Discovering Italy: Florence

Our country is rich in art and history, and Florence is without doubt one of the richest and most beautiful destinations, absolutely worth visiting! Florence is easy to reach by train; booking well in advance you can even find deals. I'd advise against the car, because it isn't easy to find parking!!! As for accommodation, I recommend looking for a B&B. We had found a hotel near the station, but it wasn't up to much, and in general I found hotels in Florence rather expensive, much more than in Rome, also because availability is more limited than in the capital. When it comes to eating you won't have any problems. Try to avoid the "touristy" restaurants that exist only to fleece you, and instead look for the osterie and trattorie where you can enjoy real Tuscan cooking.

Perhaps ask, as we did, a guide you meet during one of your visits to museums or palazzi — they'll point you in the right direction, you won't regret it;-) The whole city is worth visiting: the Duomo, the Baptistery, Giotto's Bell Tower, the Palazzo della Signoria, the Boboli Gardens, Ponte Vecchio, the various churches — even some of the less famous ones are truly beautiful — and much more. For the Uffizi we preferred to book in advance so as to avoid the queue, which can turn out to be really long.

We were lucky enough, without knowing it, to pick the period of the cultural heritage week (they told us when we phoned to book; to check, try visiting the Ministry of Cultural Heritage website), so we only paid the booking fee and not the ticket — a nice saving! Florence is all to be discovered, and to be visited strictly on foot (we only took the bus to get to Piazzale Michelangelo, where you get a wonderful view of the city from above). It really is one of the most beautiful cities in Italy.