Behind Palazzo Pitti, the fountain- and sculpture-adorned Boboli Gardens – slowly but surely being restored to their former pristine glory thanks to a €2 million investment by Florence's homegrown fashion house Gucci – were laid out in the mid-16th century to a design by architect Niccolò Pericoli. At the upper, southern limit, beyond the box-hedged rose garden and Museo delle Porcellane, beautiful views over the Florentine countryside unfold.

　　Within the lower reaches of the gardens, don't miss the fantastical shell- and gem-encrusted Grotta del Buontalenti.