Behind Pitti Palace lies the sprawling, 45,000-square-meter Boboli Gardens created between the 15th and 19th centuries. Initially a city residence for the Medici family, Pitti Palace and its gardens later became the model for European courts. Stroll through the past in this outdoor museum, filled with both ancient and Renaissance statues and among other things, a fountain nicknamed 'the artichoke', and an amphitheater carved directly from the hillside where the palace is located. When you get tired, kick back in the stately Kaffeehaus, a rare example of Rococo architecture in Tuscany. A taste of court life is just a short, 30-minute stroll from the city center; or, you can just take bus number 11 or 36 at Piazza San Felice and get off at Vigna Nuova.