RTW fans' ideas for Florence vacation?

I was a pretty big jerk this year, so for Kwanzaa I arranged for my wife and I to spend five days in Florence in February to break up the winter doldrums. There are the obvious things to check out -- Duomo, Uffizi, Ponte Vecchio, and probably a side trip to Siena -- but I'd like to go a little off the beaten track, see some cool/interesting things that you won't necessarily find on a tourist map. We'll be renting a car, so destinations outside the city aren't off-limits.

I've come to respect the historical acumen of the folks at the Org, particularly through countless hours of EB, and the international character of the forum is impressive. So -- got any recommendations for me? Historic sites, great restaurants, views, jazz clubs, whatever. Anything worthwhile!

It's over 20 yrs since I was in Firenze, but the Uffizi is a must, and the cathedral is quite striking! The Ponte Vecchio is bit of a crowded tourist trap/pickpockets' paradise. You'll be pig sick of Michaelangelo before you're finished, but there's David to peer at (I think the original's gone indoors now, but I could be mistaken). Check out the street market for clothes (especially if you're trying to get back into the other-half's good books :beam: )

The side trip to Siena is worthwhile, it's a charming little town (very mediaeval) but I guess in February you're going to miss the Palio, but they still manage to stretch various colourful events preparatory to it throughout the year. Assissi is another one worth the effort, if you're into churches, crowds of twittering nuns and looking at the undecaying mortal remains of saints. You'll also be within striking range of Pisa, too. Of course the Tuscan countryside has its own charm, and I'm sure you'll also be able to find at least one vineyard open for a sample or ten. And don't forget to go promenading of an evening, or just settle down at a pavement cafe with a cappucino and watch the rest of the world promenading instead.

Enjoy!

My wife and I have been to Florence last September - since we only had three days we mainly went to the main tourist sites. A couple of recommendations, though:

- For the Uffizi you book in advance which might save you quite some queuing (we checked to late and could not book anymore, so we had to queue for almost 2 hours - so if you already have an idea when you would like to visit the Uffizi you might already call there to book)

- Of the "obvious" places in Florence we espially liked the "Palazzo Pitti". It has a very nice park with some good views.

- One evening we went to a very nice little Tratorria. It's the "Trattoria dell'Orto" in the Via dell'Orto 35. It looks very inconspicuous from the outside but the food was excellent, they have a very good selection of wines and the prices are very reasonable (probably even more so if you are from Manhattan ~:))

- The Antinori family has a Palazzo in the city with a winebar/restaurant. Antinori is arguably one of the best wineries in the Tuscany so it might be worthwhile to go there, have some food and enjoy their wines (unfortunately we did not manage to go there)

- Pisa also is not too far away. There is not much to see except for the tower and the duomo so I do not know if you really want to go there. But if your flight goes to/from Pisa you might just go to the city after you checked your luggage in for the flight back as the city is only about 10-15 minutes by bus from the airport and 1-2h is already sufficient to get a nice impression.

If you are interested I posted some pictures of the trip here (starting with post #1223)

If I can think of anything else that might be of interest I will add it here later.

Enjoy your trip to Florence - it is an absolutely beautiful place ~:)

:bow:

Go to the big fransciscan church (can't recall the name, doh!) and you can see the tombs of prominent thinkers of the day; Galilei, Machiavelli et. al.

For Uffizi, do indeed book the day before you want to go, that'll save you 2-3 hours of queue waiting.

Also I can recommend the University, it's a nice and chilled place to enjoy a slice of pizza or whatever. There are several interesting museums as well, there is one that has a huge collection of asian (japanese) arms, interesting if you are into shogun era.

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Originally Posted by Sjakihata

Go to the big fransciscan church (can't recall the name, doh!) and you can see the tombs of prominent thinkers of the day; Galilei, Machiavelli et. al.

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Santa Croce
I would second this suggestion

Never been there, sounds fun, but what is Kwanzaa?

Best bloody city in Europe. :yes: Or at least ONE of the best. Would have been better if my camera hadn't been stolen. :laugh4:

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Originally Posted by IrishArmenian

Never been there, sounds fun, but what is Kwanzaa?

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It's a Pan-African holiday celebrated around Christmas time.

More info.

Heh, the Kwanzaa thing was an attempt at levity, but I didn't know that was a U.S.-only thing.

Thanks for all the suggestions! I especially appreciate the non-tourist destinations -- they're often the best time. When we were in Rome a few years back, we went to St. Peter's Square at night, wandered a block or two, and ended up in Alexanderplatz, a literally underground jazz club that was like something out of a movie. We spent three hours watching a multilingual master belt out the best saxophone I've ever heard while we dropped four bottles of chianti, and got so drunk that on the way home I accidentally hailed the Polizia because I thought that tiny little white car was a cab....

Good times.