Florence for The Romantics: a Friday-to-Monday weekend

The best view of the Ponte Vecchio is from the bridge next door, where the river turns copper as the lamps come on and the crowds drift off.

A rooftop bar above the Ponte Vecchio with the Uffizi towers close enough to read; one Negroni each, in the city where it was invented.

A candlelit family trattoria in the Oltrarno since 1945; the tortelli with butter and sage and a carafe of Chianti are the order.

Book the mid-morning slot, take the Botticelli room slowly and finish at the café terrace over Piazza della Signoria; closed Mondays, so today is the day.

A terraced hillside garden with a wisteria tunnel and the best skyline view in town, far quieter than Boboli; walk down through the Oltrarno at golden hour.

The splurge: a starred tasting menu in a restaurant that hangs over the river, with the Ponte Vecchio lit in the window at your table.

A free terraced rose garden below Piazzale Michelangelo, with a Japanese corner and benches facing the whole city; come mid-morning when it is empty.

A long Sunday lunch in the hills of Arcetri, with Tuscan roast meats and a terrace; take a taxi up, as the bus back is slow.

The monks sing Gregorian chant at vespers in the Romanesque church above the city; then walk down by the cypresses and stay for the sunset.

Masaccio's Trinity and the green cloister are better at a Monday pace, with a few other visitors and the station only a few minutes away.

Dominican monks' pharmacy since 1612 with frescoed halls; buy a bottle of the rose water as a souvenir for the walk home.

A farewell lunch at a belle-époque café, founded in 1733, with a chocolate cake and a glass of prosecco under the gilded mirrors.