Piazza San Marco is the central square of Florence's university quarter, flanked by the Dominican convent that houses the Museo di San Marco on one side and by the university buildings and student facilities on the others. It is a working square rather than a tourist spectacle — buses terminate here, students cross it between lectures, and the cafes and bars serve a local clientele.
The square is a useful breathing space away from the crowds further south. The Museo di San Marco (Fra Angelico's cells and the Michelozzian library) opens directly onto the piazza, as does the church of San Marco. Giambologna's equestrian statue of Cosimo I (an earlier cast than the one in Piazza della Signoria) stands at the centre. The neighbourhood around the piazza — Via Cavour, Via degli Alfani, the area toward Santissima Annunziata — is consistently pleasant for walking, with less tourist infrastructure and more active city life than the historic centre.