No Small Wander

My solo trip to Florence, Italy was one of my favourites this year. And I think that it was the place that I’d recommend to anyone who’s looking to get into slow travel.

I discovered slow travel because truthfully, I’m terrible at it. I love challenging myself, and travel is part of that. But I get anxious; I get caught up in trying to do everything instead of curating my experience; I rush through activities so I can get to the next thing, rather than being present.

Some places are better for slow, mindful trips, and cities aren’t usually high on the list. Late nights and bright lights; millions of things to do and see; feeling like you might be missing something…. These are the things that I struggle with in cities.

But Florence felt different, and I’m so glad that I visited! I had such a great experience on a slow travel trip. If you’re thinking you might need a slow travel trip, you should know:

There’s lots to do, but it’s not endless

I went to Florence with many ideas for what I might like to do, but the list wasn’t pages and pages long. Museums, art galleries, amazing food, drinks, and markets—there’s lots to do, and none of it can be done in one day. But Florence is small enough that everywhere feels walkable, and the list of things to do will eventually run out. The city is so beautiful and warm that just walking from place to place is a fun activity. It’s a slow-paced city with tons to offer, that felt made my trip like a relaxing city break. And “relaxing” and “city break” aren’t words I typically put together!

You need tickets for some things, which leads to under-scheduling

I’m prone to over-scheduling; if I’ve got a 20-minute walk to a museum, then I’ll look up what’s on the way. Coffee shops, vintage clothing stores, wine windows—each one becomes a little pin on my Google Map’s route. But in Florence, I wanted to see famous pieces of art, and all of those pieces are in high demand. So tickets with timeslots are needed, and that means I can’t over-plan things. Getting to a place in time means that I can’t endlessly add things to my to-do list. And I get my lingering done in places that I went on purpose!

Third spaces galore means that you won’t spend too much

Florence feels accessible because of the free location that fit somewhere between public and privately-owned spaces (more on that dynamic here). The city feels set up to help people rest, take breaks—enjoy an affogato! It makes it easy to walk the city, knowing you’ll be able to rest when you need it. And this means you’ll linger more!

The heat will slow you down

I went in the heat of summer; it was 37°C every day I visited. This meant that even if I had planned a million things to do, I would never have gotten to everything and not passed out. The heat meant that I was forced to take breaks; to stop into cooler shops, to rest, to get off my feet. This made Florence such a great place for a slow trip!

What’s your favourite thing about Florence? How would you feel about slow travel trip there? Let me know in the comments; and as always, happy travels!