Have you ever thought of running in the city of the Renaissance, among the treasures of Michelangelo and? When you come in Florence, pack your running shoes, and try one of these great routes for runners:

The Cascine park
It is the Florentine's Central Park, with lawns and woods, along the river Arno. You can start at the Ponte alla Vittoria (15 minutes walk from the station, 5 minutes walk from scuola toscana in Via Garibaldi) or Piazzale del Re (bus n.17), the complete loop around the Park is about 8 km - asfalt or dirty trail, too. The best times are on weekdays, when most people are at work: on the weekend you have lot of company (also cyclers and skaters) but there is still plenty of space. Running along the river Arno you can spot ducks, egrets, cormorans, herons, especially if you go in the early hours. Beware of the place after dark, it is the only unsafe place in Florence.

Viale dei Colli (Piazzale Michelangelo)
The most scenic run in Florence, goes uphill with gentle curves with views of the city on one side, nice villas and gardens (the most expensive location in Florence)on the other, until arrives at the Piazzale Michelangelo (copy of the David statues, and "official" panorama of Florence): then, descends to the Arno river (here you find also the sporting club "Assi Giglio Rosso",with tennis courts and a regular track). Dirty trail and asfalt. Magic in the early morning or at sunset, great also in winter.

Albereta
At the end of the Viale dei Colli, along the river Arno, begins the Park of Albereta (Piazza Ravenna, bus 23 from the Station, 15 minutes walk from the Scuola Toscana in via dei Benci). You can run along the river, cross it at the Ponte del Varlungo and run back along the other side, a stripe of green which is called Bellariva (nice shore); the loop is about 4 km: not so scenic as the Cascine, but popular among the serious runners.

Neto
Less known but beautiful small park in Sesto Fiorentino/Calenzano, 20 minutes by n.2 bus from Florence, with lot of shadow, a nice pond with bald cypresses and a nice track for runners (about 1 km). The inhabitants of Sesto Fiorentino are serious runners, they organise many marathons during the years, so you can meet the right people there...

There are plenty of runs organised by different sporting club around Florence, in Florence the most famous are the Maratonina di Natale and, of course, the Florence Marathon.