Exploring Florence, Italy
These are my travel notes for Florence, filled with sights and mostly places to eat, it's Italy.
Florence is a breathtaking city with divine food and an expansive history. It is a city that my wife, Maria, and I have fallen in love with and have returned to a few times. The city lives and breathes the Renaissance with its grandeur, century-old buildings, and history around each corner. Here, you will be constantly immersed in Culture, Art, History, and Cuisine, a place like no other. Here are the notes I compiled for myself on Florence, and I hope that it can benefit you.
What To See
Tourist Basics
Palazzo Vecchio
Santa Maria Del Fiore | Florence’s Main Cathedral
* Highly recommended to purchase tickets beforehand. You can also climb the bell tower and/or climb to the top of the Dome.
Cappelle Medicee
*You Can purchase tickets there.
Piazzale Michelangelo
*Best view of Florence.
Mercato Centrale Firenze
Pitti Palace
Basilica of Santa Croce
Uffizi Gallery and Accademia
*Purchase Tickets ahead of time here.
Piazza Della Signoria
Extras
Piazza Santo Spirito
Museo Stibbert
Loggia dei Lanzi
Museo Leonardo Da Vinci
*Find my advice here.
Florence, Italy
Where to Eat
My approach to Restaurants and food: I am by no means a restaurant critic. For my rating, I use a 1 - 10 system; 1 - 4 range from horrible to okay but not worth returning to, and 5 - 7 are what I consider benchmark, you can get great bites, and it is worth returning, and 8 - 10, well they are divine and outstanding food, meals that you dream about. For my recommendations, I will keep to the higher end of the scale that said I was only there for a short amount of time, and there are many that I did not have the chance to try.
A few tips: When traveling to any major city, try to go to restaurants that are not on main roads or in front of tourist sites; my goal is to always get away from as many tourists as possible. I tend to notice that you find restaurants with delicious food, local eaters, and more reasonable prices. There are always exceptions, but melting into the local spots is a nearly always safe bet.
*I have not personally visited all these restaurants, but all were highly recommended and are on my list of must-go.
Restaurants
Il Baretto | Personal Rating: 8/10 | Trip Advisor: 4.5/5.0
Ristorante Natalino | Personal Rating: 7/10 | Trip Advisor: 4.5
Club Culinario Toscano da Osvaldo | Personal Rating: 7/10 | The Fork: 4.6/5.0
Trattoria San Cammillo | Personal Rating: 7/10 | Yelp: 4.0/5.0
Florence’s Signature Sandwich Shops | All’Antico Vinaio OR Pino’s Sandwiches-Salumeria Verdi OR I Fratellini | Trip Advisor: 4.5/5.0
*Wherever you go, make sure they are using the signature Florentine Bread.
Osteria Giglio d’Oro | The Fork: 4.6/5.0
Trattoria Antico Fattore | Trip Advisor: 4.5/5.0
Antica Trattoria da Tito dal 1913 | Trip Advisor: 4.5/5.0
Osteria Del Corso | Trip Advisor: 5.0/5.0
Fermento 1889 | Trip Advisor: 4.5/5.0
Trattoria La Casalinga | Trip Advisor: 4.5/5.0
La Giostra | Trip Advisor: 4.5/5.0
Osteria Pastella | Trip Advisor: 4.5/5.0
Vini e Vecchi Sapori | Trip Advisor: 4.5/5.0
Trattoria Sostanza | Trip Advisor: 4.5/5.0
Nello ristorante | Trip Advisor: 4.5/5.0
Il Santo Bevitore | Yelp: 4.5/5.0
L’Ortone | The Fork: 4.7/5.0
Cibleo | The Fork: 4.7/5.0
Ristorante Del Fagioli | Trip Advisor: 4.5/5.0
Casa Ciabattini | The Fork: 4.8/5.0
Tratoria Ruggero | Trip Advisor: 4.5/5.0
Nugolo | The Fork: 4.8/5.0
CINTO Cucina in Torre | The Fork: 4.5/5.0
Osteria Belle Donne | Trip Advisor: 4.5/5.0
Osteria Del Cinghiale Bianco | Trip Advisor: 4.5/5.0
Gastone | The Fork: 4.8/5.0
*Your time in Florence is never long enough so don’t bother going to restaurants less then a 4.0, spend the couple of minutes researching restaurants and don’t fall for the host running up to you and trying to get you to come to their restaurant.
Cafe, Bars & Dessert
Gelateria dei Neri | Dessert | Trip Advisor: 4.5/5.0
Rex Firenze | Bar | Trip Advisor: 4.0
Il Santino | Bar | Apple Rating: 83%
The Lodge Club Firenze | Bar | Trip Advisor: 3.5/5.0
*Over-priced, I did not try the food, but what a view!
La Sorbetteria | Dessert | Trip Advisor: 4.5/5.0
Caffe Gilli | Cafe | Apple Rating: 89%
Vivoli Gelato | Dessert | Apple Rating: 91%
If you have any questions or comments, my email is thomasmjumper@gmail.com
Great post, will definitely use this advice during my trip there in the future!