Great location to sit and drink and watch the world go by, on Piazza Santa Croce. The Santa Croce church is just yards away.
For such a prime location, the prices were surprisingly good. We only had drinks but at €3.50 per large glass of house white we were not complaining.
Service was good.

www.finisterraefirenze.com/
Piazza Santa Croce, 12 - 50122 Firenze
+39 055 2638675
(On Piazza Santa Croce with Santa Croce church only yards away)
Google map: bit.ly/MBannZ

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For a bar in the heart of Florence, it feels like a bar in a small town in Italy. Bar serves small tapa like portions (from 75c) as well as larger paninis.
What really struck me about this place was that people served themselves (both wine and food) and paid for it at the end. From the crowds of locals milling about the place on the road outside (as there is very little room inside) it seems like a popular spot.

Via de' Neri 65, 50122 Florence
+39(0)55 2382723
Google map: bit.ly/LPLoZ2

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For a bar in the heart of Florence, it feels like a bar in a small town in Italy. Bar serves small tapa like portions (from 75c) as well as larger paninis.
What really struck me about this place was that people served them selves (both wine and food) and paid for it at the end. From the crowds of locals milling about the place on the road outside (as there is very little room inside) it seems like a popular spot.

Via dei Neri, 65-red, 50122 Firenze, Italy
+39 055 238 2723
Google map: bit.ly/LCocAS

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Good find just off Piazza Santa Croce, this bar has a lot of outdoor seating along the roadside. For Florence the prices were very reasonable. Beer was about €4.50 a pint with wine about €4. The food menu is limited with meat and cheese platters served.

Centro Servizi Borgo Dei Greci Srl Piazza dei Peruzzi, 50122 Florence
Google map: bit.ly/LN2nNB

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Riva d'Arno is a new wine bar/art gallery on the banks of the Arno, a few minutes from Ponte Vecchio. It's beatifully designed with great views, fabulous food and wine and a new centre for art. It's a peaceful place to have a drink after walking around the city, a nice lunch overlooking the river or a supper as the sun goes down. It's definitely worth a visit.

www.rivadarnowinebar.it
Lungarno Soderini 7r
+39055280223
Google map: bit.ly/KhVLIc

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Tucked away, a short walk away from the main tourist area this bar offers an impressive and varied collection of Italian wines along with a fabulous and relaxed atmosphere. They also shake up a mean cocktail (with generous measures too!). Free wi-fi also available.

Borgo Ognissanti, 42/r
50123 Firenze, Italia
+39 (0)55 217791

Google map: tinyurl.com/3xnokg4

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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

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Santo Spirito, as i think a few have pointed out, gives you a welcome breather from the tourists yet it can only be a hundred yards from the Ponte Vechhio.

It is popular with students and with the locals (nearby are some delis and whatnot so you actually see Florentines) and comes to life after nine or so in the evening.

At the top of the square is Brunelleschi’s spectacular church - as well as having a crucifix by a very young Michelangelo, it was studied and admired by many including Da Vinci and it is easy to see why. It is especially pretty when the facade is lit at night.

There are a few restaurants and a couple of bars in the square, the type of spots where, if you drink too many amerettos, they give you a tequilla on the house - the atmosphere is friendly at all of them.

Istayed at Antica Dimora with a friend but it would be especially nice to go there romantically - ask for a room with a little balcony. You can watch (and listen!) to the market being set up in the morning. The rooms are huge with lovely wooden beams and, maybe vaguely kitsch decor but it feels like you’ve been to Firenze! It’s a short back street walk to the wonderful, wonderful Bobili gardens too.

piazza santo spirito no.9
t. +39 055 2658376
50125 Firenze

www.residenzasspirito.com

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A delightful restaurant overlooking the Ponte Vecchio on the south side of the river. A meal for two including a reserve bottle of wine and three courses costs around 90 euros. Would recommend booking a table by the window for clear views of the bridge and the Arno.

Via dei Bardi, 58r (near Ponte Vecchio); tel: 055 214 502

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Dead cheap and one of the best views of Florence. Drink in the Blu Bar (expensive, but fantastic views), eat in the pizzeria on the square opposite and take a walk up the hill for an even more spectacular view

Buy a bus ticket at any tabac and get the no 7 - it goes from Piazza del Duomo and stops in the square in Fiesole, just beside the Blu Bar (which is at Piazza Mino Da Fiesole, 39; tel: 055 597235).

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This bar - favoured by the beautiful young things of Florence - is the perfect place for pre-dinner aperitivo. Plates of delicious cold meats, cheeses and pasta are served up, washed down with Florence's best (though highly alcoholic) cocktails and accompanied by low-key music from resident DJs. It's also perfect after midnight, when the party spills onto the street, and the illuminated Ponte Vecchio serves as a backdrop to the Florentine frolics.

Lungarno Corsini 12-14r next to Ponte Santa Trinita; tel: 055 210 751 or 055 293 258

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Basically, this place is a mecca for students, especially American ones. There's table footy, pool, probably some other bar games I've forgotten... and a very, very cheap happy 'hour' which lasts all night. The cocktails are particularly worth it, especially after a hard day of thinking about art/history/Italian grammar. Its location in the Santa Croce area means that you're near all the coolest places to go out too. Ahh, Loch Ness... Get messy with Nessy.

Via dei Benci 19r

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This is a fantastic bar on the edge of the centre of Florence, right next to Piazza Beccaria. The best things about it are the atmosphere and price. As it isn't in the very centre, you only ever come across proper young Florentines (and you can avoid all the tourists if that's what you want). The deco isn't too bad either. For six euros you can buy a cocktail and an aperitivo - they are definitely not stingy with the food. The mood is very laid back and very very italian.

Viale Antonio Gramsci, 3/r

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