Take a day trip to Pisa, we left in the morning (train), and were back by 2/3.


I agree. Don't be so close and miss seeing the Leaning Tower of Pisa

No. You're only there for 3 days. Go back and see Pisa another time.

Love, love, love Florence. Probably my favorite city in all of Italy. In addition to all the other great suggestions you definitely should go to the Medici Chapel and Church, and especially the Family Mausoleum is very cool. Get a guide or join a tour. This is not on most of the group tour itineraries so it is relatively uncrowded and it is just fabulous.

Anonymous wrote:Take a day trip to Pisa, we left in the morning (train), and were back by 2/3.

I agree. Don't be so close and miss seeing the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Take a day trip to Pisa, we left in the morning (train), and were back by 2/3.

Anonymous wrote:Grom for delicious gelato. We learned later it is an Italian chain and later ate at the one in Rome but it's amazing. Still thinking about the pink grapefruit flavor I had 3 years ago...

A couple other restaurants we enjoyed were Trattoria Lorenzo and Palle d'Oro.

Grom is amazing gelato. FYI, they are in NYC, Malibu and LA.

Get some time away from DH! The Italian men are beautiful and total wolves!

I was just there in March. My favorite part of Florence was just wandering around. So many book stores! And at a street book cart I found this wonderful old book of Florence photos (early 1950s) and got it for just 4 euros.

I wouldn't discount eating at some of the cheap places that surround the Duomo. One night we got very cheap and good pizza and beer and ate it outside right next to the Duomo. Just a little farther up is this make-your-own Magnum bar place (OK, not Italian, I know), but you can get them to dip it and coat it in a variety of toppings and then gaze at the Duomo while eating it.

It's also easy to take a day trip to Tuscany via train. Siena and Pisa are each less than 2 hours away and there are many trains each day.

Palazzo vecchio after 5pm. The tourists generally leave for 6pm dinner. Act Italian and eat later and go to a museum from 5-7pm. So much nicer.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks everyone! This is great. Do you think we need to plan ahead where to eat so that we don't get tourist-trapped? Or will we be able to find a tasty and charming pizza-and-wine spot if we just wander around?

There is a wonderful hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant where you sit at shared tables with strangers. Menu is only in Italian and the staff speak limited English. Our B&B hosts sent us there. They basically said, "don't worry about the menu, just eat whatever they bring you." We did and it was delicious and super cheap. Like I want to say the equivalent of $30-40 for 2 people's dinner with wine.

Does anyone know the name of this place? This was 16 years ago...

Anonymous wrote:His name was Marcello ...

I would say don't miss seeing the David in person. None of the photos or reproductions do it justice. If you're planning to go to museums, definitely get the Firenze Pass (pricey at 72 Euros, but it allows you to skip most of the lines. You'll still need to reserve a timed ticket for climbing either the Duomo or the Campanile).

We were just there in April and had a great lunch at Fuori Porti (wine bar on the other side of the Arno--great place to stop before or after visiting Piazzale Michelangelo). Our favorite gelato place was Rivareno.

Climbing the Duomo.
Seeing Galileo's telescopes at the Science Museum.
We found the Firenze Pass worthwhile when visiting in the summer.

Grom for delicious gelato. We learned later it is an Italian chain and later ate at the one in Rome but it's amazing. Still thinking about the pink grapefruit flavor I had 3 years ago...

A couple other restaurants we enjoyed were Trattoria Lorenzo and Palle d'Oro.

Get some Nesti Dante soaps. I received a set as a gift and they were amazing.

His name was Marcello ...