[keenmaster]

Florence is absolutely not a tourist trap. It is a beautiful city that was one of the wealthiest republics in Renaissance Italy. Great art (Uffizi Gallery is amazing) and architecture (i.e. Duomo) abounds. It is an essential visit in Italy alongside Rome in my opinion, though Rome deserves more time.

[the-rc]

I'm from Italy and used to live in Tuscany (mostly Pisa, but also the "mountains" outside Florence). I might have been a bit unfair, "downtown" Florence is probably only 0.75 Venices, my unit of measure for tourist traps. Although Venetians and especially Florentines are kinda infamous for always wanting to brag about their glorious past, there's nothing wrong with either city per se, they're just victims of their own success. Rome, by virtue of its scale, is only 0.5 Venices. I tell people that you could walk past all the main sites in three-four hours, but it would be kinda pointless and you really want to spend five days there.