Centro Storico

Start at the Ponte Vecchio on the city side of the Arno. Facing the bridge, head right down Lungarno Acciaiuoli, and step into #4r Spumantino (see Wine Bars) for a fortifying glass of fizz, then skip down past Portrait Firenze (see Accom.) to vintage trove Boutique Nadine at #22r / 055 287 851 / boutiquenadine.it. Head back towards the hotel and sashay through the tunnel into the mini piazza for Continentale and Gallery Hotel Art (see Accom.) with Fusion (see Bars). Trot to the top of the piazza onto Borgo Santi Apostoli for #12r Gatto Bianco’s / 055 282 989 / gattobiancogioelli.com / bespoke coral, turquoise, diamond and gold jewellery. Exit left and zip down to #4r if you fancy making a cameo appearance at master carver Antonio Spitaletta / 055 239 8189 / or, head right out of Gatto Bianco down atmosy Apostoli. Take a right under the arch into Chiasso Cornino, then a left onto Via delle Terme for divine artisan sparklers at #13 I Massai (see Advanced Shopping) – up the stairs with you! Sufficiently bejwelled, retrace your steps back to Santi Apostoli, peeking into fusty old #36r Mesticheria Lapi / 055 215 067 / the Italian version of a hardware shop, where three gens of the Lapi family work alongside each other selling everything from make-up to nails. Next up at #40r, pop into the Aria Art Gallery / 055 216 050 / aria artgallery.com / for ok art, plus comely greenhouse and garden. Angela Caputi is at #44 / 055 292 993 / angelacaputi.com / and the queen of resin baubles, and next door is shirty Simone Abbarchi (see Sartorialista). Across the street, stop by the Bottega dell’Olio for everything olive oil / Piazza del Limbo, 4r / 055 267 0468 – this spot was once a graveyard for unbaptised babies, poor lambs. Check out the little plaque on the church showing the height of the water in the great flood of 1966. Back on Apostoli, Bloom at #58r / 055 265 8262 / bloominteriors.it / has a nifty array of furnishing fabrics, next up #45r Viajiyu / 055 290 380 / has beaut ballet flats, and at the end of the street is the Ferragamo flagship store in the Palazzo Spini Feroni. Check out the limited ed. shoes and purses, and the Shoe Museum (see Sites). Pecky? Just before you take a well-earned retail break, zip across the piazza to Santa Trinità and down the right aisle to the Sassetti chapel. Pop a euro in the slot to illuminate Renaissance master Ghirlandaio’s fresco depicting the Piazza Santa Trinità in the 1500s (not much has changed!). Alrighty, exit the church. If you’re nibbly, running down the side of Trinità is Via del Parione for sandwicher Mariano at #19r / 055 214 067 / or head left up fashion central Via Tornabuoni. Go right down Via Porta Rossa for #107r Spazio A / 055 212 995 / for a snazz-gal label collection, then a bit further is Pampaloni at #99r (see Standout Stores), a veritable silver mine spanning mod, retro and antique. Back on Via Tornabuoni at #20-22r is the ever-lovely, luxekaleidoscopic Pucci / 055 265 8082, then why not end where the Negroni began – Caffè Giacosa (see Bars) is but a few steps up on the corner of Via della Spada. Oh, go on.