"Every time I check some place off, I add another 35," says Patricia Schultz, author of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. "My list grows and grows. I'm just too curious to see everything else that's out there." Schultz was in Canada recently on a four-city tour for vacation company Trafalgar to talk about her favourite European destinations (and to squeeze in a visit to Manitoba's polar bears).
But if she had to narrow 1,000 places down to just one city before her final passport stamp? "Florence is like a second home. After I graduated, while everybody was going off to Wall Street, I grabbed my passport and went to Italy and lived there for three years. My mother was born in Italy. Florence, to me, was heaven. It was so rich with history and art. I loved the whole element of Renaissance that is pervasive through every stone, alleyway and piazza."
Schultz returns regularly to the city, and shares her five must-dos.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Giotto’s Bell Tower
“Every cathedral is called the duomo, but Il Duomo in Florence is held apart as being one of the most beautiful examples of Renaissance architecture anywhere. I’d always drag my friends up the bell tower, or campanile, whenever they’d visit. It’s next to the Duomo, designed by Giotto in the 14th century. Not many people bother to climb the 414 steps to the top, but the 360-degree view of Florence is enough to take your breath away. There are terracotta rooftops as far as you can see.”Piazza del Duomo, museumflorence.com
Mercato Centrale
“This is the big market. It’s huge and housed within a massive 150-year-old covered hall. On the street level are the vendors selling produce and flowers alongside butchers displaying their hanging carcasses. Upstairs just got a major makeover this year: an impressive Italian-style food court with changing specialties made from the market’s daily offerings. The variety is great, fresh, and delicious – and it’s not expensive. You can stand or grab a table, rubbing elbows with everyone from three-piece-suited lawyers to the butcher who’s selling ham hocks downstairs.” Via dell’Ariento, mercatocentrale.it
Accademia Gallery
“I would go frequently to the Accademia, which is the museum built purposely to house David, possibly one of the most important and recognized sculptures in the world. I would simply stand there and listen to the guides. David was created by Michelangelo when he was just 26. That was incredible to me. I was not far from that age at the time and I couldn’t imagine myself doing something that remarkable that would survive the ages. If you go an hour before closing, you pretty much have the place to yourself. It’s just you and David.” 60 Via Bettino Ricasoli, accademia.org
San Miniato
“The Church of San Miniato, up on a hill overlooking all of Florence, is heaven at sunset. You can see the Arno River and all of the bridges that cross it, especially Ponte Vecchio, the only bridge not destroyed during the Second World War. And you can see the Duomo, and Giotto’s tower. It is a postcard. Go in the early evening for gelato or watermelon. Or just sit there for the sunset and take it all in. San Miniato has beautiful Gregorian chants late every afternoon that just transport you.” 34 Via delle Porte Sante
Day trip to Lucca
“It’s about an hour’s ride by bus or train, but light years away. It’s famous for its Renaissance walls – inside it’s like a hill town without a hill. It was very wealthy in its day, so the streets are lined with magnificent medieval and Renaissance palazzos and churches. The city is mostly pedestrian, so if you rent a bike you can just tour around, stopping here and there for ice cream or at small family run trattorias such as Da Giulio, whose menu hasn't changed in 25 years.” Trattoria Da Giulio: 45 Via delle Conce, Lucca