Beautiful Firenze! Tips for your trip to Florence

If Rome and Venice compete for the primacy of beauty in Italy, Firenze – Florence – on tiptoe… maintains it! And it manages to attract almost the same number of visitors as the other two Italian “pearls”, while retaining that air of a quiet, almost provincial centre. Florence is that earthy color that surrounds palaces asleep in time and fascinating statues, hiding museums full of masterpieces and bell towers of churches that are unique in the world.

When to go

Florence is often referred to as one of the ideal autumn tourist destinations, because the climate here remains pleasant even in October. And walking in search of its artistic beauties in the autumnal coolness is excellent because you never get tired! Of course, even in spring and summer Florence remains beautiful, perhaps a little less romantic in the heat … but no less recommended for this.

Travel documents

Let’s start with very practical things! What documents or papers will you need? Since Florence is in Italy, that is a nation in the Schengen Agreement area, all tourists from other Schengen countries can enter by only showing an identity document – passport or identity card from their own country. If they arrive from a “non-Schengen” nation, they will show a passport that is valid up to three months after the date of your arrival.

Be informed about whether your country is included in the list of those that need to show a mandatory visa before entering Italy. Bring with you the document that will be issued to you at the hotel or B&B after registration. That too is valid as an identification document to move around the territory. Travel and/or health insurance is recommended but not mandatory.

What to pack for your trip to Florence

When you decide to visit Florence, pack both sportswear and elegant clothes. In fact, it may happen that you visit luxury restaurants but also trattorias, museums but also country villages. Since the ideal seasons to visit the city are autumn and spring, you will still need to expect a few rainy days. So, OK to jackets, comfortable shoes, caps but also green light to high heels and dresses and suits for a “chic” dinner.

Forbidden to forget at home: cameras, camera battery chargers, mobile phone chargers, because taking pictures will be your first “sport” during a holiday in Florence! One thing to certainly pack is … salt! In fact, in Florence they love to eat “not very tasty” and bread, above all, is kneaded without any salt. So yes, you will need it!

How to get to Florence

Florence is very well served by all types of transport. It has its own airport, Firenze Airport (FLR), which welcomes many international flights especially low cost ones, but it is also close to the Pisa airport (PSA) which helps to dispose of tourist traffic.

Trains from all over Italy stop at the main station in Florence which is Santa Maria Novella. Many bus and taxi connections also depart from here.

Those traveling by their own means will arrive in Florence via the A1 motorway (which connects northern and southern Italy) and the A12 (which connects the city to the sea and the Apennines). State roads also connect Florence to the rest of Tuscany and Italy. Remember, however, that in the city the pedestrian area is very large. Therefore cars must be left in special car parks outside the old city center.

How to move through Florence

The car is not the ideal way to get around Florence. To begin with, there are many and very large pedestrian areas in the centre, so they cannot be crossed with a motor vehicle. Secondly, Florentine traffic is considered one of the most chaotic in Italy!

It is therefore better to move on foot, if possible, or by public transport (bus lines, tram lines, public and private taxis). Some electric buses and trams can safely enter the restricted traffic zones. The City Card you shall buy there will allow you to pay only once to use multiple vehicles on different days.

Florence is also beautiful to travel around by bicycle. Thanks to the areas closed to traffic, bikers can move freely and without too much effort.

What to see

It seems like a rhetorical question, “what is there to see in Florence”. Florence is a UN World Heritage Site, which means that every stone is a monument. And naturally many stones together form buildings, squares, statues of incredible value. The standard tourist route in Florence is:

• Piazza della Signoria with Palazzo Vecchio;
• Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral, with the famous Giotto’s Bell Tower;
• Santa Maria Novella church;
• The Uffizi Gallery Museum;
• River Arno Promenade;
• Ponte Vecchio bridge;
• Vasari Corridor;
• Piazzale Michelangelo;
• Boboli’s Garden.

To these ultra-well-known monuments we can add places less frequented by tourism but equally fascinating, such as: Torre Castagna, Torre Mannelli, Santa Rosa Ancient Walls, Porta Romana, the squares Piazza de’ Pitti, Piazza Santissima Annunziata. Not far from Florence you can visit the hills of Fiesole, the cities of Empoli and Prato, and the village of San Miniato. Pistoia is less than an hour’s drive away. Driving an hour and a half west, you shall arrive in Pisa.

What to do and NOT to do in Florence

After landing at Florence Airport and finding your vehicle that will take you to the city, get ready. Here’s the do’s and do-nots!

A must do: walk! You can’t explore Florence if you don’t walk. Take pictures, this will also be a “pleasant obligation”. Visit the museums, and … no, it will not be a boring experience but on the contrary a very exciting one. Also allow yourself to have some nice trips out of town, to the hills around the city, to the parks, to the nearby Apennines. Go as far as the nearby cities, which are just as beautiful (Pistoia and Pisa above all).

In Florence you MUST NEVER, for any reason:

• complain about unsalted bread (you were warned earlier! plan properly the solution);
• use the car to get around the historic center – the pedestrian areas are very large!
• eat a cooked steak – here the meat must be eaten rare (they say “al sangue”)!
• trust street vendors of souvenirs, especially if they are too insistent;
• stroll through some poorly lit areas of the center, or Piagge and Cascine districts at night.