Florence Travel Guide
Feb 28th, 2017, 06:51 AM
#1
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Florence Travel Guide
Me, my boyfriend and another couple will be spending 10 days in Italy in the middle of May. We are wanting to spend some time around the Florence area, and would like to know where the best place would be to stay in to be able to access all the surrounding cool downs as day trips. If anyone has any advice, we would be very grateful Canadians!! 
We are interested in food, culture and hiking. Not so much museums and art. We want to see the beautiful sights, drink coffee, and eat lots of food!
We are interested in food, culture and hiking. Not so much museums and art. We want to see the beautiful sights, drink coffee, and eat lots of food!
Feb 28th, 2017, 07:12 AM
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The Michelin Green guides are the best for sights.
http://travelguide.michelin.com/euro...rence/to-visit
As for food, I have not been there in a while and others will offer suggestions.
http://travelguide.michelin.com/euro...rence/to-visit
As for food, I have not been there in a while and others will offer suggestions.
Feb 28th, 2017, 07:32 AM
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I loved Relais Cavalcanti and would gladly stay there again. Very reasonable price and in a central location. Make sure to try the pear pasta and cheesecake at 4 Leoni, which was one of the best meals I had in all of Italy.
Feb 28th, 2017, 10:59 AM
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I'll give you the same advise I gave in your other thread: if you're not interested in art and museums then skip Florence. Why don't you go to Sicily and hike Mount Etna? The coatstal towns and the landscape there is wonderful.
Feb 28th, 2017, 11:13 AM
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Florence has a lot of outdoor attractions which have nothing to do with museums.
Beautiful scenery everywhere. Go to Piazzale Michelangelo at sunset, climb up the Campanile, go to Fiesole, etc.
As for day trips, you would want to be near the train station and bus station, so somewhere between the bus station and the Duomo areas. You can take SITA buses to Siena for self-guided day trips for instance so they will depart from the main bus station.
A lot of the tour operators have offices and meeting points in this area as well. So for instance, you can get on guided coach tours to Siena, Pisa, San Gimignano, wine tasting/lunches to Chianti, etc.
You can find such tours on Viator.com and other sites.
You can rent a car but they're not so good for day trips if the idea is to stay in Florence the whole time and just take day trips. You could stay in another part of Tuscany, such as Siena or further south in Val d'Orcia if you rent a car.
But it's tricky to drive into Italian towns or find parking, though a car will obviously let you see parts of Tuscany which isn't as easy to do on public transportation.
Back to where to stay in Florence. I think Piazza della Signoria is one of the nicest squares in the city but it's further away from the bus station. You can go further east to Santa Croce and beyond, though that isn't as nice for day trips.
One possibility is to split the time between Florence and say Siena, if you do want to visit places like Montalcino and Montepulciano, maybe even Orvieto or drive into Umbria.
Florence is great but maybe staying 10 days there could get monotonous.
Beautiful scenery everywhere. Go to Piazzale Michelangelo at sunset, climb up the Campanile, go to Fiesole, etc.
As for day trips, you would want to be near the train station and bus station, so somewhere between the bus station and the Duomo areas. You can take SITA buses to Siena for self-guided day trips for instance so they will depart from the main bus station.
A lot of the tour operators have offices and meeting points in this area as well. So for instance, you can get on guided coach tours to Siena, Pisa, San Gimignano, wine tasting/lunches to Chianti, etc.
You can find such tours on Viator.com and other sites.
You can rent a car but they're not so good for day trips if the idea is to stay in Florence the whole time and just take day trips. You could stay in another part of Tuscany, such as Siena or further south in Val d'Orcia if you rent a car.
But it's tricky to drive into Italian towns or find parking, though a car will obviously let you see parts of Tuscany which isn't as easy to do on public transportation.
Back to where to stay in Florence. I think Piazza della Signoria is one of the nicest squares in the city but it's further away from the bus station. You can go further east to Santa Croce and beyond, though that isn't as nice for day trips.
One possibility is to split the time between Florence and say Siena, if you do want to visit places like Montalcino and Montepulciano, maybe even Orvieto or drive into Umbria.
Florence is great but maybe staying 10 days there could get monotonous.
