If you are looking for the best time when to visit Florence, May could be the answer you are looking for.
Florence is wonderful at any time of the year but why then decide to visit it in May?
One reason may be because May is a less crowded month. We are at the beginning of the “high tourist season” and we are not yet in the peak of visitation.
Another reason could definitely be the weather. You know that Italy is famous for its beautiful four seasons and in Florence in May it is spring. Spring means: good weather, sunshine, colors, flowers.
Flowers above all, the city becomes full of flowers and colors and in May the doors of some of the most hidden gardens of Florence open, such as the Iris garden and the Rose garden.
When to visit Florence: May and the Iris garden
The Iris Garden was created in 1954 to give space to an annual International Competition for the best varieties of Irises. The event was organized in the city of Florence, considered the natural site of the Iris because of the historical bond the city has always had with this flower as its emblem: a red Iris on a white field.
The ground chosen for this initiative was a piece of terrain on the east side of Piazzale Michelangelo. The so-called: Podere dei Bastioni and in 1954 the first International Iris Competition took place.
The garden was designed by architect G. Zetti and inaugurated in 1957. Among its founding members we also find the name of Elena of Romania, Princess of Greece and Denmark, who lived in Florence for 40 years and fell in love with its hills and gardens.
In 1967, a pond was constructed in the lowest area of the garden to accommodate Japanese and Louisiana Irises in the water logged soil.
When to visit the Iris Garden
The garden cannot always be visited, its gates are usually opened at the end of April until May 20th. The garden is located under Piazzale Michelangelo and is the only botanical garden dedicated exclusively to this flower in Europe.
If you have never visited this garden, we really recommend you to do it. It is an oasis of peace in the center of the city.
Walking among the flowers, the trees, the olive trees, hearing the birds chirping. A different way to enjoy Florence: for people looking for an experience for the whole family, even the little ones will be happy, for people looking for a romantic walk or for people who want to immerse themselves in nature during their stay in Florence.
