To travel from Paris to Florence we had a few options available. It is a long distance and we needed to cover it in one day as we needed to be in Florence at a certain time or pay a late check-in fee for our apartment. Flying was one of the options but it involved an airline neither of us had ever heard of. Plus the flight involved a change of planes with a layover in Berlin. That didn't sound bad but we really didn't want to fly. The regular train would have taken too long so we decided on the TGV. The high speed train. And high speed it was. We left Paris about 8:00am and got to Florence about 4:00pm. That included a layover and change of trains in Milan. Traveling on the TGV is quite a treat and highly recommended to anyone having the opportunity to do so.
Our apartment was in a great location, just a block from the Duomo. It was on the first floor but had a lift so there was no stair climbing involved. It was actually more like an efficiency but it was spacious and had a great patio that overlooked a nice quiet side street.
We were only in Florence for a week but managed to do everything we wanted and not exhaust ourselves. We even managed a side trip to Lucca and Pisa. We took the train and made the round trip, with plenty of time to explore the two cities, in one day.

View of the Duomo Dome from Piazzale Michelangiolo.

The Jewish Synagogue from Piazzale Michelangiolo.

Basilica of Santa Croce from Piazzale Michelangiolo.

A view of the city from Piazzale Michelangiolo.

Ponte Vecchio from Piazzale Michelangiolo.

Ancient Roman wall near Piazzale Michelangiolo.

A streeet mime as Leonardo da Vinci.

Hercules and Diomedes by Vincenzo de' Rossi (1550.)

Is an unfinished da Vinci really hidden behind this fresco?

As if the obelisk the turtle is holding up wasn't enough weight.

Part of the wall surrounding Lucca.

Garibaldi in Lucca.

Typical street in Old Lucca.

Piazza Anfiteatro in Lucca.

The Duomo and the Leaning Tower in Pisa.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa.

The Duomo.

Inside the Duomo.

Also inside the Duomo.

Street market in Florence.

The Great Synagogue of Florence or Tempio Maggiore.

The mosaic ceiling dome of the Baptistry in Florence.

Closeup detail of the center bronze door of the Duomo in Florence.

Galileo's tomb in Santa Croce.

Monument to Dante in Santa Croce.

Michelangelo's tomb in Santa Croce.

Rossini's final resting place in the Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence.

Bust inside Santa Croce.