Parks of Florence
If you really love art and greenery, you can't miss the parks in the Renaissance city. They're true open-air museums!
Green oases
The Boboli Gardens are the most well known, and remain the undisputed champion of city gardens. It's a typical example of an Italian garden and a real open-air museum. As an integral part of Palazzo Pitti, it houses works such as the Fountain of Neptune and Fountain of the Ocean. The close link between Florence and its lily made the birth of the Iris Gardens possible: did you know that the lily of Florence is actually an Iris? Put a city escape on your calendar in May when the irises and roses of the Rose Garden bloom, flooding the panorama from Piazzale Michelangelo with an explosion of colour. To satisfy the curiosity of the traveller within you who is thirsty for new discoveries, we recommend visiting the Horticultural Garden, historically a meeting place for Florentine noblemen who loved gardening, and it's here that you can admire an evocative nineteenth-century glass and steel greenhouse. Last but not least, the Giardino dei Semplici ("Garden of Simples"), the botanical garden desired by Cosimo I, which houses a large collection of plants from all over the world and owes its name to the first plants that it housed, the medicinal ones, defined as simple.
Villas
Villa Bardini and its wisteria in bloom are a must-visit during your April-May stay in Florence. A Villa in the historic centre of Florence that, in addition to becoming famous on Instagram thanks to its flowering wisteria arch, is known for the three areas of the garden that follow three different styles: the Italian garden, the English park and the agricultural park. An honourable mention also goes to the Garden of Villa Torrigiani, the largest private garden in Europe, known for its neo-Gothic style tower shrouded in the mysterious atmosphere that surrounds the entire villa.
Great Parks
Pratolino Park is a monumental complex and in 2013 it was also designated a UNESCO world heritage. It's the ideal place for restorative walks and trekking in nature. Here you'll find the Apennine Colossus of Giambologna and Cupid's Grotto. A few kilometres away from the city centre you can reach Pazzagli Park, a large garden with over 200 sculptures by Art Master Enzo Pazzagli on display. One of the park's most anticipated events of the year is the open-air cinema: at that time, Florentines gather to enjoy picnics while enjoying the sunset and watching arthouse films.
