Italy Travel Guide: Florence

So I totally had the best of intentions to post the 2nd part of my Italy travel guide last week when I posted the first section on Rome……but it didn’t happen. For good reason though, as I have a really big secret to tell you guys…….but you’re going to have to wait until later this week to find out! *Oh the suspense!!!!* So without further ado, I’m so excited to relive my experience in Florence today and tell you all of the fun details.

In all truth, Florence and the smaller towns in Tuscany that we visited were my favorite places in Italy. Maybe even my favorite places I’ve ever visited. I could definitely see my self living in Tuscany; and it was so hard to leave! If you ever get the opportunity to travel abroad, I’d highly recommend putting Tuscany at the top of your list! As you’ll see from our experience below, there really is something for everyone here!

P.S. If you’d like a pricing breakdown of our trip or tips on how to save/budget for an Italian vacation, please feel free to e-mail me {whitney@sweetcayenne.com} for the details! I’m happy to share our budgeting strategy and cost of the trip to anyone who’s interested. This trip can be affordable for many types of budgets – so don’t let cost scare you from saving or planning for a trip to Italia!

Where to Stay:

Cimabue 9 – for our 4 night stay in Florence, we stayed at the most adorable, historical B&B that was just a 1/2 mile walk from the Florence city center. This B&B is host to 4 guest rooms with private baths attached to each, and in my opinion were some of the nicest accommodations in Florence! The rooms were large, comfortable, and extremely clean. The bathrooms were a great size for Europe, and Enrico has a washing machine that is available for guest to wash clothes in for a small fee.

Breakfast was 4 Euro per person per day, and included an all-you-can eat spread of toast, fruit, yogurt, luncheon meets, cheeses, Italian-style coffee to order, and Italian pastries. It’s rare for Italians to eat large breakfasts {for them it’s usually a pastry and a cappucino}, so we were pleasantly surprised at the selection Enrico offered!

Another thing we loved about staying with Enrico was his expertise on what to do and see in Florence. He was so gracious to give us one-on-one time at the beginning of our stay to answer any questions we had about Florence and give us the best map of the city where he had marked bus stops and his favorite places to visit. We definitely would not have had the same wonderful experience had it not been for his expertise!

Getting Around:

• Train from Rome to Florence – we purchased our train tickets from Rome to Florence online at Trenitalia. I’d highly recommend purchasing tickets for the high-speed train {called Frecciarossa in Italy} as opposed to the slower, inner-city trains. The high-speed trains will get you to your destinations in half the time; with no stops, air conditioning, and the opportunity to reserve your seats. For more info on traveling through Italy via train, I found this guide from Walks of Italy to be extremely helpful.
• Getting around within Florence – we found that Florence was so much easier to navigate through and travel via foot when compared to Rome. It’s so much less crowded, the street names are easier to read on a map, and you can walk from one end of the city center to the other in about 30 minutes {less than a 2 mile walk}. Of course, there are a few main bus routes you can utilize if needed, but I’d highly recommend walking from point to point, as you will see so much more!

Things to do:

Day 1 Itinerary:

The day we arrived in Florence, we decided to take it easy and get our bearings. We spent the afternoon enjoying a leisurely lunch at pizzeria near our B&B, planned our itinerary for the week with our host, Enrico, and then enjoyed a small climb to the top of the Piazzale Michelangelo. This area boasts some of the best skyline views of the Florence city center and is great to do in the late afternoon or at sunset. You can reward yourself after the hike with dinner at some of the city’s most trendy restaurants, tucked away in the streets just at the base of the hike starting point {see where we ate in the restaurant section below!}

Day 2 Itinerary:

• Pitti Palace – located in the southwest portion of the Florence city center, Pitti Palace is a gem that’s often overlooked on the itinerary of most tourists who visit Florence. We opted to visit the palace instead of the Accademia Gallery or the Uffizi Gallery, mainly because we wanted to avoid the massive crowds that frequent those museums day in and day out {if you choose to visit one of those, however, be sure to reserve an entry time online to avoid 3+ hour waits to get in}.

Pitti Palace is home to the famed Boboli Gardens and several museums which are home to relics and treasures from famous Italian aristocrats and royal famlies. The exhibits here are divided into two separate admissions here because there is so much to see. We opted to do the admission which included the gardens, porcelain gallery, and the fashion gallery for 7 Euro. It took us a good 4 hours to explore all of this, so we could have easily allotted an entire day to the Palace if we had purchased both admissions.

The grounds of the Boboli Gardens are vast – there are numerous hidden pathways that will take you this way and that way, so allow yourself at least 2 hours if you want to explore it all! I’d greatly suggest packing a light picnic or some snacks for this venture – we saw several families eating on benches and wished we’d have packed food also!

• If exploring Pitti Palace wasn’t enough exercise for you, head to visit Florence’s breaktaking Duomo – located in the heart of the city. Entrance to the main portion of the cathedral is free; although there may be a line to get in depending on the day and time.  There is a 10 Euro fee to climb the bell tower, visit the underground museum, and climb the cupola – I’d allow 2-3 hours if you plan to do all three.

It’s a 471 step climb to the top of the bell tower and can sometimes be a 30 min-1 hour wait to climb it. The same goes for climbing the cupola. We only had time to climb the bell tower and I’m not going to lie – it was a tough climb. Mainly due to the fact that the last 1/3 of the climb is up a very tight and winding staircase, where guests are going up and down at the same time. Don’t attempt it if you are the least bit claustrophobic – it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I’m glad I did…..but I wouldn’t do it again. Ha!

Day 3 Itinerary:

• Tuscany Bike Tour – if seeing some of the Tuscan countryside is on your to-do list, why not try a bike tour through the hills of the Chianti wine region? We booked an all-day {9am-5pm} tour with Tuscany Bike Tours for 80 Euro per person that included a tour of a castle and winery, wine and olive oil tasting, a 13 mile bike tour with van support, and a 3 course lunch! Although at first skeptical of tours from our desire to be “DIY” tourists, we couldn’t help but book a tour with this company due to all of the amazing reviews online.

If biking isn’t your thing, Tuscany Bike Tours has options for Fiat and Vespa tours – no exercise required! Our guide Phillip was amazing and we learned so much about the wine region, as well as olive oil production! This was one of our favorite days from our trip and we’d definitely book this tour again if we returned to Florence!

Day 4 Itinerary:

• Florence Food Tour and Cooking Class at a Farmhouse in Tuscany – this by far was my very favorite day of our entire trip in Italy. I knew from the very day we started planning the trip that a cooking class had to be on our itinerary; and the one we booked with Walkabout Tours was absolutely phenomenal!

Our tour was from 9am -5pm for 80 Euro per person, and included a shopping tour of the San Lorenzo market and other various shops for the food items we’d use in our class. We also were treated to mid-morning coffee at a local cafe, enjoyed the gorgeous scenery on a bus ride to the farmhouse in Chianti, and of course, there was the cooking and food itself!

Our class included one-on-one instruction from a professional pasta maker and professional pizza maker on making traditional bruschetta, pizza from scratch {including the sauce and dough}. handmade pasta, Tuscan  roasted pork and potatoes, and homemade gelato and tiramisu. We had a full lunch and dinner during the class, and needless to say, we were stuffed by the end of the day and ended up not eating for the rest of it!

After the class we were presented with a fun diploma during a little graduation ceremony our hosts had – we also received a fun Tuscan cookbook and got to keep our aprons as souvenirs! This class really was one of the best days of my life and I’ll never get the wonderful people we met or the memories we made {hint: save this day for the very end of your trip – it will be the perfect endcap to your time in Italy!}.

Places to Eat:

• All’ Antico Vinaio This historical family restaurant is world-famous for their paninis and is definitely a MUST on the food list. It really is THE place to try an authentic Italian panini, and the expert sandwich makers here will help you create the one of your dreams! I knew this place was the real deal when I saw that they carried fresh, hot and steaming bread from the bake shop of their restaurant to the sandwich shop all throughout the day. Our bread was still warm when we got our sandwich and it was so delicious that we went back for a 2nd round on another day. Oh, yes, and you can’t beat the price – 5 Euro for a stuffed panini the size of your face – definitely big enough for Ryan and I to split for lunch and still have room for gelato!

• I’ Pizzacchiere – is a very short walk from the Piazzale Michelangelo and is home to one of the best pizzas we had in Italy. The tiny shop {only four tables inside and two on the outside} is owned and run by the sweetest husband-wife duo who go out of their way to make you feel at home! The authentic, Neapolitan-style pizza is handmade and wood-fired to order and will be one that I dream about for years to come!

• Caffe Neri is located in the lush shopping strip that starts at the base of the Pitti Palace and runs across the “Old Bridge” {Ponte Vecchio}. The pastries here are crafted by a famous Italian pastry chef and are the perfect way to top off your tour of the Pitti Palace. They are stunning to look and taste like they were made for royalty – don’t miss this place even if it isn’t time for dessert – any time you walk by this gem is a good time to stop {we got a fresh cannoli and a tiramisu – amazing!}.

• Marco Ottaviano Gelato – this husband-wife owned and operated gelateria is home to the best gelato we ate on our trip. We ate gelato every day in Italy, so that’s saying something! We stumbled upon this place trying to get somewhere else; and boy was I glad we stopped! We ended up going back another time and were amazed at the freshness and quality of the gelato. Each batch is made fresh every day – with no use of preservatives, colorings, or artificial flavors. Ryan’s favorite flavor was the fig & walnut – I couldn’t get over the delicious flecks of melt-in-your mouth dark chocolate in the chocolate chip!

Planning a trip to Italy or know someone who is? Be sure to let me know if you have any questions and share the post with anyone who may find it helpful!