Swanson School of Engineering

by Caiden Martos, Mechanical Engineering, Summer 2026

Walking around Florence is nothing like taking a walk in the US. Traveling anywhere at home is a chore if you don’t have a car while taking a walk in Florence is easy and peaceful. The streets throughout are largely focused on pedestrian traffic and although cars do travel down the streets people are everywhere. There isn’t much parking for cars, as you’re expected to walk anywhere you go since everything is within such a short distance. All the buildings lining the street are a mix of restaurants, stores, and apartments, all sharing the space with one another. The sidewalks are very thin, as the buildings are pulled up basically al lthe way to the road. Although this means no parking, everything being so walkable makes it so it doesn’t matter. Although at first I wasn’t 100% sure that this trip was going to be for me, I am glad I went through with the plan because it is a beautiful walkable city.