Leaving soon for Florence and would like a recommendation for a walking tour company. Interested in an overview of the city as well as musuems. Has anyone booked this online or upon arrival?

Hi J,

From what I have seen of tour groups in Florence (or anywhere for that matter), are you sure that you wouldn't rather spring for a good guide book?

How long will you be there?

Staying in the area for a week,just thought to best get a good overview, a guide would be nice, then spend time on our own.

This company gets good reviews; they can also do private tours.
http://florence.contexttravel.com/main/home/


Are you interested in a private guide? (That is what I would recommend if you can manage on your budget).

Florence is such an easy city to see by just walking, like Ira, I suggest you get a good guidebook and do it by yourself. I wouldn't book a tour.

This is from my trip report:

"We prebooked the walking tour with Artviva- http://tinyurl.com/yowvo2
. We were a group of 11 people, led by Tanya, an American who had a clear pleasant voice and regaled us with a cascade of info as she led us for 3 hours from Piaza S. Trinita, through P. Signoria, into the Duomo. We gave her 5/couple after she said tips were appreciated."

We enjoyed this overview walking tour (The Original Florence Walk).

In addition, you will probably find in your hotel lobby a flyer for "Florence Walking Tours". They offer several different tours and can be arranged for the same or next day. We took their evening tour of the Oltrarno and were very pleased with the guide, the information and the entire experience. We ended at a little enoteca for a complimentary glass of wine to which we added a cheese plate. I highly recommend this company.

I've enjoyed walking tours in various cities - my fav being the cemetary/voodoo tour in New Orleans. The running narration can really give you a feel for the city's origins and neighborhoods. But then I think of the times when we've slowed down, taking the time to sit and take it all in - like the time we caught the roaming knife-sharpener's routine in Sevilla... while tour companies bustled through and missed the whole thing. I guess I'm saying yes to the organized get-acquainted tour, then branching out on your own to really see Florence. And I would still like to hear someone else's view of the perfectly wonderful (in May) walk I took to the market detailed in the following: http://www.florencevillas.com/newsle...letter_34.html

have a great time, but watch yourself sightseeing at/after dusk along the other bank of the Arno. It's not a major presence and we only saw it between the Ponte Vecchio and Ponte Alle Grazie bridges, but we got the "walk into the lead person from the vicinity of the parked cars while the other guy turns from the riverfront wall and tries to rifle the last person's backpack" routine. My wife totally saw it going down (I didn't at first) and turned on sketchy-guy #2 while telling me to do "whatever it took" to get past bad-guy #1. We didn't have to scuffle, they knew it wasn't working and backed off. Feel free to learn from my inattentiveness, and don't be fearful - just aware. Buon viaggio!