Gia

Once I started writing this I realized it was going to get long, so please forgive me. Just wanted to give you enough information to help me figure this out.

Anyway, I just finished convincing my wonderful husband that we really should not leave Europe this year without seeing Florence and he agreed. See why he's so wonderful!

We will be in Greece for 9 days in September: Athens, Mykonos and Santorini with my sister and brother in law. They had already planned to fly to Rome from Santorini which sparked my idea for Florence. (We went to Rome last year - thank you all for a spectacular trip. I loved it)

Anyway, I am getting to my point. We've never been to Florence, we plan on arriving Sunday afternoon/evening and departing on a Thursday morning (train to Rome, plane back to NY). Is Florence really so hectic and crowded that we should stay outside of town or should we stay in Florence and do a day trip (or two) to the countryside?

I have to say I am a huge art buff, so the idea of going to Florence really does make me weep. But DH would like to see or spend some time in the countryside. And we do have the flexibility to extend our trip another day if that makes a difference.

If you suggest one of the hill towns, could you also please suggest an affordable place to stay as well ($200 USD or less).

Heartfelt thanks. _g

mcnyc

Hi Gia, congrats on convincing your DH! I'd personally stay in Florence itself and not out of town.

For a quick trip to the countryside, I'd say take the #7 bus from the train station to Fiesole, where there are Roman ruins and a beautiful view of Florence at sunset. A quick walk to Oltrarno into the Boboli gardens or over to Piazza Michaelangelo would be a nice alternative to the hustle and bustle of city life.

Sorry if this is not your idea of countryside. Perhaps others can help out better.

SeaUrchin

There are parts of Florence where tourists almost never tread, seek out the areas away from the center if you don't like crowds. Florence is relatively small so easy to navigate by foot.

If you stay on one of the hills outside the walls you will get the best of both worlds, peace and quiet and close to the city.

Originally didn't your husband want to go to Florence? I am sure he will be glad he agreed.

WillTravel

I'm glad you're getting to a place you are sure to love. If your husband doesn't want to go to the art museums, he would have lots of daytrip options, as pointed out.

One of my favorite places was the San Marco convent with the Fra Angelico frescos.

TuscanyDreamin

Hi,
I just got back from Florence and Tuscany. In Florence I stayed right in the center (a minute walk from Piazza della Signoria). I needed ear plugs to sleep, but it was the best way to see the town. In the middle of the day I just stopped at the hotel for a shower, and went on.

This way, you can also save money on a rental car. There's nothing you can do with a car in Florence anyway.

If you want, you can split your stay in the area and spend a night or two out of Florence, in a more southern area of Tuscany. This also brings you closer to Rome for the flight back.

Tuscany will be beautiful in September with all the grapes hanging on the vines.

Rachel,
http://www.dream-vacation-in-tuscany.com

Lauricelli

Hi, I just returned from a trip to Florence last month. You will love it. Enjoy. Make sure you make reservations for the Uffizi an Accademia.
We were attending a conference in Tuscany so we needed a ride out to the countryside. We hired Luca Garapa (wonderful) of Hills and Roads. It was the best money spent on the trip. He picked us up in Florence and drove us to Dievole winery just above Siena for a private winetasting and tour. We visited Radda, Castellina in Chianti, a tiny medieval village, and had lunch at the most amazing restaurant. I think the name was La Vigne. We also saw Etruscan burial tombs. You can look up Hills and Roads on the web. They will customize a tour for you. This could be an option for getting out to the countryside just for the day or maybe you could end in a town to stay for the night and take a train back to Florence.
Have a great time. Someday I'll get to Greece!

Flame123

Florence is one of my favorite places in the world. Last time I was there was about 3 months ago, we stayed for the second time in Hotel Casci, a small, family-run hotel smack in the center of the city with great sound-proof rooms and thick doors that let us sleep soundly at night. The hotel is immaculate, you could literally eat off their floors, the family that run it are terrific and sweet, breakfast buffet included in price is huge and varied and includes eggs (not usual in Italy), and everything else you can imagine. Price is very reasonable (100 Euros double off season and 150 in high season). www.hotelcasci.com

I highly recommend Luca Garapa of www.hillsandroads.com. We used him for 2 separate day trips into Tuscany. He is a young, intelligent and sweet man, an excellent and very safe driver (on those treacherous Tuscan hill roads!!) and made our days fabulous. It was definitely the highlight of our trip and best money spent (not even too expensive either). He will customize a trip for you if you tell him what you want and what you like. If you have no idea, as we did, he will suggest itineraries for you and ideas.

Have a great time.

ira

Hi G,

Florence is not so crowded in Sept that you would need to stay out of town.

You will only have Tues and Wed in Florence, since most of the major attractions are closed Monday. You could visit Siena, Bologna or Orvieto.

If you look up <Florence and hotel> in the "search this forum" box, you will find a number of hotel recommendations.

Uffizi and Academia Museum Reservations
The easiest and cheapest way is to call Florence 1016868 (dial around number), 011 (U.S. international access code) 39 (Italy's country code) then 055-294-883 8:30-18:30 M-F and 8:30-12:00 Sat. Florence time. You will get an English speaking operator and in 2-3 minutes YOU CAN RESERVE FOR BOTH. This is through the reservation service at the Uffizi and costs beyond the normal entry fee only about 3 euro for the service. This is MUCH cheaper than the commercial booking services.

You will not be charged for the reservations unless you use them.

Have a nice visit.

Gia

I knew I could count on you guys. You are all so gracious with your responses, thank you!

I think we're going to go with staying in Florence in the center and taking a day trip on Monday with Luca Grappa (as Ira suggested, most museums will be closed on Monday so hopefully Luca will be able to accommodate us.)

DH has always wanted to see Florence as well so I'm pretty confident this plan will satisfy him. The day outside of the city should be enough (this time). Tuscany really deserves it's own time and space so we'll save that for another trip hopefully.

I was up till 2AM (excitement) contacting hotels from posts on this board and received responses already from Tourist House Ghiberti, Hotel David, and Relais Cavalcanti! Isn't that wonderful! So I'm in the process of narrowing it down. And I will now make my reservations for the museums.

Thank you! Look out for the trip report end of September.

j_999_9

I agree overall with what mcnyc said, and with the warning to get reservations for the major museums.

Also, you made a good choice in Luca. Competent, friendly, reliable. If you want to get him going, ask about Italian soccer and the World Cup.

MaureenB

My daughter and I stayed at Relais Cavalcanti last month, and I can highly recommend it.
This may be too much info., but here is my trip report which includes great restaurants and more details on Relais Cavalcanti:

Florence, three nights in May, 2006

We arrived in Florence via EuroStar from Rome, around 3:00 in the afternoon. Unfortunately, we were charged an unpleasant fine on EuroStar, because our ticket was mistakenly printed for 1:30 p.m., and we were actually on the 12:30 train. We bought the ticket at the window in Rome, barely in time for the 12:30 train, and the agent knew we were rushed. But, she issued the ticket for the wrong time, and we had to pay 8 EUR on the train for her mistake. Because, of course, the conductor didn’t believe our explanation. And, to make matters worse, we didn’t have our reserved seats, so we had to search for seats. Oh, well, we got there safe and sound.

We took a short cab ride to the Relais Cavalcanti. a very charming little 'hotel', at Via Pellicceria, 2. It occupies one floor of a building located near the Uffizi gallery, in a very good central location. Because my daughter had just finished her semester in Florence, she was able to recommend her favorite location in town for lodging.

The Relais Cavalcanti building has been in the same family's ownership for 100+ years, the owner/manager of the new-ish Relais is Francesca. She said she inherited this one floor of the building, so she recently renovated it to create a little hotel. It's relatively new, with beautiful tile bathrooms, showers, etc. The rooms are very charming, and good-sized. Our rate for a double/twin was 120EUR, which included an extra 10EUR/day for the better view. Francesca also offered a 5 percent discount for payment in cash.

You have the feeling of entering a very nice, private Italian home, when you unlock the Relais door and smell the potpourri set out on the beautiful tables in the hallway and entry way. It has a small elevator and a/c, too. No breakfast is served, but even better I think is that they have a beautiful little dining room/kitchen that is open 24/7 for guests. You have always available the makings for coffee, hot chocolate and tea, plus containers of pre-wrapped pastries and dessert cakes. That's about as much as you get in any Italian B&B for breakfast, and this way you can serve yourself whenever.

One evening we bought wine, cheese, bread, and fruit and enjoyed our own private time in this beautiful room. The only thing to be aware of at Relais Cavalcanti is that the first floor of the building is the Old Stove Irish pub. The good news is that it's a decent little place for panini, and has free wi-fi. However, it attracts a lot of students and young people, so it is quite noisy into the early morning hours. Our room window was directly above the pub's patio, with a nice view of adjoining rooftops. The double windows, plus the wooden shutters, can block out about 90 percent of the noise from the pub below. I found that I could also turn on the a/c fan in our room, which would then totally cover any outside noise.

Francesca also cautions her prospective guests that she does not staff a 24/7 front desk. She is there during posted hours, mostly till 6 p.m., and has an emergency number on the door. But she is careful to tell guests that hers is not a hotel with full-services at night-time. I highly recommend the Relais Cavalcanti.

The afternoon we arrived, my daughter took me to a rooftop café, which overlooks the Duomo. It is on the top of a nice little ‘department’ store. I think it’s called Ristorante Ottorino, via delle Oche, 12-16r. We enjoyed wine and salads, on the sunny afternoon, with a close-up view of the Duomo. A very nice introduction to Florence for me.

We then walked a bit, and I saw Ponte Vecchio for the first time. Shops were closed by then, but it was fun to see the bridge and the Arno River, after all the photos I’d seen of them from before.

We walked around some more, and window-shopped the designer shops. I have to say, Florence is more upscale than I expected. Because so many students are there every semester, I expected it to be less expensive and have more the feeling of a ‘college town’. Instead, I loved its classy shops and wonderful windy roads. Without my daughter guiding me, I’m sure I would have been lost half the time, though, on those cute cobble-stoned streets. Or, hit by a car on those narrow ‘streets’!

We walked over to visit Santa Croce, which had just closed unfortunately (I think at 5 or 5:30 p.m.) So we got some gelato to console ourselves, at the place recommended by my daughter’s host family as the “best” gelato in Florence. I think it’s called Vivoli (sp?). A very cute little place, with wonderful gelato.

That evening, my daughter recommended one of her favorite restaurants, the Trattoria Garga on Via del Moro 48/R, phone 055 2398898. We had an amazing meal there, probably my best in Italy. My dish was veal with avocado, which sounds odd (most really good dishes do, I think), and was mouth-watering. Our waiter was a riot-- singing and joking all over the restaurant. It was a friendly, lively, bustling atmosphere with excellent food. We paid 81EUR for two, with a half-liter of house wine.

The next morning, we went to the Uffizi. Even though we had a reservation, it was still an ordeal of standing in line, with many people butting ahead of us. I am so amazed how some people have no regard whatsoever for a line, and how chaotic it can become.

But, once inside, I had a personal art history guide, as my daughter had been studying in Italy all semester. She was able to tell me all about each of the ‘significant’ pieces of art. It is all pretty overwhelming, and a lot to take in. I especially liked Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. It is amazing to see all that art in person, and under one roof.

We walked all day, seeing places my daughter had visited during her semester. We went up the hill to her college’s villa, so I could see it and meet the coordinator there.

We also took the bus up to the San Miniato church, to visit it and enjoy the sweeping views over Florence. It’s pretty to see the Duomo and all the rooftops of Florence from that perspective. Walking down the hill a bit, we found a little café with a nice outdoor terrace, which actually looked across the hills at the college’s villa. It was a nice place to take a break, again with caprese salads and wine.

We returned to town and finished our shopping mission: to find a wallet and a belt for my son. My daughter’s recommendation was a little store on Via del Corso 69/r, called Leonardo da Vinci. A very nice woman runs it, and my daughter thought her prices were the best for quality pieces.

That evening, we were invited to her Italian host family’s home for dinner, which was a special evening, with a very nice woman and her two daughters, who shared their home with my daughter. It was a treat to meet them, share dinner at their table, and see where my daughter had lived all semester.

Our second day, we took a train and then a bus to San Gimignano, for a day-trip. We had beautiful blue-sky weather, about 75 degrees. It was a perfect day to wander the little town. We had wine and salads at a wine bar, overlooking the hills. It was called Enoteca di Vinorum, Pza Cisterna 30.

We returned to our hotel, to get ready for dinner, again at one of my daughter’s favorite restaurants, Acqua Al 2 (pronounced 'aqua al duo'), Via della Vigna Vecchia, 40/R, phone 055 284170. They are known for their perfect steak with balsamic. I had it and was impressed. (They are now opening a restaurant in San Diego, believe it or not.) This restaurant is known throughout Florence, and is very popular, so it gets loud and crowded, but very worth it, even though the service was a tad spotty. We split a half-liter of house red wine, and we paid 50.70EUR for two dining.

Our final morning we had reservations at the Accademia. I am now a life-long admirer of Michelangelo. Having just seen his Sistine Chapel and the Pieta at St. Peter’s Basilica, I was primed to see David. But, I don’t think anything prepares you for seeing it in person. I will say it is more impressive and awesome than I’d expected, as is the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. As people rightfully say, it appears as though David will walk right off that pedestal. How on earth did Michelangelo create such life out of marble?

After the Accademia, we found a place to sit on the patio and enjoy a nice lunch, at Trattoria Za-Za, at Piazza del Mercato Centrale, 26R. It's popular with business people, and we enjoyed nice omelettes there. Lunch for two, with a glass of wine for each, was 25.50EUR.

That afternoon we walked through the gardens at the Pitti Palace, before taking our late day train to Venice.

Gia

Maureen, thank you.
IMO never too much info! I'm so excited.

NorthShore

Your DH is right - a little of florence goes a long way - do daytrips!

MaureenB

Gia, you're very welcome! Enjoy Florence. We loved it.
Add the extra day-- why not?? You only live once!

Gia

you're right, you're right, I'm sooo doing that: one more day! WOO-HOO!

MaureenB

Gia, can you fly home from Florence? Instead of taking the train to Rome? It would simplify your travel day.
The Florence airport is open again, and you'd probably fly to Frankfurt to catch another flight if you're going to the US.
P.S. In September, I'll bet Florence won't be jam-packed with people. We were there in early May and it wasn't bad.

Gia

I tried flying home from Florence but was unable to make it work, you know how it is when using airline miles, one can not be too picky. I don't mind the travel day, I know it will be worth it. (and I've scheduled it so we return on a thursday so we have the weekend to get back to reality

lizb37

I have been studying in a little town outside of Florence and think if you were going to be in Florence for not that period of time that you should stay in the actual city itself. We have been to many towns in Tuscany and I would say my favorites so far have been Siena and Cortona. I would try to take a day and go see at least a few towns in Tuscany if you are going to be so close. I don't know if you are interested in restaraunts, but one of the world's best restaraunts is called "Gambero Rosso" (Owner Fulvio Pierangelini)in San Vincenzo, Tuscany (39-0565/701-021). It is supposed to be absolutely superb. Hope this helps a little. Let me know if you have any more questions and I would love to help.

lizb37

Also, I just saw that someone had posted to go to Bologna. I just returned from there and I would not recommend going. While it is an amazing city, it is too much like Florence and I would instead stay in Florence and then try to make it to a little town unlike Florence. Also, I just remembered there is an amazing restaraunt at the top of the Piazza Michealangelo with magnificent views of Florence. I would try to eat there around sunset one night. Hope this helps again.

Gia

thank you Liz. I love food and love italian food even more, so thank you for the restaurant recommendations.

And I know I'll be boring you all by thanking each of you individually each time you post so let me just say once and for all, thank you! These tips, no matter how small make it all the more special.