Off To Florence..

[jmorgan]

Seeing as a few others are interested, might be late for the OP.
I found getting the quintessential Florentine steak expensive (not the meal as such, three restaurant to get a good one). Third attempt and it was sublime, two before that gave my molars a workout Beefeater would have been proud of.

Il Tascani 3 was that offering that did Florence proud. Bit green though, paper plates and all that but what a spread. Well worth it. Tied in with their farm or something.

http://ituscani3.com

Take water with you up the Domo. You will need it.

Watch out for the leather shops, we went for the Leather School, betting it was more genuine than a shop full of Chinese knock offs with "Made in Florence" stamped on them. Watch out for the street sellers that try to befriend you and flog you you tat.

http://leatherschool.biz/en/

Apparently a lot of the better eateries were south of the river but we did not find out about that until later. This was from local so not sure if true.

Bottled water bought from a supermarket by the train station, 2.50€ for a crate vs 2.50€ for a small bottle at the rip off places around the attractions.

[Challo]

Went earlier in the summer and was also recommended on here the steak place Ristorante Buca Mario. Amazing food and the steaks where good. Make sure you book.

We did the normal tourist sites: Uffizi Gallery, Accademia Gallery, Duomo, Campanile di Giotto are great but make sure you book ahead to confirm times and tickets.

Ponte Vecchi Bridge, Palazzo Pitti are also worth a visit.

We did a Saturday Morning walking tour which was 3 hours but well worth it. Covered all the main sites, but gave amazing insights into the city and a real eye opener.

Finished off on Sunday by watching the sunset from Piazzale Michelangelo with a cold beer. Amazing views of the city.

[tim0409]

The Duomo seen from the Belvedere is worthwhile.....

[RBH58]

Just got back from a week in Florence. We stayed in the neighbour on the south side on the Arno near the Basilica di Santo Spirto and there were some lovely little neighbourhood trattorias like Trattoria I'raddi in Via D'Ardiglione, We also found Culinaria De Gustibus Bistrot on Piazza Torquato Tasso which was great food prepared with love, friendly staff, good wine and groovy soundtrack at a bargain price.

[jmorgan]

Oh, and found the Uffizi to be interesting but you can only look at so many paintings with the same theme.

The Galileo Museum was interesting though rather unimaginative if that makes sense.

[RBH58]

jmorgan said:

Oh, and found the Uffizi to be interesting but you can only look at so many paintings with the same theme.

Yep...there is a limit to the amount of crucifixes and slaughtered martyrs I can take in a day.

[jmorgan]

RBH58 said:

jmorgan said:

Oh, and found the Uffizi to be interesting but you can only look at so many paintings with the same theme.

Yep...there is a limit to the amount of crucifixes and slaughtered martyrs I can take in a day.

Spot the red hot pokers on the Duomo ceiling?

[SidJames]

Went to this fab place a couple of years ago,

piazzale-michelangelo

[nealeh1875]

Thanks for all the suggestions, as we are only there for 2 full days essentially i have booked...

2 Walking tours (free), which from what i could tell showed us a lot of the city without walking around aimlessly.

I have only booked the Duomo currently as a 'place to go to' Uffizzi is closed 1st sunday of every month and closed every Monday so going to miss that but i can see how it can get samey after so many renaissance paintings.

In regards to food/restaurants/meals on the night, is it worth booking something up? A few of the steak suggestions look lovely and would love to try one. Are many just walk up as you wish?

We are flying from Luton, is there anything nice to do there?

[jmorgan]

We booked but after sussing the place out. We were July when it was heaving busy. We used trip advisor as a guide, as it was all we had.

Had a two good meals here as well.
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g1...

Restaurant over the page I mentioned, the starter.

IMG_1015 (1) by Jeff, on Flickr

Edited by jmorgan on Thursday 28th September 13:52

Edited by jmorgan on Thursday 28th September 13:54

[Challo]

nealeh1875 said:

Thanks for all the suggestions, as we are only there for 2 full days essentially i have booked...

2 Walking tours (free), which from what i could tell showed us a lot of the city without walking around aimlessly.

I have only booked the Duomo currently as a 'place to go to' Uffizzi is closed 1st sunday of every month and closed every Monday so going to miss that but i can see how it can get samey after so many renaissance paintings.

In regards to food/restaurants/meals on the night, is it worth booking something up? A few of the steak suggestions look lovely and would love to try one. Are many just walk up as you wish?

We are flying from Luton, is there anything nice to do there?

If you want the Steak place that got suggested I would book just incase. Sep/Oct is alot quieter but saves you turning up and being busy. Most other places we walked up and grabbed a table.

[ReaderScars]

jmorgan said:

We booked but after sussing the place out. We were July when it was heaving busy. We used trip advisor as a guide, as it was all we had.

Had a two good meals here as well.
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g1...

Restaurant over the page I mentioned, the starter.

IMG_1015 (1) by Jeff, on Flickr

Hope you don't mind, saw your pic and couldn't help myself applying a few processes in photoshop:

[jmorgan]

ReaderScars said:

Hope you don't mind, saw your pic and couldn't help myself applying a few processes in photoshop:

No problemo. Should have done it myself.

Edit, that was a starter for two and it is a lot more than the pics makes it appear. I had to battle through to make sure it was all gone, even the tripe.

[ReaderScars]

jmorgan said:

No problemo. Should have done it myself.

Edit, that was a starter for two and it is a lot more than the pics makes it appear. I had to battle through to make sure it was all gone, even the tripe.

Looks lovely, never tried tripe.

[RBH58]

ReaderScars said:

Looks lovely, never tried tripe.

can’t recommend it LOL

[g3org3y]

nealeh1875 said:

In regards to food/restaurants/meals on the night, is it worth booking something up? A few of the steak suggestions look lovely and would love to try one. Are many just walk up as you wish?

We are flying from Luton, is there anything nice to do there?

It might be worthwhile asking your hotel to call and request a booking. I suspect you'll probably be ok without a reservation as you're not visiting in high season.

The nicest thing about Luton is leaving.

[ReaderScars]

RBH58 said:

can’t recommend it LOL

I've heard enough people say that to be very wary. Can you imagine if someone hated trip and marmite? You could probably do them in.

[RBH58]

ReaderScars said:

I've heard enough people say that to be very wary. Can you imagine if someone hated trip and marmite? You could probably do them in.

I’ve had it several times including times where I’ve been told by tripe fans that this time I’ll feel differently. I never did. The texture gets me every time,

[TheGuru]

Went to Florence last year, sadly it’s probably my most disappointing destination ever, and I’ve travelled a fair bit. To be honest hated just about every minute of it.

Whilst I appreciate the art and history, it’s just too busy to enjoy. Another thread on here discusses the impact of cruise ships wrecking places, well it’s a similar thing - tour groups have just wrecked the atmosphere, plus are just downright rude in many cases.

Need to book everything in advance to avoid queues, which can be substantial.

[nealeh1875]

Hi All,

What a beautiful city, me and the mrs really enjoyed it,

We only did the Duomo as a pre booked thing but we also did a free walking tour which was good. Lampredotto was nice to try !

So much walking my feet where in bits but loved every second. Walk to the top of the duomo is an experience in itself !

We stopped in San Niccolo not to far from Piazzale Michelangelo and Pitti Palace which is stunning. Although some parts very touristy we stopped in a place i thought was very local. One place didn't even have a English menu and the waiter recited it all described it all, which he made very funny.

For the people who are going, you will love it, try and move away from the main square as such, you will experience so much more. And thanks for the advice on increasing the overdraft.. it was needed !!

A lot of Chinese tourist and Americans too. not many English that i noticed

Also, which was my highlight, i saw Pierluigi Collina in Florence airport as we was leaving. mrs not a clue why i was so happy and waited for me to have my photo with him bless her.