Piazzale Michelangelo

Piazzale Michelangelo is the postcard: from the balustrade the whole of Florence sits below you, the Duomo's dome dominating the middle of the frame with Palazzo Vecchio's tower beside it and the Arno bridges stacking up to the left. It faces north-west, which means the late light comes from the side and behind you, painting the city while your subjects stay evenly lit — one of those rare famous views that is also technically easy.

The balustrade itself is the obvious foreground, but two better options sit within five minutes' walk. The staircase below the terrace, on Via delle Rampe, gives the same skyline with stone steps and greenery as a frame and a fraction of the people. And just above the piazzale, the rose garden drops down the hillside in terraces — in May and June it adds flowers to the same view.

Be honest with clients about sunset: it is beautiful and it is mobbed, with buses unloading from mid-afternoon. Sunrise has the same skyline, mist on the river, and almost nobody. If sunset it must be, arrive an hour early to hold a spot at the balustrade and plan to finish in the rose garden as the crowd peaks.