Landing in Florence

Florence is an important railway hub, and train is the most convenient option for reaching Florence from other Italian cities or abroad. All trains lead to the city's main train station, Stazione di Santa Maria Novella and you will need to take public transport or a cab to get to your final destination.

Inside Stazione di Santa Maria Novella


Flying into Florence for most people is an easy way to get into the city. However, if you are flying in, you would land at Pisa's Galileo Galilei airport, 80 minutes away by direct train. Pisa is an important central Italian hub and flights arrive from most main European centers.

Eurolines, in conjunction with local bus companies across Europe, is the main international carrier. Buses run several times a week from London, Paris, Barcelona and other European centers.

The best ways to get around Florence

Most tourist sites in Florence are close by, so walking around is the best way to see the city. You might want to take a car if you are with family, but be aware that most roads in the city center are car-free zones, parking is near to impossible and costs a fortune and the traffic is not easy to traverse. Unless you plan to visit places just outside the city like Fiesole, drop the idea of renting a car. Instead, if you can drive one, rent a motor-bike or a bicycle. In fact you can ask your hotel to arrange a bike and some hotels provide guests with free bikes as well.

Bikes can also be hired at several points in the city and the ones located at the SMN station or other railway stations are very convenient. Bike shops also organize bike tours in the countryside.


Taxis are available but it is better to get your hotel or the restaurant call ahead; taxis cannot be hailed off the street and must be called. There are very few taxi stands and the most prominent one is at the central Santa Maria Novella Station. Public buses run by ATAF are also a good option for getting around the city. Tickets are available at ATAF ticketing office at the bus station outside Santa Maria Novella train station or kiosks, newsagents or bars that display the symbol "Biglietti ATAF".

A Room With A View

Hotels in Florence have nearly tripled since the early 90s and today it is difficult to find a good accommodation for less than a €100. Pensions and Bed & Breakfasts have become more a haunt of students and young travelers and if you don’t book a couple of months in advance, chances are you wouldn’t be able to find a good place to stay in Florence.

That said we would also tell you that when you want to find a way, you usually get one. For one, the hotel scene has become better than before and you do get what you pay for. Hotels may be charging more now but they are also providing more facilities to customers and their services are parallel to hotels in larger cities worldwide.

Secondly, since Florence is a very tourist friendly city, newer and better budget accommodations are coming up and if you still feel you’re in a spot get in touch with the Santa Maria Novella train station for the Consorzio Informazioni Turistiche Alberghiere (ITA) office, near Track 9 (tel. 055-282-893), and the tiny tourist office, near Track 16, both of which will find you a room in your price range (for a small commission). You could also book online, from your pc, the best hotel in Florence according to your needs.

If you have Euros to splurge and gargle take your pick from these:

Hotel Helvetia & Bristol: One of the best addresses in town, Helvetica was the leading hotel in Florence in the 19th century. A recent, award-winning restoration has given it a new turn of the century, luxurious look and it is as popular as ever.

Hotel Regency : This is one place to feel like royalty; with antique furnishings and the best service, Hotel Regency is also famous for its Tuscan cuisine restaurant - Relais le Jardin. Rooms are somewhat modernized, keeping old world quality about in its marble-clad bathrooms. Fresh fruit arriving everyday with the newspapers adds a touch of class to the quiet comfort.

Also try: Hotel Davanzati $ 390, Residence Michelangiolo $ 304, Hotel David € 154, Hotel Casci € 185 and Hotel Europa € 185.

You can find a lot of budget hotels in the area around the Stazione Santa Maria Novella and most of them are convenient and safe. The area between the Duomo and Piazza della Signoria, particularly along and near Via dei Calzaiuoli, is a good though invariably more expensive place to look. Some good options are:

Pensione Maria Luisa de' Medici: A centrally located, well decorated property that is comfortable and offers good service. Also, this is one of the few places that serves a full breakfast in bed.

Hotel Torre Guelfa: The hotel is situated in the tallest privately owned tower in the city near the Ponte Vecchio.

Morandi alla Crocetta: A Friendly and hospitable atmosphere, good service and comfortable rooms make the Morandi, set in a 1511 convent, a pleasure to stay in. Since it is very popular, you need to book ahead.

Other choices worth ruminating your pasta on are: Hotel Chiari Bigallo, Hotel Hermitage, Hotel Bellettini , Westin Excelsior , Hotel Loggiato dei Serviti , Torre di Bellosguardo and Pensione Benescistà.

There are several hostels, all quite popular and quite populated especially in peek season; so you need to book ahead. Try some of these:

Albergo Paola (€ 25), Ostello Gallo D’Oro (€ 30), Academy Hostel (€30), Plus Florence (€22), Hotel Angelica (€ 35), Il Ghiro (€ 32) and Hostel Heart of Tuscany (€ 19.50).

Renting an apartment is a very economical way to stay in Florence if you are traveling with your family.

The Great Eat-Out in Florence

Florence is an epicurean’s delight as there are fantastic eateries, each with delectable cuisines and unique décor and ambience to entice the patrons. Try Cibrèo for its authentic country-style decor and authentic Tuscan dishes and La Giostra , a fine but little-known restaurant a few blocks east of the Duomo. You will Tuscan dishes fused with Austrian cuisine in the most mouthwatering manner.

While in Florence, do try one of its family run Trattoria where you will find tasty but simple fare at great prices. One of the best in business is I' Cche' c'è c'è where Tuscan dishes like tagliatelle with wild mushrooms and beef cooked in Chianti wine get transformed into something that needs a French name or the Il Latini for its fantastic food served in a relaxed, happy atmosphere. Other restaurants of note are the Il Pizzaiuolo and Il Cantinone.

Leave no opportunity to taste the wonderful wines produced in the region and served by almost every restaurant in Florence. In fact try some of these wine bars – call mom to drive you home, though!

Le Volpi E L’Uva on Piazza dei Rossi 1

Coquinarius on Via delle Oche 15

Sei Divino at Via Borgo Ognissanti 42r

Zoe at Via dei Renai 13r

Beccofino at Piazza degli Scarlatti 1R

Entertainment Florentine

Night time entertainment in Florence is not restricted to just bars and clubs. You can catch one of the two symphony orchestras and a fine music school in Fiesole. The city's public theaters are certainly respectable, and most major touring companies stop in town on their way through Italy. Get tickets to all cultural and musical events at the city's main clearinghouse, Box Office, Via Alamanni 39 (tel. 055-210-804; www.boxoffice.it). In addition to tickets for year-round events of all genres, they handle the summertime Calcio in Costume folkloric festival and the Maggio Musicale.

Many concerts and recitals staged in major halls and private spaces across town are sponsored by the Amici della Musica. You could also become one with the Florentines and head to nearby Prato for the Teatro Metastasio, one of Italy's finest.

Florence is a great place to go to church concerts. The most notable are in the tiny Santa Maria de' Ricci on Via del Corso where something is always on. Mostly entry is free but sometimes there's a small charge. Around the corner at Santa Margherita 7, the Chiesa di Dante puts on quality concerts of music for, and often played by, youths and children. Here you will need to buy tickets. The Florentine Chamber Orchestra on Via E. Poggi 6 also runs an autumn season in the Orsanmichele.

One of Italy's busiest stages, Florence's contemporary Teatro Comunale, Corso Italia 12 offers everything from symphonies to ballet to plays, opera, and concerts. The Teatro Verdi on Via Ghibellina is Florence's opera and ballet house, which stage Sunday-afternoon shows during the January-through-April season. The Orchestra della Toscana plays classical concerts from December through May.

The biggest national and international touring companies stop in Florence's major playhouse, the Teatro della Pergolaand with luck you might catch classical and classic plays from the Greeks and Shakespeare through Pirandello, Samuel Beckett, and Italian modern playwrights.

The Club & Music Scenes in Florence are raging although it is best to be with a group or at least a partner. For live music, head to Dolce Zucchero on Via dei Pandolfini – this is one of the best night spots in Florence and is popular across a cross section of the populace. You can dance to a lot of American and Italian music on a dance floor that is a tad too small.

For the real foot thumping dance clubs try Universale housed in a converted 1940s cinema, Full – Up in the city center near Santa Croce - long-running disco/piano bar that's one of the top (and more restrained) dance spaces in Florence for the postcollegiate set. Also consider Yab on Via Sassetti 5r just behind the main post office on Piazza della Repubblica. This dance club for 20-somethings is a perennial favorite, a relic of a 1980s disco complete with rope line and surly bouncers.

Space Electronic on Via Palazzuolo attracts mostly youngsters for its video karaoke bar, a pub, an American-style bar, and a conversation area. Head upstairs for the dance floor.

Florence's cafes are the hot bed of People-Gawking and sipping endless cups of coffee with designer pastries. Shell out some (actually a lot) of Euros at the refined, wood-paneled, stucco-ceilinged, and very expensive cafe Gilli, or the Giubbe Rosse on Piazza della Repubblica . Another one that parts you from your money is the Rivoire on Piazza della Signoria/Via Vacchereccia. Giacosa on Via de' Tornabuoni was a 19th-century hangout for literati and the intellectuals but today it's really more of a high-class bar, with no outside tables. It makes a good shopping break, though, with panini, pastries, cold salads, and hot pasta dishes.

Sip some of Italy’s finest wines at Florence's half dozen Irish-style pubs: Fiddler's Elbow on Piazza Santa Maria Novella; The Old Stove on Via Pellicceria, The Lion's Fountain on Borgo Albizi and Red Garter on Via de' Benci.

The most traditional wine bars are called fiaschetterie, after the word for a flask of chianti. They tend to be hole-in-the-wall joints serving sandwiches or simple food along with glasses filled to the brim -- usually with a house wine, though finer vintages are often available. The best include I Fratellini; Antico Noè and La Mescita. You can buy wine at one of the traditional wine shops like the one in the Oltrarno called La Fiaschetteria. A more high-toned spot is the Cantinetta Antinori on Piazza Antinori - housed in the palace headquarters of the Antinori wine empire at the top of Florence's main fashion drag, Via Tornabuoni. For a trendier wine bar focusing on handpicked labels offered with plates of cheese and other snacks, head to the Oltrarno’s Il Volpe e L'Uva.

The Florence Blueprint

Florence offers a new face to every visitor and fishes out something from its layered robes to please everyone. That is why it would be heartless to prescribe a way to spend time in this multi-faceted city. At the same time it could also be tough to decide what to see and what to leave for some other time! That is why we thought of giving you a basic blueprint of what to pack in a day or two in Florence. The best way to see the place is to just head out and see what catches your eye!

Soaking Up Florence

The best places to see in Florence

The Uffizi

 The Uffizi

The Uffizi is one of the world's greatest art galleries with a collection of Renaissance paintings that include the works of Giotto, Masaccio, Paolo Ucello, Sandro Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Tiziano and Caravaggio. The collection is housed on the top floor of a building designed as the offices (Uffizi) of the Medici, commissioned by Duke Cosimo I. Ancient Greek and Roman sculptures line the inner corridors of the gallery and a series of rooms showcase the chronological development of Florentine art from Gothic to High Renaissance and beyond.

The Accademia Gallery

Piazza del Duomo

Santa Maria del Fiore, the Duomo or Cathedral of Florence, is set in the heart of the city and attracts hordes of tourists for enormous dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi. The piazza was built between 1420 and 1436 and one of the most favorite tourist activities here today is to climb between the two shells of the cupola for an unrivalled panorama of the city. 

The original Gothic exterior was replaced with the styling of High Renaissance in 1587 but the neo-Gothic facade that we see today was not found until the 19th century. The Campanile (bell tower) was built according to Giotto's designs in 1334 and is an elegant prop to Brunelleschi's stout Cathedral. The neighboring Baptistry, with its famous doors designed by Lorenzo Ghiberti, is one of Florence's oldest buildings, and was originally a pagan temple. The gilded brass doors, dubbed the 'Gates of Paradise' were commissioned in 1401 to mark Florence's deliverance from the plague.

The Bargello

This Gothic Palazzo, constructed in 1255, shelters a treasured national collection of Renaissance sculpture. Before it was renovated to become Italy's first national museum this building functioned as a town hall, private residence and prison. An extensive collection of decorative arts is on display in addition to the magnificent sculptures of Michelangelo, Donatello, Giambologna and Cellini. Go to the Palazzo's inner courtyard for its numerous coats of arms and to the grand stairwell leading to the second-story loggia overflowing with bronze birds created for the Medici's gardens.

Santa Croce

This magnificent Gothic church built in 1294 contains the tombs of many celebrated Florentines such as Michelangelo, Galileo, Ghiberti and Machiavelli. The Gothic interior is graced by the radiant frescoes of Giotto and his pupil Taddeo Gaddi and integrated into the cloister next to the church is Brunelleschi's Pazzi Chapel (Cappella de' Pazzi). When Lord Byron first laid eyes on the church he declared himself 'drunk with beauty'.

Ponte Vecchio

Ponte Vecchio at night

The Ponte Vecchio is the oldest bridge in Florence straddling the Arno River. To one side of the bridge is the majestic bust of the most famous Florentine goldsmith, Benvenuto Cellini. Perched above the shops is a secret passageway, the Vasari Corridor, providing an elevated link to the Palazzo Pitti via the Uffizi. It was the private walkway of the Medici's who could move between the various residences without having to rub shoulders with the riff raff.

Palazzo Pitti and Giardino Boboli

Originally owned by wealthy banker, Luca Pitti, the Palazzo later became the property of the Medici family. It is a grand structure that now boasts no less than seven museums. Amongst these are the Medici treasures that are showcased in the Museo degli Argenti, the Museum of Costumes and the Porcelain Museum. Extending behind the palace is the elaborately landscaped and beautifully maintained Giardino Boboli (Boboli Gardens). The most celebrated aspects of the gardens include the Grotta del Buontalenti located close the entrance. In the deepest recess of the cave is Venus Emerging from her Bath attended by curious imps. Another notable structure is the enormous amphitheatre designed on a scale to serve the Medici's tastes.

Shop, Shop

FLORENCE has great shopping places for the shopoholic to just go dizzy with but it robs them of one big pleasure – no bargaining!

Most visitors interested in gold or silver jewelry head for the Ponte Vecchio and its tiny shops. The street for antiques is Via Maggio: some of the furnishings and objects d'art here are from the 16th century.

Florence's Fifth Avenue is Via dei Tornabuoni, the place to head for the best quality leather goods, for the best clothing boutiques, and for stylish but costly shoes. Here you'll find everyone from Armani, Gucci, Versace, Coveri, to Ferragamo.

Besides shops, Florence has several very good open-air markets like the market of San Lorenzo, situated in the center of the city, The New Market, where one can acquire leather goods and souvenirs and the Flea Market, near Piazza Santa Croce where you can get a good deal on small antique items.

Prada, Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Armani and Sergio Rossi all have factory stores 20-35km south of Florence where you can pick up end-of-season or sample stock for around half the price you would pay in the shops.

Florence’s best kept secrets

Florence has many secret goodies to offer to the sleuthing tourist. One of the most startling ones is the mysterious wooden crucifix featuring a nude Christ discovered in the Santo Spirito (Holy Spirit) Church, in 1963. Go and look with wide-eyed wonder at a teenaged-Michelangelo’s early masterpiece.

Housed in a beautiful Domencianm Convent, the Museo San Marco (Below, right) is smaller, more personal and far, far less crowded than the others and includes some stunning frescoes by Fra Angelico.

A classic but absolutely worth it for the stunning views over the city – walk up to Piazzale Michelangelo, again on the Oltrarno side of the river.

Get a bottle of wine, some prosciutto, pecorino cheese, Tuscan bread and a few tomatoes from the Central Markets in the quarter of San Lorenzo and head to the Boboli Gardens behind Palazzo Pitti – the Medici’s last “house”. You need to part ways with a few €€ , but the views from the top of the gardens across those rolling hills with olive trees and cypresses are totally worth it.

The street market around in the San Lorenzo quarter – very lively, lots of fun and handily next to the Central Markets for a lunchtime lampredotto sandwich.

There are a lot of ice cream parlors and Gelataria in Florence. But if you want the real thing try a gelato from Vivoli on Via Isole delle Stinche, one block west of Piazza Santa Croce. The place is shut on Mondays but then you have six whole days to try different flavors.

The Travels-booking Tipster

General

Florence is a very safe city and instances of violent crime are near to non existent. However, pick pocketing and bag snatching are very real dangers, especially on crowded buses.

Keep a photocopy of your passport and travel documents on your person and leave the originals in the hotel safe – remember to get a receipt

Book all hotels in Florence ahead; they are hard to come by in tourist season.

Don’t flash jewelry or a fat wallet in public places. That’s a sure shot way of getting hitched by a gang of bag snatchers

People in Florence are quite religious and church going is done whole heartedly. All visitors are welcome but it is best to dress appropriately.

Tipping is expected, generally, across the city and rounding off to the nearest Euro would suffice.

Families

Genuine, Florentine Olive oil makes for a great gift – get the best at The Oil Shoppe near Santa Croce

Fix the entire family’s sweet tooth at Vestri – the unique gelato in Florence

For great and affordable food try I Quattro Amici near the Termini – test out their fish dinners

Smoking is not allowed in most covered places in Florence. However a lot of cafes and restaurants still allow patrons to relax with a drink and smoke and you must call in advance to find out if the restaurant you are planning to go to allows smoking and if it at least has a non-smoking section

Couples

Florence is a city for romance and many like the 19th-century English poets, Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning have found lover here. Since Barrrett’s father disapproved of Browning, the couple eloped secretly to Florence and made their home in the Oltrarno at Casa Guidi. Their home, which is now a museum at Via Maggio n 9, contains original furnishings, love letters and an extensive collection of their books and writings. Perfect place for a couple to visit

One of the most romantic spots in Oltrarno is the scenic Boboli Gardens behind the Pitti Palace. Stroll hand in hand among its fountains, lush greenery and lovely flower gardens

Take a Wine Tour

Get married in Florence! It is one of the most beautiful places on the planet to tie the knot

Hear Them Out!

The travel section of New York Times recommends Cibreo Teatro Del Sale on via dei Macci as the best place to get unlimited quantities of food and wine for just € 25 will buy. You need to buy a € 5 worth of ‘lifetime membership’ at the door!

Also, on NY Times suggestion, take a look at Joanna I, Antiche Dimore Fiorentine – a tiny pensione with just 10 rooms, each starting at € 100 as a great place to stay.

Fodor’s Online insists you find some time to get a cappuccino at Capocaccia or Procacci before you leave Florence. Fodor’s also suggests staying at the JK Place or Residenza

Frommer’s recommends hiking up to Fiesole, the hills of San Miniato and Bellosguardo, south of the Arno for picturesque views of the city.

Whatever you do and wherever you go in Florence, the fragrance of great food, the sounds of its hundreds of church bells and its breathtaking sights of Michelangelo’s David, the fountains and the museums never leaves. We can promise that this won’t be the only time you’ll go to Florence – the place is far too addictive for just one visit!

Dante’s Divine Comedy

Florence virtual Tour

If you want to explore Florence from your computer, you can do this downloading this files to use with Google Earth software:

Florence  churches and museums virtual tour (kmz file)

Florence monuments and places virtual tour (kmz file)