Florence is quite small and beautiful. Stroll the Duomo, one of the most beautiful churches in the world. Everytime we walk by it, it takes our breath away. You can go inside but the line is usually quite long, wrapping around the building. There is also the opportunity to climb 400 tiny steps to go up in the bell tower.
After the Duomo, walk through the city center, visiting stores, and you will run into Piazza della Signora, which is a large open square where you will see many statues, and the Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace) which is where the Mayor and his team have their offices. In this square you will see the replica of Michelangelo’s David. There is also the new Gucci Museum in this square.
Right next to Palazzo Vecchio, is the Uffizi Gallery and it’s worth seeing and buying the reservation tickets to explore. It houses one of the greatest collections in the world of Italian Renaissance and pre-Renaissance art. (Pay the extra 5 euro or so for the ticket that gives you an entrance time, otherwise you will have to wait in a long line). If it is open, explore the Vasari Corridor, which is a part of the Uffizi Gallery, that takes a small group on a private tour through the Uffizi and across the Ponte Vecchio. (It is a long corridor full of the Medici family art and portraits, and is closed off to the public).
You can see all the goldsmiths along the Ponte Vecchio (old bridge). The bridge crosses the Arno River and about 1/4 mile after crossing the bridge, you will see the Pitti Palace/Palazzo Pitti.
Palazzo Pitti and its Boboli Gardens is where the Pitti family lived, then they bankrupted and the Medici Family moved in. Gorgeous palazzo and the well-manicured gardens are beautiful and expansive. During the summer and fall months, they have operas in the garden.
The Galleria Accademia Museum houses the real David by Michelangelo, a magnificent sculptured work of art. This is a smaller museum, and again, the 5 euro additional reservation fee gives you a specified time to enter. They say no photos inside, but I’ve seen a thousand people pull out their cameras and snap a quick shot.
Mercato Centrale di San Lorenzo (San Lorenzo Central Market) is a large indoor market where they sell Italian food specialties, cheese, salami, prosciutto, etc. On the second floor, you will find local restaurants, sort of like an upscale food court, where you can have lunch, dinner, aperitivo, or a snack. There are tables to sit down and eat and a lot is offered. Around the mercato, you will see lots of vendors selling leather jackets. Although leather is really good in Italy – purses, coats, gloves, bags – We wouldn’t recommend buying from these vendors. None of them are usually Italian. Go into the smaller artisan places or into a real store.
Other things to do in Tuscany:
- Sign up for a cooking class in Florence. There are many, and this is just one: http://www.intavola.org/ . Or you can usually book one at an agriturismo in the countryside.
- Go to Chianti for wine tasting
- Go on a Vespa or Vintage Fiat 500 Tour. You can rent a vespa or fiat for the day to explore the city and the countryside.
- Visit Fiesole for lunch, which is a Florence suburb in the hills (12 minutes from the center)
Drinks:
- Hotel Savoy in Piazza Repubblica http://www.hotelsavoy.it/
- J.K. Place Hotel, in the Piazza Santa Maria Novella, on the outside patio http://jkplace.com/
- SESTO Rooftop bar of Westin Excelsior for great views http://www.sestoonarno.com/en/aboutsesto
- Bar Colle Bereto, in Piazza Strozzi, for drinks and aperitivo, it’s one of the ‘cooler’ spots. Piazza degli Strozzi, 5/r
Gelato
- Grom (next to duomo. sometimes there’s a long line) Via delle Oche, 24/r
- Il Gelato di Carapina, Via Lambertesca 18
Do not eat gelato from the touristy places in the center that have the big mountains of gelato
Restaurants
There are tons and you will be fine as long as you don’t eat in the touristy places right in the center that offer prix fix menus for tourists. Remember that Italians eat lunch around 12:30-2:00. Outside of those hours it might be hard to find a good restaurant to serve lunch. Italians also eat in courses, so for dinner expect that they will eat an appetizer, pasta or risotto, main course and dessert. Around 6:30pm you will find places that offer an ‘aperitivo’ which is a pre-dinner drink and light food.
Lunch/Dinner
1. Lunch while out touring the city. Golden Bar Open View - good food, great views of the Arno River and Ponte Vecchio bridge
2. Il Santo Bevitore - cool, modern
3. Tamero’ – on the other side of the Arno River, in the cool area of Piazza Santo Spirito where people like to hang out at night. Homemade pasta in a hip atmosphere.
4. La Bottega di Rosa - stylish modern, good food, but the portions aren’t large
5. La Giostra - eclectic, a tad pricey, good
6. Buca dell’Orafo (Via de’ Girolami 28r, tel. 055.213.619–reservations are a must because it’s always full). It’s a little pricey–it’s usually not less than 50 euro per person depending on the wine–but it is consistently good.
Shopping
These stores are within 5 min walking distance from each other, right in the center. Stores hours are usually 10am-7pm:
1. Bottega Quattro - good for cool menswear. Address: Via de’ Rondinelli 9-13r
2. Flow - good for cool mens and ladies sportswear, a bit pricey, Via dei Vecchietti, 20
3. Gerard Loft - good for cool mens and ladies sportswear, a bit pricey. Via dè Pecori, 36-red
4. Flow Shoes/Accessories - nice bags and shoes, well-known European brands. Via Sassetti, 13r
5. Luisa Via Roma - high designer concept store, very pricey but cool to wander. Via Roma, 19/21r. They also have an outlet here in the city and they will put you in a free taxi to visit it.
6. Dixie - affordable young women’s store, Via del Corso, 52/r
7. Miss Trench – affordable young women’s store, Via Porta Rossa 16/r
8. Officina Profumo Farmacia Santa Maria Novella - apothecary, people view it as a cult shopping spot because it was founded centuries ago by monks, it’s good if you like this sort of thing.
9. We like this place for natural beauty products, made in Tuscany – Officina de’ Tornabuoni, Via di Parione, 52
10. Chain stores with good prices: Zara, H&M, Massimo Dutti
11. Coin Department Store, Via dei Calzaiuoli, 56
12. Rinascente Department Store, just a tad more upscale than Coin. Piazza della Repubblica 3-5
