- Florence
- (124)
-
Italy
The scenery is breathtaking! The gorgeous beaches, crystal blue water, charming villages, landscapes, castles, tradition. Everything! If you are looking to vacation with a significant other, I definitely suggestion the Maremma!
A lovely village just below Florence, very charming, delicatessan and places to eat out. I stayed at a small villa nearby with pool, made many days out from there to the surrounding areas.
This hostel isn't in the center of Florence - it's on the outskirts, but there's a free bus shuttle service into the center, and during the hot summer months, the pool and quieter location is a welcome respite from the summer crowds.
The location means you get cheaper room rates and heaps of extras - we loved the swimming pool, restaurant, bar and pretty surrounding olive groves.
We hired bikes and explored other parts of Tuscany - and the hostel organize tours to Pisa, Lucca and San Gimingnano.
Beautiful location, views of Tuscany countryside, great free breakfast, totally relaxing, and it was easy to pop into Florence, despite being in another town!
The Tuscan region is absolutely remarkable in the summertime. Being here for six weeks, I thought I would get bored, but there is so much to do! The art exhibits, vespa tours, wine tours, concerts, festivals... I could go on!
I used a really good site I found that helped me figure out what to do, where to go, and how to get there - check it out!
A beautiful place to stay about 20 minutes away from Florence. The rooms are brightly coloured grungy chic, and the views over Tuscan countryside are truly lovely.
The owners were unobtrusively helpful, and laid on scrumptious breakfasts. Full board was beyond our budget, but on the couple of nights we had dinner there it was stunning - and veggie-friendly. We went away laden with soap made locally from produce grown in the gardens, and a decent bottle of the house wine.
On the very first night of our honeymoon last October, the owners of the agriturismo we stayed at lit our room with candlelight and left a bottle of wine from the estate down the road in our room. We happily drank it, and it was so good we headed off to find the source.
Turns out that wine buffs amongst you may recognise the name - Castello di Nipozzano is owned by the Frescobaldi family. But whether you know the label or not, it's a lovely place to visit - tucked away on the hillsides above Florence with joyous views of rolling Tuscan countryside. They run frequent tours and tastings, or you can just wander round the shop and pick a few choice bottles before emerging again into the sunlight and the good life.
Nipozzano is about 25km east of Florence. The website isn't hugely helpful on visiting but try it: www.frescobaldi.it/en/home.htm
Great restaurant with a great view of the old wall of the city - unique atmosphere!
The restaurant is close to Ponte Vecchio and Piazzale Michelangelo.
www.ilrifrullo.com
via San Niccolò, 55/r
00390552342621www.ilrifrullo.com
One of the most scenic train journeys you can go on is the train whick links the beautiful Italian cities of Florence and Venice. The first wonderful surprise is the magnificent train station at Florence, a building of architectural worth and beauty in its own right. Get there early for the train and have a snack in the cafeteria while drinking in the rococo decor.
The train itself is superbly clean with comfortable seats and ticket inspectors with stylish uniforms. It feels like a 1960's Italian movie. The scenery is worth watching, no need to take a book to read on this journey. The excitement of arriving in Venice is hard to describe, look forward to walking from the station to the Piazza San Marco (try to arrive just before dusk to see the full magnificence of one of the world's most perfect scenes.......)
Fantastic little restaurant running since 1860 (the whole time with the same family). We had a delicious meal there (pastas around seven euros, salads four, desserts four) and thoroughly enjoyed both the delicious food and the great service and ambience. Highly reccommended.
43-45 Via Sant'Antonio
www.paginegialle.it/palledoro
Il Ghiro is a wonderful little guesthouse situated very centrally, near the main train station in Florence. It is absolutely fantastic. Reasonably priced, clean, great staff, free web access (and that is a real gift here in Italy) and lots of help available finding anything you want to see, great places to eat etc. Run by Francesco and Paula; we have only met Francesco but he is fantastic (and so is Paula, if the recommendations on the wall are anything to go by). Best place yet. Stay here!
Il Ghiro
Via Faenza 63, 5013 FIRENZE
www.ilghiro.it
If you join Friends of the Uffizi you get access to all state run museums in Florence and can go to the top of any queue. Museums include the Uffizi, Accademia, Bargello and San Marco but there is a longer list.
You can join in advance but it is easy to do when you arrive. Membership is for the calendar year and not for 12 months from payment but it is still value for money and encourages you to go to museums 'little and often'. Varied costs but it is 100 Euros for a family.
www.amicidegliuffizi.it/homenglish.html
The office is opposite the main Uffizi entrance in the old post office building.
Florence holds a sumptuous medieval fireworks festival, the 'explosion of the cart', in piazza del Duomo on Easter Sunday. Almost all museums are open (except on Monday when they tend to close anyway), and there's some of the best open-air sightseeing in Europe, with the piazza della Signoria, Ponte Vecchio and piazzale Michelangelo to visit. Most bars and restaurants have terraces or put tables out (many have canopies in case of rain too!).
It's usually warm to very warm spring weather. You can fly direct to Florence from Gatwick with Meridiana or to Pisa (one hour train ride) from Bristol with Easyjet. Both flights are around two hours.
Very close to main train station and good facilities!
www.ishflorence.com
Via Faenza 67
Florence
Italy
I'm a terrible cook and enrolled in a cooking course in Tuscany much to my husband's delight and I can honestly say I can now cook 'Italian' to a passable standard. I jumped on a mini bus in the centre of Florence at 9.30am and was driven just outside of the city centre into the beautiful green hills of Tuscany. We pulled up at a pretty Tuscan villa where we were introduced to our Italian chef. We got our aprons on and went outside to pick fresh herbs and veg from the gardens, the smells were amazing and the chef made me really think about the importance of using fresh produce for your cooking.
I learned to cook so many dishes and sauces, this course takes you well beyond the spaghetti bolognese. I can now cook a full three-course meal and many other side dishes to a passable quality. The wine flowed and the fact that it was produced from the vineyards in the grounds made it all taste so much better. I had a brilliant time and highly recommend it (so can my husband!). It's a brilliant add-on to a trip to Florence and I'll definitely go back for more lessons later in the year.
www.golearnto.com/course/overview/1020/First+Taste+of+Tuscany+Cooking+Holiday
Pick up from Florence city centre at 9.30am, just 10 euros return which is well worth the money. Book it online, it's easy - everything works out brilliantly and you only have to pay a deposit.
Definitely find the cafe at the Uffizi - lovely rooftop views and not too expensive. Sit outside and escape the hoardes of art viewers for a few minutes.
Top floor, Uffizi
Ciao Bambino is an online guide to family-friendly vacation properties with many accommodations in Italy. I used them to research a family reunion trip for 17 people. It's easy to use and has age appropriate ratings - this is great if you have toddlers/small children and need things like highchairs, cribs, etc. Many of their properties are apartments with hotel amenities which is a great combo.
Most of the pottery known as Tuscan pottery or Florentine pottery is actually made in Montelupo Fiorentino, one of the most important ceramic centres in Italy during the Renaissance and immediately after.
Considered for a very long time a minor pottery production centre, the role played by Montelupo pottery in the history of Italian ceramics was re-defined only a few years ago, thanks to the unexpected discovery of an old well full of kiln shards.
Hundreds of ceramic pieces from the Renaissance were found in the excavations thanks to the hard work of an association of volunteers. Now they are the core of the Tuscan pottery collection housed in a newly renovated Museum of Ceramics.
What makes the Museum so definitely worth a visit is the uniqueness of its large collection of ceramic works. Most of the 5,500 pieces belonging to the collection come from the excavations made in the area of Montelupo in the last 33 years. They provide an extraordinary opportunity to travel back in time through five centuries in the history of one of the most important ceramic centres in Europe.
More about Tuscan pottery Museum at www.thatsarte.com/blog/highlights/tuscan-pottery-museum-montelupo-ceramics/
Montelupo Museum of Ceramics
Tue/Sun: 10.00/18.00
Tel. 0039 0571 51352
info@museomontelupo.it
The centre of the city is not large, so it makes this place easy to visit in a day.
You can choose to visit Florence by bike, following the cycle tracks that reach the most famous historic sites.
What to see:
- Piazza della Signoria
- Piazzale Michelangelo
- Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square)
- The Bargello Museum
- Ponte Vecchio: To one side of the bridge there is the majestic bust of the most famous Florentine goldsmith, Benvenuto Cellini.
Scenic views:
- Bike along the romantic Viale dei Colli up to Piazzale Michelangelo to see the wonderful landscape of Florence
- Panoramic view of the Boboli Gardens
Bike rental estimated prices:
1 hour - about 3 Euro
1 day - from a minimum of 14 Euro to a maximum of 27 Euro
Finally, a gay bar in Florence that doesn't hide behind closed doors. Located just around the corner from the famous and lively Piazza Santa Croce, this is a nice, open and straight-friendly place for having a drink with your friend(s) after sightseeing or after dinner.
For a gay guide and map of Florence see: www.patroc.com/florence/
Borgo Santa Croce 23/r
+39 (0)552001057
Ostello Gallo D'Oro is a central, pleasant and extremely clean hostel in Florence, owned by the most remarkable couple: Massimo and Silvia.
They drive every aspect of this lovely Florence hostel, and are constantly on hand to make sure that their guests (and you really do feel like a guest rather than a customer!) have everything they could possibly need.
I didn't stay long enough to take advantage of the offer, but long-term guests are invited out to their Tuscan farmhouse for the night.
It was a real wrench to tear myself away.
No. 104 Via Cavour, Florence
www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/italy/florence/3711/
Send your feedback or queries to been.there@guardian.co.uk
Search Been there
Your tips about Florence