Pausanias

Rome is my favorite Italian city, which is not to say I dislike Florence.

A few highlights for me:

Cellini's Perseus

The Botticellis (and much more) at the Uffizi

The waitress slowing down her Italian, confident that, if she did, we would understand. The complimentary wedge of mortadella, the gnocchi with gorgonzola and the carpaccio with the curls of parmigiana . . .

Wandering through the Roman ruins in Fiesole.

Pappardelle glistening with a ragu of wild boar . . .

Brunello

Santa Croce and Donatello's Annunciation

Fishermen on the Arno . . .

ejkonz

Spent three days in Florence last Spring and loved it. We enjoyed the Duomo ... even the trip up the stairs to the top! We had a wonderful three plus hour meal at a little pizza place at Pizalle Michangelo ... watched the sunset and consumed two bottles of great chianti! We loved strolling the streets, the shopping, and my favorite was the first day there when I left the hotel on a quest for a cup of coffee. Found a coffee shop easily but made a wrong turn out of the shop and promptly got lost ... spent over an hour walking around (obviously I wasn't worried about finding my hotel) and thoroughly enjoyed the trip!

WallyKringen

How odd that so many people go to Florence and come away disliking it! Why didn’t they assess beforehand if Florence would even remotely be to their liking? It’s not a dark horse, after all.

Some people will want to know every last little detail about a hotel before they book if for a lousy two nights, but they can’t even figure out if Florence should be a destination for them. If you don’t know your Botticelli from your Donatelli or your Leonardo from your Michelangelo, if the word Renaissance means to you a guy who says in his personal ad that he likes to cook and hold hands on the beach - why go to Florence?

Not everybody is a museum-goer at home, or an art lover, or a history buff, or even mildly interested in trying out “someting different”. Nothing wrong with that, but why do these people go to Florence?

Because it’s on everybody else’s itinerary? The sheep / herding / lemmings-over-the-cliff syndrome? I’d really like to know, it just baffles me. What do you think?

WK

BostonGal

We heard the same gushing before we left for Italy.
We did our trip in this order: Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre, Venice.

Rome blew me away, it was spectacular! I can't wait to get back there! But anyway, we stepped off the train in Florence and I remember feeling disappointed. I kept comparing it to Rome that first day, which I should not have done.
By day 2, I realized what everyone was saying. Florence was great! I loved Piazza Michelangelo, I loved the Uffizi, I loved how convenient it was to day-trip to Siena and San Gimignano, and the food - the food (except for the bread) was divine!

But I agree - I liked Rome much better!

tcreath

WallyKringen,

I understand that you may enjoy Florence and have a hard time understanding why others may not, but to insinuate that we may not care for it because we don't appreciate art or history, or because we have to know everything about every place we visit, isn't really fair. Have you never visited a place and been at least a little dissapointed?

I can only speak for myself. As mentioned above, I too was dissapointed with Florence. I will admit that I am not a huge art lover, although I do appreciate it. I do love history and culture and I do love visiting new places and trying new things. If I didn't, I wouldn't take so many trips to Europe. I thought Florence would be a wonderful place to visit based on what I've researched. Did I choose to go there because its on "everyone else's itinerary"? Absolutely not. If that was the case, I would have added Venice to the itinerary, but I didn't. There was nothing particularly wrong with Florence; it just simply did not jive with me. I loved Rome, but many people have expressed their disdane for it, I would never place judgement on them for that. To each their own.

Tracy

Craigellachie

I loved Florence, others were not impressed - what's Italian for Chacun a son gout?
What puzzles me however is all the complaints about chaotic traffic, "worse than Rome" etc. A large part of the centre of Florence was traffic free when we were there a few years ago - has this changed?
We had a week in Rome immediately followed by a week in Florence, and we were really glad we did it that way round. Florence felt much more like a city on a human scale, lots to do and lots to see but within walking distance. I was able to relax in Florence, but however much I enjoyed Rome it certainly wasn't relaxing.

ira

Hi Craig,

>what's Italian for Chacun a son gout?

I entered this at a machine translation sight and got the English, which I had translated to Italian (Ciascuno ha la sua gotta), back to English and then to French, where it came out as "Chaque il a son gotta".

The machine translates "gôut" as ?gout", not "taste".

SeaUrchin

I love Florence at night or early evening when I can stroll along and dream of the birth of the Renaissance right where I am walking. I love the stones that make up the old buildings, they are so masculine and foreboding. I picture who lived in those palaces and how their daily lives were.
I love to go to the concerts in the old churches. I have heard beautiful sopranos and wonderful ancient music played under candlelight in the darkened naves.
I love to sit and watch the river flow under the Ponte Vecchio.

Florence and Venice really get my imagination racing.

suehoff

To impress with my "cultured mind" I'd say I loved the Duomo because my son and husband are builders and the design is incredible and I found David absolutely incredible but what really stands outabout Florence?
Ashamedly-the shopping. I'd lost my handbag in travel and what a place to find a stand in.
Plus our son's friend was there and her upbeat tour guiding made everything simple and loads of fun seeing Florence through the eyes of a college student (read: great bars).
So as everyone else has more eloquently put it: what you get out of a city depends on so many individual factors that experiences just aren't universal or consistent.

Melissa5

I didn't like Florence either, though Michelangelo's David is impressive. On the other hand we all loved Rome, the whole family! For me, Florence was too crowded, smoggy, and trafficky. Even at 11:00 pm the ponte vechio was still crowded on our days in June 2004. Also, to us, Rome seemed friendlier than Florence.

Jocelyn_P

Yep, it's all about chemistry.

I have only spent two days in Florence. On Day 1 I found Florence dirty, noisy, and chaotic. Blech. Well, I figured, at least I can check it off my list of places to go before I die. About halfway through Day 2, DH and I walked to the top of Boboli Gardens and looked down on the city nestled amongst the glorious Tuscan hills and I instantly, surprisingly, fell in love. For the rest of the day, even though we walked the same noisy, dirty streets that I had previously found so undesirable, Florence was <i>my</i> city, and I've been longing to return ever since.

RufusTFirefly

Wally--sometimes people go places because of outside factors. Sometimes they go to stretch their boundaries a bit--it doesn't always work for them, but they give it a try.

I'm not a fan of Renaissance art, so one of Florence's main selling points is lost on me. But if other people like Renaissance art, that's great--for them.

I love Venetian architecture and Venetian art and the atmosphere. Other people don't. That's OK. It might not have anything to do with them not being &quot;a museum-goer at home, or an art lover, or a history buff, or even mildly interested in trying out “someting different.” But to say people should not go places that they feel they might not like based on what they've read or heard--well, I'll just disagree with that totally.

Give things you think you might not like a try now and then. True, it might end up actually not being your cup of tea, but, then again, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Based on prior experiences and on what I'd heard and read, I was certain I wouldn't like Venice when I returned there in the mid-70s. But I loved it. I thought I would enjoy Florence, aside from the art, but I didn't.

That doesn't mean I'm a museum-loathing low-life who has no sense of history, art, or culture; it just means that Florence does not resonate with me.

TarheelsInNj

We spent the first 4 days of our honeymoon in Florence. While I liked it, I wasn't in love- but I think that had a lot to do with being exhausted from the wedding and really needing a slow pace!

What I loved most about Florence was the views over the city. It is truly a beautiful cityscape. Though the Piazzale Michelangelo was too crowded for us, we were fortunate enough to be there when the community rose garden just down the hill is open (May 1 - June 15). From there you can follow signs to a &quot;secret garden,&quot; which consists of a small bench- and the most breathtaking view of the city you can imagine. It's truly like having your own private lookout point. This, above all things, made our Florence visit magical.

EmBee

I have just finished reading all the comments on this thread.

I found Wally's comments a little narrow so thought I would give my personal experience of Florence.

First, I was there for some of the time as part of an Art Gallery Members tour. I expected spectacular Renaissance art and saw it.

I also expected to enjoy the city itself more than any other Italian city. I had no idea about the awful air quality problems, the shocking crowds, the large water rats etc. I attended Tosca and was disappointed to find a 'modern' theatre in an ancient city.

I guess I had romanticised Florence in my mind and Rome was going to be something I had to see. Didnt expect any 'emotional' connection.

It was, in fact, reversed. I loved Rome and it's 'craziness' and cant wait to go back. I will also return to Florence to see whether it grows on me.

Have yet to experience Venice. Once again I expect I will love the Venetian Art and the Architecture but who knows!! One can only try a place and see whether there is a 'connection'.

philiprol

I can't wait to be in Florence for my three nights. I want to see its museums and feel its tempo. I want to eat its food, view its duomo, and see its neighborhoods. How can I be disappointed? It is new to me, its not where I work, and it is going to be somehow different than the other places I am going in my three weeks. Phil

artlover

I love the art and food in Florence, but when we were there last May, the crowds were really starting to &quot;get&quot; to me. I was so glad we were staying at a peaceful place out of town (Villa Belvedere)because I needed a break from &quot;all those tourists&quot; (and yes, I realize I was one of them!)

stellamarina

I lived in Florence for my junior year of college. I had been a few times with my family before that but only for day trips from Lucca. Florence is part of my soul now. I understand everyone has their preferences but there's just a magic there for me. Just envisioning walking down a random street right now makes me tear up and I wish I could be there! The last four trips to Italy have been to Florence as a home base and I would not want it any other way.

I love other cities in Italy - Lucca, Venice, Assisi, Rome. But none of them do for me what Florence does. But I totally understand when someone has the same reaction to another city. You can't explain it and you can't pinpoint exactly why, it just IS.

Dana

sandyd

Florence was not my fav...but my husband really loved it. I didn't like the &quot;touristy feel&quot; (but I was a tourist, so I shouldn't complain!). I must admit that I got chills (emotional) ones in St. Croce...So many 'greats' all entombed in one area.

capxxx

My theory is, visiting Florence is like visiting Albany, if all the great writers and thinkers of the U.S were were from Albany -- Mark Twaine, Thomas Jefferson, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Ben Franklin, William Faulkner, Sylvia Plath, Thomsas Edison. Some people are overwhelmed by the sense of history and time and intellectual energy -- some people are overwhelmed by the traffic and noise. (To each his own goat;-)

Cassandra

So many variables - if you have already seen Rome and some other cities and you are beginning to get tourist'ed out, or if Italy and the Italian Renaissance aren't your major passions, or if you're jet-lagged, or if you stay in a less charming area, or...or... or...

When I visited Florence in 1968, I fell in love with it -- it struck me as one of Europe's most graceful and picturesque places. Also, I was a recent art-history graduate who had spent a lot of time with the artists and the buildings already, so it was like coming home to an enchanted memory.

I could hardly wait to show it to DH and DS in 2005 - but, oh no! Is this really the Florence I remember? Small and grimy in places, cramped, with cars and scooters choking the streets, and -- worst -- graffiti everywhere. The contrast between classical art forms and territorial markings was sharp and sadly eloquent about the changes in culture in just a couple of decades. I still loved the Boboli garden and view; enjoyed Oltrano, and even the little otter poking around in the river. But I was kind of relieved to leave, and sad that my travel companions will never see what I had once seen.