Outside the city walls of Florence

If you have more than a couple of days left to visit Florence and you have already seen the most part of the city centre, step outside the city walls and visit its surroundings. In Castello, not far from Florence going towards Sesto Fiorentino, you can visit two Medici Villas called Villa di Castello and Villa La Petraia. Villa di Castello was restored for Cosimo 1st de' Medici who commissioned Tribolo to design what is now one of the beautiful examples of Italian Garden, boasting a central fountain and an amazing grotto representing animals. The interior of the Villa, headquarters of the Accademia della Crusca, is not open to the public, but just adjacent to the garden you can visit the limonaia that collects various types of beautiful lemon trees.