Best of Florence

Below is a guide I typed up for friends I know who will be studying in Florence in the future; some info was based on the guide that was sent me before I went.

Restaurants

-Birrificio Mostodolce (awesome pizza place, good goat cheese salad, and brewery!) Try the beer with honey in it!
-Gusta Pizza (known for the best pizza-thicker than normal Italian pizza though)
-Acqua al 2 (best steak I've ever had, get the platter with the balsamic and blueberry steak--sounds gross but its awesome and they're famous for it…Brad & Angelinas favorite)
-Il Gatto e Volpe (go with 6+ people and ask for family style--you pay 15 euros and get 4 apps, 4 pastas, wine and water, so much fun with a bunch of people)
-Dantes (free wine for students)
-Trattoria La Guido (they had a really good filled pasta with pears and cheese on special)
-Pepo (near mercato centrale)
-Salumeria Verdi (best sandwiches in town)
-Mario (supposed to be the best lunch place but I never made it in time)
-Dionoso (for you greek food craving)
-Salumancas (spanish food and the best Sangria with the big crazy straws)
-Il Latini (a huge restaurant that is always packed and widely known; can do family style for double the price of the other family restaurant, but all the food is so good)
-Pepe (neat restaurant in San Niccolo area)

Gelato

-Il Re Gelato (Best gelato in town! This is where the olive oil gelato was invented--must call ahead if you want it. They have different flavors every time-the greek yogurt with cinnamon is my favorite)
-Grom (Most famous gelato place in Italy, always a long line, locations in other towns nearby also; crema di Grom is their specialty flavor)
-Venchi (Known for their chocolates, all natural ingredients; they have gelato as well as an italian ice variety, in many other towns as well)

Markets/Shopping

-San Lorenzo Market (good cheap leather but not as authentic as Mercato La Loggia)
-Mercato la Loggia (best leather market in Florence, each stand moves around every day; 2 good brands are Christina Rui and Victoria, negotiate prices and smell the leather always!)
-Santa Croce (all the leather shops are here, but Old Florence leather shop is the best--to the left of the church…he gives you 50% off everything and free engraving for students)
-Mercato Centrale (the food market, make sure to go to Pasta Fresco in it and get fresh pasta the best thing we made it twice a week at least, cooks in 2 minutes)
-Ponte Vecchio (famous old bridge with jewelry shops lining both sides and big wood doors disguise them at night)
-Via de' Ginori 52/r (leather shop where the lady and her husband make everything)
-San Niccolo area (full of Artisan shops and cool artsy restaurants)
-Piazza behind Uffizi (really good canvas paintings from this guy with an eye patch, he hand painted one for me)
-Tuesday market in Cascine Park (from 7-1; you have to be ready to dig--its like a huge goodwill with food and much more!)

Night Life

-Red Garter (one of our favorites, pretty American but a good mix, karaoke every night)
-Kikuya (next to Red Garter, try the Dragoon beer, it's a good dark beer with 10% alcohol)
-Eby's (chill 2-story wine bar)
-Volume (locals wine bar in Strozzi)
-Cafe Bigalow (close to the Duomo, buy a card you get 3 for 10 drinks)
-Lion's Fountain/Lion's Den (where you'll always find someone you know, the typical American bar with all the colleges shirts)
-Friends (locals sports bar on the other side of the bridge)
-Art Bar (Monday & Wednesday- happy hour all night with big fruit drinks)

Sights to See

-Piazza Michaelangelo (climb the steps to see the most beautiful view of Florence/at sunset there's live music; Bobolino gardens right below it)
-Boboli Gardens & Pitti Palace (give yourself a whole day, so much to see; can study here too)
-Duomo (climb the 464 steps to get to the top; go right when it opens in the morning to avoid the crowd; wait in the other line to see the Basilica too)
-Uffizi (Main attractions: Michaelangelos "Holy Family", room 25; Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" & "Primavera" rooms 10/14; DaVinci's "Annunciation", room 15; Caravaggio's "Medusa" & "Bacchus")
-Accademia (the real statue of David)
-Santa Croce basilica (beautiful with the bones of Michaelangelo and tribute to Machivelli)
-Museo Salvatore Ferragamo (fashion museum with shoes and accessories)
-Museum of Alessandro Dari (went on a class field visit-the neatest jewelry I have ever seen-San Niccolo)
-Just past the Ponte Amerigo Vespucci bridge on the non-duomo side there's a little path that brings you down to the water where you can sit over the waterfall, drink wine, and watch the sunset-bring your camera

Other Italian Towns to See

-Fiesole (take the bus from Piazza di San Marco for 1.20 euro its only 15 minutes away or you can hike up the mountain. View of the whole city of Florence; best Indian restaurant in all of Europe!)
-Lucca (bike the ramparts-so cool and different; eat at Trattoria da Leo)
-Siena (so beautiful; spend the night and go to the towns nearby also)
-San Gimigniano (cool old Tuscan city with lots of little shops and places to eat; get gelato at Gelateria di Piazza)-great view of Tuscan countryside also
-Padova/Verona/Venice (weekend trip-don't stay in Venice, just go for the day because it's so expensive; Padova and Verona were great, Padova has a huge university so lots of young adults)
-Amalfi coast (weekend trip or more- stay in Sorrento and take the ferry to Capri for a day and do the chairlift to Anacapri, ferry to Positano also for good shopping/food. In Sorrento eat at La Tavolla di Lucello and get the pasta with saffron, zucchini, and clams!)


Ciao Ciao,
Tarra