Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Giardino di Boboli
Purchase Ticket 2 or Ticket 3 at the Palazzo Pitti ticket office and head to the rear of
the building, where this huge formal
garden
(Boboli Garden; Piazza Pitti; adult/reduced/child €7/
3.50/free; 8.15am-7pm summer, shorter hr winter)
waits to be explored. Wander its many
paths, admire the Isoloto and decide whether or not the Grotta del Buontalenti is an
artistic masterpiece (we tend to think not).
Giardino Bardini
An impressive example of a formal Tuscan garden, the medieval
Giardino Bardini
(Bardini Garden;
www.bardinipeyron.it
; entrances at Via de' Bardi 1r & Costa di San Giorgio 2; adult/EU re-
duced €10/free, or with Palazzo Pitti Ticket 2 or 3; 8.15am-7.30pm Jun-Aug, earlier closing times rest of
year)
was restored by art collector Stefano Bardini (1836-1922), who purchased the
land and its 17th-century villa in 1913. Beds of azaleas, peonies and wisteria bloom
in April and May, irises in June. The
summer cafe
(
10am-6pm Apr-Sep)
is a charm-
ing, albeit pricey, spot for a mid-morning coffee or tea.
Picnic Provisions from ZEB
Pop into
ZEB
(
www.zebgastronomia.com
;
Via San Miniato 2r; noon-3pm Thu & Sun-Tue, noon-3pm
& 7.30-10.30pm Fri & Sat)
, a thoroughly modern
enoteca
(wine bar) displaying a lovely
choice of traditional cold cuts at its deli-style counter, to pick up some provisions
for a late-ish lunch. You'll find it in village-like San Niccolò, one of the city's most
atmospheric residential pockets.
Piazzale Michelangelo
Walk along Via San Miniato and up Viale Galileo Galilei to reach this vast
square
(
13)
set atop an elevated saddle between two large public gardens, the
Giardino
delle Rose
and the
Giardino dell'Iris
. The piazza offers a city panorama that is al-
ways spectacular, but is particularly dramatic at sunset.
