Going north south is the viale, the main artery that takes traffic around the periphery of the historic centre and, moving south, to the Arno, Piazzale Michelangelo, and the firenze Sud highway entrance. The piazza is a huge bus, navetta, and taxi hub. There are bars, shops, a garden and seating all around it's circumference.

I love a good fountain or any interesting public sculpture. We were randomly walking around near…read moreour rented apartment and decided we must come to see this piggy, especially if he's handing out good luck. There will be a line and people will be hogging him up but it goes by pretty quickly. It's super cute to see kids trying to get the coin to fall from his mouth into the grate. The people in my party are suuuuper mature (/s) and we ended up talking about his anatomy for far too many minutes on this trip. The only thing I found a bit strange was that there was someone sitting next to the fountain, telling people how to do the coin. He was not official and I assume he'll probably be the one fishing the coins out later in the day.

This leather goods outdoors market has tons of stalls with individual sellers. You can bargain the…read moreprice down if you are paying with cash. There's a wild boar bronze sculpture that attracts a lot of tourists. You rub the pig's snout for good luck, put a coin in it's mouth and let it drop down below through a grate. If it falls through, you will make it back to Florence. This myth is making the market tons of money!