Romantic Italian tourist destination…big yet still charmy.
The 3 most popular tourist cities in Italy are probably Rome, Florence, and Milan. (I didn’t check btw, just a gut feeling.) Rome is epic with its massive size and endless array of historical monuments/buildings. Milan is more like a modern metropolis, known for fashion and things of Italy today.
Florence is smaller than those 2, but packs as big of a punch and so much more charmy. Massive cathedral of beautiful styling, much more impressive to me than Milan’s duomo. The city center feels like a giant old town, with many squares and cobbled stone walkways. People everywhere and NO CARS or public transportation. It’s a walking city dazzling your sights with every step. In 10 minutes of walking, you go past bridges and water-views, historical buildings and squares, statues and monuments, gardens and museums, shops and stores, bars, cafes, and restaurants.
It’s like a really big small Italian town, if you know what I mean. Small enough to digest in a couple days, big enough to live in and find things to do. Come see why the smaller Florence brings in so many millions of tourists despite lacking the size of Rome, Paris, London.
3 days is enough to see most things and still have moments to relax and enjoy this beautiful city.
Where to stay:
- Ponte Vecchio – on either side of the bridge/water. IMO, most ideal area to stay (and cheaper than cathedral area). Beautiful area and central to all places you’ll spend the most time. Right next to the main tourist bridge and lovely water views. Santa Maria Cathedral and historic buildings to the north, fancy shopping areas to the west, San Michelangelo viewpoints to the east, Santa Croce and San Niccolo nightlife to the east, Pitti Palace and big garden to the south…all within 10 minutes of walking from you. And the city/water views are always beautiful walking home at night. Another bonus is this area has more local amenities, like laundromats and hair salons. I can’t say enough. It’s the best area!
- Westside (shopping area north of Ponte Trinita) – this area is a good one to stay. It’s still very authentic Florence but more chill and fewer people running all over. It’s the fancy shopping area where all the expensive brands are, and then some nice busy squares nearby. You’re still close to the action and can walk to the center. Only things far are the east nightlife areas like Santa Croce and San Niccolo areas (also Piazzale Michelango lookout), feels far to walk. But also, the streets here are clearer to reach by taxi.
- Santa Croce area – it seems like a good idea because it’s cheaper and you’re closer to the nightlife and still walking distance from the center, but I personally don’t like it. It’s too residential, think a bunch of apartment buildings without any Florence architectural charms. And despite this being the “nightlife area”, the surrounding neighborhood is actually all residential and quiet with the lights off. The walk home at night to here is quiet and boring with nothing to see, and no water views to walk past.
- Santa Maria cathedral – hahaha, this is the giant mistake where most people try to stay. They think the cathedral is the central area and the high prices make it appear desireable. But the reality is the Santa Maria cathedral doesn’t have much cool stuff around it. Maybe some nice restaurants 1-2 blocks away, but most of your time will be spent further south closer to the water.
- Close to main train station (Santa Maria Novella) – an even bigger mistake than staying by the cathedral. You may be tempted by places over here because it’s cheaper but for me it’s the worst idea ever. Aside from being ugly and lacking interesting architecture, all your walkways into the center of town are clogged up by tourists dragging luggage all day and night, which totally kills the vibe! If you want to save money, stay across the water (preferably near the Ponte Vecchio bridge). Trust me, trust me, TRUST ME!
- San Niccolo area – cheaper and close to the Piazzale Michelangelo panoramic lookout and San Niccolo nightlife. Cute and charmy but definitely a hassle if you want to go to the center and do tourist things. It feels like a really far walk from all other areas, cuz yeahhh…you’re far away AND on the other side of the water. Between this one and the Piazza Duomo area with the big Santa Maria cathedral…I’d probably choose the Santa Maria cathedral for first timers (since you’re closer to the tourist stuff and tourist vibes). San Niccolo is more local vibes and those aren’t trying to do tourist things.
When booking a place, I’d be careful of the building age. Newer buildings are bigger with more space and have elevators (and probably other modern amenities as well). Older ones are smaller and DON’T have elevators…which you’ll hate after a whole day of walking in the hot sun. Don’t fall for the “beautiful view of the Santa Maria cathedral”. IMO, that view alone is not worth it. Maybe if you had a view of the cathedral and square in front of it, ok fine…but if it’s just the cathedral peeking over other “ugly” buildings, then definitely not. I’ll take an elevator and space over cathedral views anyday. And also…the cathedral area is not the best/most-central area to stay, remember?
Being higher up is also a good idea, not for the views, but because you’re farther from all the ground noise. Of course, this matters less if you’re farther out from the center where not so many people walk.
Hostels:
- I forgot the one I stayed in but it doesn’t matter. It was alright, not particularly great.
- Most hostels are expensive.
- Unless there’s a free breakfast or really sociable common area, you can almost guarantee that you probably won’t meet anybody. The city is so full of tourist things and stimulation that people go out as much as they can.
Neighborhoods & Walking areas:
- Santa Maria cathedral – see the massive church and duomo square. It’s my absolute favorite church in all of Italy. Absolutely epic and breathtaking. It’s the very first thing you MUST do in Florence.
- Ponte Vecchio – second on the list and makes the most sense. The famous bridge and beautiful water views. The walk here from the cathedral will have many beautiful squares and buildings along the way. Enjoy and take photos.
- Piazzale Michelangelo – aim to get here just before sunset. Amazing panoramic views of the city from the steps and terrace area. You could technically do a lunch break here in the San Niccolo area before going up. After sunset, you can catch dinner and aperitivo in the San Niccolo area (just down the hill from here). Or you can head over to Santa Croce.
- Santa Croce area – when people reference this area, they’re usually talking about the bars and restaurants around Via dei Benci street. I’d go here around the early evening if you want to do aperitivo and then head to bars afterwards around here. Or you could stay in San Niccolo for a classier vibe. The young drunk college folks are typically in drunk in the Santa Croce area.
- Westside – I consider fancy shopping area (look up Gucci store location) and Piazza della Repubblica. Fancy expensive shopping stores during the day, and classier more upscale hangout area during the nights. I’d especially recommend this at night for older people and those with money.
- Across the water (south) – I keep forgetting the exact location but there are bars clubs where local young people hang out. When I remember, I’ll put it here.
Activities to do:
- Walk around – the areas I gave you, they cover nearly all the important buildings and things you have to see.
- Museums – Florence has really great musuems. The best one (as my Italian cousin says) is the Uffizi Gallery. A note about the statue of David. There is 1 real one (that you have to pay to go inside and see) and 3 fake ones throughout the city. As some friends tell me, the fake ones look just as real and located better for photos.
- Hangout by the water – especially popular for couples or drunk people just wanting a spot to chill.
- Outdoor movie nights – they happen right by the Uffizi gallery.
- Shopping – go to the shopping area I recommended you. I like that Florence has many boutiques that are not commonly found anywhere else. Even if you don’t want to buy anything, you should definitely checkout the high-end stores to see up and coming fashion designs that will be released elsewhere in the world a year later.
- Buy a leather jacket – places to buy high quality leather jacket at a good price. Star Leather (on the side of the Santa Croce basilicia, it’s where I bought my jackets, best price for great quality and classic styling), David Cerasi (by the water, where I would like to buy next, very trendy styling BEST STYLE & QUALITY), Noi Leather (kind of by the water, iconic brand, great and also extremely trendy, but highest prices and not my style). Read my full guide: How to Buy a Leather Jacket in Florence (Italy).
Restaurants & Cafes:
- Trattoria Za Za – this place is such a gem! Make a reservation over the phone (so you don’t have to wait in line). I recommend you ask to sit inside. It’s really beautiful decor in there (and each room is different, I preferred the main building). The best part of all is this restaurant has really good food and prices are extremely reasonable. The owner/s must be such amazing people.
- Trattoria La Casalinga – another massive local favorite. I unfortunately didn’t get to try it.
A special thanks to my friend Celeste Dipti who found many of these places. A posh Canadian girl who came along with us in Florence and looked up these amazing restaurants. Funny that even my Italian cousin and his local friend never knew about them!
Bars & Clubs:
- Santa Croce area – the default party area. Use the “Red Garter” as a marker for the area but I probably wouldn’t go in there as my first choice. I enjoyed Manfredi (across the street) much more but be careful! They have many Google reviews about extra charges on the bill…perhaps pay cash to be safe? You can also look around and see which other places have noise.
- San Niccolo area – seems a little classier and more upscale. There are many nice bars here, I couldn’t tell you which to go. Just pick any based on what you see.
Florence really doesn’t have much club-style partying. Or at least not easily found by tourists IMO.
Miscellaneous tips:
- Safety – pickpockets are everywhere. Especially the markets and I imagine also the lookout points where people crowd around to take photos.
- Wine – the two best Tuscan wines are probably Brunello and Bolgheri. I easily prefer Brunello more. Chianti is also quite popular but I simply don’t like it as much.
- Haircuts (for men) – barbershops are usually booked out ahead of time. You probably won’t have much luck trying to walk in during busy tourist season and in August (when much of Italy goes on vacation). I did however have luck walking into a beauty salon.
- Locals area – it’s south of the water. You can explore deep into there to find cheap restaurants, bars, parks, and many more local hangouts. It seems the hardcore locals never like to go into the tourist zone.
Nearby towns:
- Bologna – I really enjoyed my time. It’s an authentic Italian city with cute charmy corridors and touristy area. But is it an absolute must-see compared to other more notable destinations in Italy? Definitely not. I’d only go here if you have time to kill.
- Pisa – such an easy visit that you should do it. You can just stop here for 2 hours to take a photo of the tour and beautiful surrounding square. It’s actually nice and more than just a leaning tower. An easy train stop between cities in the north.
- Cinque Terre – a good tourist location if you’ve never been. It’s a collection of 5 picturesque colorful seaside Italian beach towns.