Florence is often a destination I get asked about frequently, usually by people wanting to know how they can make the most of their time here.  Friends and family come for 5 days, hoping to see as much as they can.  I often play tour guide for a day and doing museums over again for the umpteenth time (can’t ever get tired of David’s butt), sharing different anecdotes. Unfortunately real life gets in the way of me being able to be a complete human map (work, school, who needs it right?)

The city is relatively small so navigating around doesn’t take long per say, but the main issue is the difficulty of navigating the spiderweb of streets to someone who has never been here before. I often panic thinking about how much I was lost when I first moved here.

The solution? Get them to see (at least the outside) of all the major sights of Florence in a little over an hour.  Seems impossible, but I promise there is a fun, sweat-free, silly way to do this, that I absolutely relish.

Every time I have friends come into town, I force them on these ridiculous electric scooters I rent through YesToGo off of Via Ghibellina for €15 an hour.  No driver’s license is needed, and if someone is scared of scooters they have (if possible) even more ridiculous mini-cars. (Have your bell-ringing thumb ready for this adventure).

Once you get on these majestic machineries, you’re going to need to know where to go.

• Start by going to Santa Croce- it’s not too condensed of an area to start your loop of the city.
• After doing a loop around the piazza head up Borgo Albizi (granted if there’s no construction-if there is you can Oriuolo) and lead them to the Duomo. This is great because you enter Piazza del Duomo from behind, and you get to truly see her absolute massiveness.
• After visiting the Duomo, hang a left and take them along to Piazza della Reppublica and then swoop on around to Piazza Signoria and wave to David as you go by.
• Cutting through the Piazza head just up the street and ride your scooters over the Ponte Vecchio.
• For the grand finale of your tour head down the river and take the road up to Piazzale di Michelangelo and give your guests one of the most scenic views Florence has to offer.

Getting up the hill to Piazzale Michelangelo may seem a bit slow, but coming down is a fun little zip and you can end your trip neatly right where you started, then get a nice milkshake from The Diner right across the street.

Remember to pack a hat and a bottle of water, and if you want, attach your GoPro to the front of the scooter and relive the ride later!