Our Florence, Italy Guide & Things To Do, See & Eat
A few general notes:
Let’s get this out of the way — Florence is touristy. It’s just too small a city for the amount of people who visit. If you’re not thoughtful about where you stay and where you eat, you won’t have the most authentic Italian experience. Hopefully this guide will help you.
Food in Italy - “bad” or “touristy” food in Italy is equivalent to Italian food we’d consider good in the states. So if you ignore my advice and eat dinner next to the Duomo, you’ll still probably enjoy it. But if you want your mind to be blown, you have to go where the locals eat, and that’s nowhere near the tourist attractions. In our experience Italians are the nicest Europeans when it comes to hospitality, so don’t be intimidated about going into local spots where they don’t speak English.
North of the river (Centro Storico): the must-see tourist attractions, that are … yes … must see, but very touristy. The Duomo, The David, Palazzo Vecchio, Uffizi Gallery, the churches, etc. are all as advertised … incredible … but can be kind of a grind with the lines and crowds. FYI - never eat dinner near these places, they’re the aforementioned touristy spots that the locals avoid.
South of the river (Santo Spirito): lots of great meals in this area, a few specific recs below. It’s a great sweet spot where it’s catering to the locals who still live in Florence-proper, but still a lot of english (there’s a ton of American students living here). Also some awesome sights which are listed below.
Trains in Italy - Quick note about traveling, the train system in Italy is amazing and super easy. I highly highly recommend upgrading to at least the lowest tier of first or business class, ESPECIALLY if you’re traveling with big luggage or children. It’s usually very cheap compared to your overall ticket, like an additional $20, and the assigned seats + more space really makes it stress free. You also really don’t need to get to the station super early, your track # isn’t announced until 10 mins before.
Historical Sights
(Florence is small, all of these are within a 25 min walk of each other)
The Medici Family – If there's one thing to know before exploring Florence, it's the Medici family. They were essentially the bankers who became the unofficial rulers of Florence. They basically funded Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance as a whole. As you're walking around Florence, you'll constantly stumble across palaces, churches, museums, and works of art that exist because of the Medici. Knowing who they were makes almost everything you see a little more meaningful.
Our wedding venue is one of their many vacation homes.
Duomo - a really unbelievable building. The size and detail is just wild.
This is our perfect Duomo experience: get a drink and a snack at one of the touristy places outside of it and just admire the exterior. Honestly, as far as renaissance churches go (and considering the extravagance of the outside) the inside is pretty disappointing. The line that wraps around the whole building, that’s the line to just go in and walk around. Skip that, you’re going to get a better view of it in a second.
Buy the ticket (days in advance) to climb to the top of the dome. The line / entrance is at a side door. As long as you’re not scared of heights or very claustrophobic (I’m a little of both, and I got through it), it’s epic. It’s an awesome maze through the guts of the building, you end up inside the top of the dome, so you can look down at the whole inside of the cathedral and you’re eye-level with the dome’s Fresco which is beautiful and very trippy. Then you continue on the top of the Dome and have an unbelievable view of the city and surrounding mountains. Highly Highly recommend.
FYI, for a less claustrophobic climb and basically the same view point, you can also climb the bell tower (separate ticket and entrance).
Uffizi Gallery - originally the offices (uffizi) of the Medicis and now houses the family's art collection. It’s one of the world's most important museums, featuring masterpieces by Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo. Even if you're not an art enthusiast, it’s worth walking through. It also has some great views of the Florence skyline.
Galleria dell'Accademia (The David) - don’t get me wrong, The David is pretty cool. Michelangelo, one giant block of marble, the unbelievable amount of detail, yada, yada, it’s all very impressive. But if you’re tight on time and are tired of lines and crowds, skip it - it’s ussually packed and a long wait. There’s a replica of the David in the next recommendation. There’s a lot more art in here besides big ole’ Dave (for the record), so if you like renaissance art maybe it’s worth the crowds.
Palazzo Vecchio - awesome place to have a drink, take it all in, people-watch etc.. We’ve never actually been in the building / museum, so can’t speak to that, but love hanging out in this square. Couple of fun facts:
On the tower, there’s one window, it’s a single jail cell where Cosimo Medici was imprisoned for a month. If you played Assassin’s Creed back in the day, thats where your family was held and then was executed in the square below. If you get the reference you’re a nerd like me.
Our favorite statue in the world is in this square, it’s Perseus holding Medusa’s head. Pretty badass. If you go behind the statue, the artist put his own face on the back of Perseus’ helmet. Just a cool little easter egg.
Basilica of Santa Croce - church with the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli. Definitely check it out.
Basilica of Santa Maria Novella - beautiful church, lots of art.
Ponte Vecchio - really beautiful bridge lined with jewelry shops. Ussually an absolute nightmare with tourists and crowds, but iconic. Best admired from the adjacent bridges IMO.
Boboli Gardens - south of the river, epic garden complex, huge and really really beautiful. Get a sandwich and bottle of wine and explore / have a picnic
Palazzo Michelangelo - South of the river, best view of the city. At sunset it’ll be super super busy, but it is an unbelievable view. My computer wallpaper is a photo I took from here. If you go during the day it’s less crowded.
Leather - Tuscan leather is famous, go to the San Lorenzo market to buy jackets, purses, etc. Expect to haggle.
For the bougie-ass people in our lives (I really enjoyed this too, admittedly), check out the Salvatore Ferragamo building. It’s the flagship / original store, the family still lives above the shop. There’s a museum in the basement about the company, pretty cool. Kels bought a purse and I bought one for my mom.
Food 🤤
It goes Antipasti (salad), Primi (pasta), Secondi (meat), in that order. Obviously you don’t have to, you can definitely order a pasta or meat as your single course, but that’s the tradition. Kels and I have found sharing one of each is the play.
If you don’t make an effort to eat vegetables, prepare to be constipated (artichokes are the easiest and most delicious solution).
If you’re a northern European like me, bring Tums or Alka-Seltzer.
Never eat at a Restaurant if:
It’s near a tourist attraction
There’s pictures on the menu
There’s someone outside hounding you to come in
If you find yourself in a restaurant where there’s no menus - just a blackboard or they just tell you a few options, you’re in the right place.
Italian-American dishes you won’t find in Italy:
Anything Alla Vodka. It’s not a thing.
Chicken Parm. I know, bummer. Eggplant Parm is an authentic Italian dish, but the pollo and veal versions are an American invention. You won’t find them on any authentic menus.
Spaghetti & Meatballs (outside of ragus like Bolognese, meat and pasta don’t mix)
Tourist mistakes:
Don’t cut your pasta with a knife. Twirl it, it’s not that hard.
Pizzas are meant to be ordered on an individual basis. Authentic pizza restaurants won’t cut your pie for you - because you’re not sharing.
Milk in your coffee after noon. You can get away with it, but Italians consider milk a breakfast food, so they’ll know you’re a tourist.
Dishes Of Note:
Bistecca Alla Fiorentina - so so so good. Giant T-Bone steak. Traditionally it’s very rare, you’ve been warned. Some places (listed below) will bring it to you on a hot plate, so you can keep cooking it to your liking.
Carciofi Crudi - artichoke salad. Thinly sliced raw artichokes, lemon, oil and parmesan. So simple, so good. Eat some vegetables!
Pasta - ragus are really Florence’s specialty, wild boar, lamb, duck, rabbit, etc.. But all the pastas are fire.
Anything suckling, cow, pig, lamb, rabbit - it’s baby animals, yes kinda f*cked up, but delicious.
Gelato - if the buckets have waves, it’s not good. It should be flat in the bucket.
Coffee - don’t get milk in your coffee after noon, they will judge you.
Beer, Wine & Cocktails
Beer:
Peroni
Moretti
Menabrea - my fav
Messina - Kels’ fav
Ichnusa - heavier, more like a pale ale
Wine:
You can ussually ask for house red or white wine, comes in a half liter or liter most the time. Always good and very very cheap.
In Tuscany, the hierarchy is basically: Chianti → Chianti Classico → Chianti Classico Riserva
Montepulciano DaBruzzo - another great region
Rossa Montalcino - fire
Brunello - either unbleivabley good, or kind of cough syrupy. Expensive.
Barolo - the best italian wine, and affordable while you’re in Italy (in the States, not so much)
Cocktails
Aperol Spritz – the official day-drinking choice of Italy. Aperol, prosecco and soda water.
Negroni – invented in Florence, so you kind of have to have one here. Gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth. Strong, bitter, and absolutely delicious once your palate comes around. One of my favorite cocktails, but definitly and acquired taste.
Negroni Sbagliato – same as a Negroni, but made with sparkling wine instead of gin. Much lighter and easier to drink if a regular Negroni is too much.
Americano – Campari, sweet vermouth, and soda water. Kind of like a even lighter Negroni.
Limoncello – technically a digestif, not a cocktail, but you'll see it everywhere. Served ice cold after dinner, many authentic restaurants will bring you some for free. There are plenty of other digestifs worth trying too, like grappa, amaro, and Vin Santo (my fav). Limoncello is definitely the sweetest and most approachable, but don't be afraid to branch out.
Aperitivo – before dinner, a lot of bars put out complimentary snacks (olives, chips, little sandwiches, etc.) when you order a cocktail. It's one of the best traditions in Italy, so take advantage of it.
Restaraunts
There’s an infinite number of amazing restaraunts in Florence (away from the tourist areas), but these are just a few of our favorites.
Le Volte - we’ve probably eaten here 10+ times. Owner’s father owns the butcher shop next door. Get the artichoke carbonara and the fiorentina steak (with the hot plate).
Ristorante Il Guscio - incredibile pastas
Pizzeria Antica Porta - really fire pizza, more roman (thin) then Neapolitan, which we prefer. Hard to find non-neopolitan pizza in Florence.
Sports
We’re a Roma family. But Fiorentina is pretty swaggy and Iconic. I think their stadium is under construction so maybe not the best time to go to a game, but definitly catch a game in a bar. They play on the weekends.
