While there are still lines at the Uffizi and Academia gallery, winter is prime-time for visiting museums for a variety of reasons. One, it’s something culturally-badass to do, it’s also an indoor activity that can be enjoyed rain or shine. I don’t need to tout visiting the major museums but I also recommend people visit places like the Palazzo Vecchio, home to the city’s government, and some pretty spectacular spaces such as the ‘salone dei cinquecento’ featuring Michelangelo’s ‘Statue of Victory.’ Here you can also visit the tower which offers some of the best views overlooking the city. Other top choices include the just-opened The Grande Museo del Duomo Museum, which houses the Duomo cathedral’s works and the real doors of the Baptistery.
Additionally visiting Florence’s amazing churches is also quite recommendable during any visit, you don’t need me to tell you that. Some personal lesser-known favorites of mine include Santa Trinita on via tornabuoni, the Brancacci chapel in Carmine church ( Open daily 10am- 5pm, Entrance fee €6) and Chiesa di Santo Spirito (only open in the morning). This stunning space with a wooden Christ done by a ‘young’ Michelangelo.
Recently I also had the pleasure of attending one of Alexandra Lawrence’s local walks to visit Michelangelo’s Laurentian Library in San Lorenzo church. A magnificent place for a variety of reasons, Pope Clement VII commissioned this space to house all of the Medici family’s great historical texts. Part of the fun of this place is imagining the lively discourse between the Pope and Michelangelo who abandoned many Renaissance techniques in favor of Mannerism and eventually moved to Rome before finishing the job. You can visit Mon-Sat: 9,30 am -1,30 pm
Other exhibits currently on include Divine Beauty from Van Gogh to Chagall and Fontana at the Palazzo Strozzi, an exhibit space in the center of town that knows how to do it right and keep attentions piqued. You can check out over one hundred works by well-known Italian and international artists including Vincent Van Gogh, and it sets out to explore the relationship between art and religion from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century. Open daily including holidays 10.00-20.00. My tip is to go Thursdays when you an visit at night! : 10.00-23.00