Christmas in Florence
Christmas in Florence is an amazing experience that offers enchanting sceneries: lights and decorations adorn the streets and the squares of the city, which are full of people doing shopping and of tourists visiting the monuments.
Besides the classic Christmas lights, every year in Florence the most significant monuments are illuminated, such as Ponte Vecchio which is enlightened with special lights representing some of the masterpieces known all over the world (for example the Michelangelo's David or the Uffizi's pictorial masterpieces).
Florence at Christmas shows all its beauty to visitors: it’s full of decorated shops which are open everyday and offer every possible kind of gifts.
Do not miss the markets that animate the squares not only in the historic center but also in the neighborhoods outside the old city walls, where you can buy unique craft items and typical delicacies not only from Tuscany but from all Italian regions.
One of the most famous and characteristic Christmas markets in Florence is the Weihnachtsmarkt, a traditional German market made with fifty typical wooden houses that takes place every year in Piazza Santa Croce.
Here visitors can buy every kind of object made by German craftsmen and they can taste the traditional German dishes such as spicy wines and the classic wurstels, in addition to delicious winter desserts.
Another feature of Christmas in Florence are the cribs, which are really beautiful and very accurate in detail and represent a unique attraction for both tourists and Italians who enjoy observing the traditional figures as the holy family, the ox, the donkey and all the other characters of the Christian tradition.
One of the most admired and visited Christmas cribs in Florence is the one set up in the churchyard of the Cathedral: the characters of this nativity scene are life-size and they have been created in terracotta with an artisanal method.
On the day of Epiphany the statues are replaced with living people and animals recreating the ride of the Three Kings.
During the Christmas period in Florence the bars of the center are crowded with people enjoying a warm break with a cup of hot chocolate or a good coffee, between a shopping trip and a visit to a museum. Moreover, in the evening, the trattorias and restaurants of the center are full of people who want to taste the traditional dishes and the excellent Tuscan wines.
The shop’s windows are full of food and wine products and many people can not avoid buying the classic Christmas baskets filled with salami, cheeses, wines and sparkling wines as well as delicious Christmas sweets such as panettone, panforte and ricciarelli. Walking through the crowded streets of the center you can find the classic Santa Claus cheering children with souvenir photos and small gifts.
The puppets of Santa Claus are the most used decorations by shops and large commercial chains: some of them are placed on the external walls of buildings as if they wanted to climb with their package of gifts.
