The San Marco district, north of the cathedral, is the city's quieter scholarly quarter, built around the Dominican convent of San Marco where the friar-painter Fra Angelico frescoed the monks' cells with luminous scenes of the life of Christ. The convent, now a museum, is one of the most moving sights in Florence.
A few steps away the Galleria dell'Accademia draws the longest queues in the city for a single sculpture: Michelangelo's David, standing in serene perfection at the end of its gallery. The surrounding streets, dotted with university faculties and the botanical garden of the Giardino dei Semplici, have a calm, local feel. Book your Accademia slot ahead to avoid hours in line.