Pitti Palace, Boboli and Bardini gardens tour

Built for a dynasty, overtaken by the Medici, occupied by Napoleon, and seat to the first king of a united Italy, the commanding façade of Palazzo Pitti has watched Florence’s fortunes rise and fall over the centuries.

Our tour begins in the Palatine Gallery with a roll-call of some of the most famous painters of the Renaissance and Baroque periods, including Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio, Rubens, Artemisia Gentileschi and Pietro da Cortona, before we enter the Medici living quarters and hear how life was lived in the heyday of the Medici reign.

Behind the palace, the Boboli Gardens unfold in a cool haven of sculpture, water and hidden grottos: a vision realised by Eleonora di Toldeo, wife of Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grande Duke of Tuscany. Monumentally designed and filled with classical artworks, it’s now considered one of Florence’s most spectacular open-air museums, and was the inspiration for the gardens at the Palace of Versailles.

Our tour winds up the hill to Forte di Belvedere and onwards to the Bardini Gardens and its coffeehouse, where we enjoy a relaxing coffee overlooking marvelous views of Florence.