Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge") has spanned the Arno at this point since the 1300s, and is unusual among medieval bridges for having shops built directly onto it, overhanging the water on wooden brackets. Originally home to butchers and tanners — practical, given the river was a convenient place to dispose of waste — the shops were converted to goldsmiths and jewellers in the late 1500s by decree of the Medici, who wanted a more pleasant view from the private corridor they'd built above the shops connecting the Uffizi to the Pitti Palace.
Why it's still there
In August 1944, retreating German forces destroyed every bridge across the Arno in Florence except Ponte Vecchio — accounts suggest it was spared on direct order, though they blocked access by demolishing buildings at both ends instead. It remains the only Florence bridge that survived the war intact.
Visiting
The bridge itself is free to walk and always open, lined with small gold and jewellery shops much as it has been for centuries. It's at its most crowded at midday and around sunset; early morning offers a genuinely different, quiet experience of the same view.
The quieter bridges nearby
Ponte Santa Trinita, just downstream, offers arguably the best photo angle of Ponte Vecchio itself and a fraction of the foot traffic. Ponte alle Grazie, slightly further along, is another good spot for the view without the crowd.