Shade in a stone city
Florence has almost no green space and its summer is airless.
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As a destination in itself no โ it is an ordinary park with no monuments. But if you are in Florence in summer, worn down by heat and crowds, or with children who need space to run, it is the only nearby answer. The Tuesday market is an independent reason to come.
The Boboli Gardens behind the Pitti Palace are far more beautiful but ticketed and close in the evening, and the neighbouring Bardini garden has an excellent view over the city. The Cascine is free, wider and less ornamental โ the choice is between beauty with a ticket and space without one.
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Florence's largest public park, running about three kilometres along the bank of the Arno west of the historic centre. It was originally a Medici farm and pasture โ the name means the dairy farms โ and was opened to the public in the eighteenth century. That explains its shape: wide open ground and long lines of trees rather than ornamental beds. Its practical value to a visitor is plain: Florence is a dense stone city of narrow streets with almost no green space, and its summer is hot and airless. This is the only nearby space where you can walk without crowds and sit under a tree. People in Florence use it for running, cycling and family outings, and it holds playgrounds and long riverside paths. On Tuesday mornings it hosts a large market, among the city's biggest weekly ones, an entirely local scene far from the souvenir stalls. The park is free and open. Late in the evening it becomes quiet and little frequented, so daytime is its time.
Florence has almost no green space and its summer is airless.
The ruling family's farm, opened to the public in the eighteenth century.
An entirely local scene, far from the souvenir stalls in the centre.
On the Arno, west of central Florence