1. This will now be your backyard.

You’ll think you’ll get used to it, you’ll think the awe will eventually wear off. Trust me, it won’t.

2. You’ll be walking – a lot. 

Florence is a relatively small city and locals pretty much walk everywhere. Public transit systems here are as good as anywhere else (ignoring the occasionally late buses) and they’ll do a great job in taking you where you need to go, but if you really want to take advantage of the city and explore everything it has to offer, walking around on these ancient cobble-stone streets would be the best way to do it.

3. Gardens. Just – gardens. 

You’ll learn pretty early on that they’re everywhere. Florence’s landscape is loaded with insanely beautiful Tuscan gardens ranging from bold and colorful to simple green fields. Either way, you won’t mind spending your time getting lost amongst Italy’s cypress trees.

4. You’ll be surrounded by the most famous works of art in history. 

Florence was the mecca for art and innovation in the age of the Renaissance (i.e. Leonardo da Vinci anyone?). The city is brimming with centuries’ worth of age-old paintings and architecture that bleed the city’s history and ancient influences.

5. You’ll never want to leave. 

Whether you come for the art, the culture, or even the food, I can guarantee you will undoubtedly fall in love with Florence and everything in it. Once you go back home and start reminiscing over your time abroad, you’ll be dreaming of coming back to Florence’s Tuscan scenery.