City of the Medici, birthplace of Dante and Machiavelli, is it any wonder that Florence is synonymous with wealth, culture and sophistication? Of course, there’s spectacular architecture (Brunelleschi’s Duomo is only one of many remarkable landmarks), outstanding music (especially during the Maggio Musicale festival) and Renaissance art. Is there a collection anywhere to rival the Uffizi, with its peerless works by Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael? But don’t overlook the smaller museums. Museo Ferragamo, for example, displays a rotating exhibition of shoes drawn from a collection of 10,000 pairs. Appropriate, then, that it stands at the southern end of Via de’ Tornabuoni, itself a virtual alphabet of Italian fashion from Armani, Bulgari and Cavalli all the way to Ermenegildo Zegna. And don’t miss the botteghe, or artisans’ ateliers, to be found in Oltr’arno, south of the river, where craftsmen practise ancient trades such as goldsmithing, silk-weaving, metalworking, woodworking, scaglioli and leathercraft.