Ponte Vecchio (Vecchio Bridge)

The Ponte Vecchio is the only bridge to have survived the Nazi bombing of Florence during WWII. Nowadays, the famous 14th-century bridge is literally lined with gold (home to Florence's gold and silversmiths) and is a prime shopping trap for tourists. It was Cosimo de Medici who first created the mood for change, when, in 1563, he ordered the previous occupants (a motley crew of butchers, accustomed to throwing their bloody leftovers into the River Arno) to make room for a more genteel trade.

High above the shops, a secret passageway known as the Corrodoio Vasariano links the Uffizi Gallery to the Pitti Palace. Built by Vasari, it was intended to shield the powerful Medici family from the Florentine riffraff, as they journeyed from one palace to the other. Lined with portraits of the city's greatest artists, the passage reopened to the public in 1997, but you can only visit by prior appointment.