I must point out that I made this trip with a travelling companion and we planned the majority of our own itinerary in advance so my review is based on what we did independently and it is difficult for me to comment on what JY arranged or included.

My own personal opinion having been on previous JY holidays is that this City Break is perhaps more suitable or ideal for someone who is happy to research and plan what they want to see in advance and find your own way around (perhaps with a fellow traveller) at a leisurely pace.

Once you become familiar with the layout of the City you will find it is quite compact and quite easy to find your way around. Using the Il Duomo di Firenze which rises majestically from the city’s heart as your main landmark, you will find you cannot really get lost.

The City is very busy and you will find queues at some of the major sites but by careful planning in advance these can be avoided. I bought tickets online at home for both the Accademia (less than 10 minutes from the hotel) and Uffizi Galleries in advance of my visit which enabled me to reserve a time slot at my convenience and avoided any queuing. Please bear in mind however that museums, galleries and some buildings including the Pitti Palace are closed on a Monday in Italy.

By doing things independently you also get a much better opportunity to find the many hidden secrets of the City. In addition to the Cathedral, there are other churches worth seeing on the inside including San Marco Church which is less than 10 minutes from the Hotel and the church of Santa Trinita. There are also some excellent eating places in some of the side streets away from the hustle and bustle of the many tourists and I can highly recommend the Ristorante Accademia in San Marco square for an excellent traditional Italian meal.

The hotel is conveniently located about 10 minutes walk from the main City sights. The rooms were clean and comfortable and also included a safe.

Apart from the included walking tour on the afternoon of our arrival, we did not go on the included excursion to the Accademia or the optional excursion to Oltarno. We did consider the excursion to Fiesole but cancelled when finding out we had to go by public transport and would have less than 2 hours there.

Although myself and travelling companion acted independently our Tour Manager, Freddie, was always there to assist or help us if needed.

All in all this was a very enjoyable holiday, however there is a great deal to see in what is really only actually 3 days after allowing for arrival and departure times and I would certainly have liked to have had a further nights stay.

If anyone has any questions or wants to know anything else about this holiday then please ask. I'm more than happy to help.

Mike