Joel E.
Yelp
Palazzo Pitti e Giardino di Boboli (Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens) are situated across the Arno River from the city center of Florence, but are reachable by an easy walk over Ponte Vecchio (the Old Bridge). The Pitti Palace has a very formidable exterior appearance when approaching from the main/front entrance. Access to the Boboli Gardens is obtained through the main courtyard of the Pitti Palace.
The Boboli Gardens were our primary reason for visiting this attraction. Be prepared for lengthy uphill walks/climbs to fully appreciate the grandeur of these gardens. The gardens lie behind the Pitti Palace on an uphill climb. As you enter the Gardens you will first encounter an amphitheater encircled with numerous historical sculptures. Then, a further climb will lead you to a small pond containing a sculpture of Neptune. From there, a final climb will lead you to the top of the gardens from where a panoramic view of Florence can be enjoyed. There are also numerous other areas of the gardens to be explored and appreciated, too lengthy to list here to keep this review to a readable length. However, for more information you can check out Wikipedia, or better yet, just enjoy the spontaneity of an unplanned stroll through unknown pathways, overgrown corridors, and too many sculptures to count. In some (perhaps many) areas, the grounds could have been better kept and tended. However, they are still very impressive and a great place to enjoy a beautiful relaxing day in a historic Italian park with Romanesque features.
We also decided to quickly check out the Pitti Palace after the gardens. We were a bit disappointed to learn that they charge separate admission fees for different parts of the palace. You'll be charged individually for the Silver gallery, Porcelain gallery, Costume gallery, etc. We decided to visit only the Costume gallery, in part because we were somewhat short on time, but also because we were hoping to get a real sense of the nature of the garments worn by the royalty of the Medici family that resided in the Palace dating back to the 1500-1600's. We were impressed with some of the oldest costumes, but many were also much more recent: 1800's and even many from the 1900's, which was slightly disappointing. Nonetheless, this was an interesting trip back through time to some extent, and certainly a worthwhile museum to spend a measured amount of time investigating.