A cycling tour in a city where ‘the bike is not respected’

“In Florence, the bike is not respected,” says our guide, Fabio, matter-of-factly. This is concerning given we’re about to embark on a three-hour tour of the city on one.

This cycle trip is one of three complimentary excursions we could have chosen today. Globus introduced this new, more flexible style of touring to 13 of its itineraries in 2021, including on this eight-day “Veni, Vidi, Vici” tour of Lazio, Umbria and Tuscany. Some of our group have opted to spend the day learning how to cook a traditional Italian lunch with a professional chef in Siena. Others have chosen to explore Florence on foot. Four of us have picked the bike tour and – somewhat bewilderingly given Fabio’s ominous warning – I’m the only one who has accepted the offer of a helmet.

We begin near the city’s iconic Ponte Vecchio bridge on the banks of the Arno River, following Fabio along a dedicated bike path before crossing the river to check out the San Niccolo Tower. Once part of a 14th-century defensive wall that surrounded the city, the 30-metre-high tower now stands in splendid isolation.

It’s a relaxed start and I start to think that perhaps my concerns about biking around one of Italy’s most touristed cities were unwarranted. Until, that is, we cross back over the Arno and plunge into the historic centre’s maze-like tangle of backstreets. In single file, we weave along narrow laneways, dodging locals, delivery trucks and scooters; cross crowded piazzas, snaking around large groups of tourists, and shoot through cobblestoned alleyways, furiously dinging our bells to part the sea of pedestrians in front of us. It’s intense, exhilarating and hugely enjoyable.

Of course, the great advantage of being on a bike is that you can cover much more ground than on foot. In three hours, we tick off most of the big sites – including the staggeringly beautiful marble-striped Duomo, the neo-Gothic Santa Croce Basilica, the fortress-like Palazzo Vecchio and the jewellery shop-laden Ponte Vecchio (where the crowds are so dense we finally have to get off and walk).

The last time I was in Florence I was tortured by a sadistic guide who subjected me to long monologues on the Renaissance. Fabio, on the other hand, gets it just right, providing a brief overview of each site interspersed with memorable historical trivia (who knew the finance for Santa Maria Novella church came from a red dye made using lichen and urine?).

And while there’s a reason everyone flocks to show-stoppers like the Duomo and the Uffizi, there are plenty of other less-heralded gems in between. Such as the Church of Santa Margherita de’ Cerchi, where Dante (allegedly) first met and fell in love with Beatrice Portinari, the woman who inspired his epic narrative poem, Divine Comedy. There’s speculation as to whether the sparsely-decorated church actually contains her remains or not, but that doesn’t stop romantic types from leaving handwritten notes requesting help with their love lives.

Another welcome surprise is the hole-in-the-wall gelato shop we stop at for a cooling cornetto in Piazza della Passera, a tranquil respite from the crowds and clamour surrounding nearby Palazzo Pitti. Named by the Financial Times as one of the world’s best ice-cream shops, Gelateria della Passera is famous for its innovative flavour combinations and I can certainly vouch for the strawberry and ricotta.