36 Hours
36 Hours in Florence, Italy
As tourism returns to prepandemic levels across Italy, travelers itching to visit Florence face a delicate dilemma: how to experience the Tuscan capital’s Renaissance grandeur while remaining sensitive to the damage mass tourism inflicts. One solution is to travel outside of the high season, but even in the fall, visitors will face crowds at the Galleria dell’Accademia and at the Uffizi (especially if the latter reopens the long-shuttered Corridoio Vasariano to the public this year, as planned). Even better is to approach Florence not as a historical theme-park, but as a living city, by seeking out lesser-known pockets and new projects — from an ambitious cultural complex to a tiny trattoria run by passionate young Florentines — that will help sustain this city for years to come.
Recommendations
- Museo dell’Opera del Duomo is rarely crowded and its exhibits include Michelangelo’s newly restored “Bandini Pietà.”
- Dalla Lola, a new trattoria in the Oltrarno neighborhood, serves fresh twists on traditional Tuscan fare.
- Manifattura Tabacchi is an innovative cultural hub in a former tobacco factory northwest of the city center.
- The Duomo and its neo-Gothic facade is best admired during a stroll in the historic center at night, when crowds have thinned.
- Museo Nazionale del Bargello offers early-bird visitors a private audience with Donatello’s bronze David statue.
- Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi is a Renaissance-era palazzo turned contemporary art venue.
- San Miniato al Monte is a striking Romanesque basilica with hilltop views of the Tuscan capital.
- Manifattura is a chic cocktail bar stocked exclusively with Italian spirits.
- Vineria Sonora, a funky enoteca in Sant’Ambrogio, specializes in both natural wine and vinyl.
- Schiaccia Passera, on a small piazza in the Oltrarno, serves sandwiches on house-baked schiacciata bread.
- Pizzeria Giovanni Santarpia is a destination for Neapolitan-style pizza just south of the city center.
- La Gelatiera is an artisanal gelato shop where flavors are made with all-natural ingredients.
- Pasticceria Buonamici, in the San Frediano neighborhood, is a local favorite for pastries and coffee.
- Florence Factory is dedicated to contemporary Florentine artisans and designers.
- The market at Piazza Santo Spirito sells local food products, vintage gems and made-in-Florence goods.
- Velona’s Jungle Luxury Suites blurs the line between boutique hotel and bed-and-breakfast with 10 suites filled with vintage gems that the owner, Veronica Grechi, sourced from her grandfather, a Florentine art-and-antiques dealer. Doubles from 250 euros, or about $264.
- The Oltrarno Splendid is a delightful 14-room bed-and-breakfast in a palazzo with 18th-century frescoes, Italian antiques and views across Florence’s terra-cotta rooftops. Doubles from €229.
- Ad Astra, next to one of the largest walled private gardens in Europe, is a 14-room hotel situated in the ancestral palazzo of the patrician Torrigiani family. Doubles from €229.
- Ostello Bello Firenze is a popular hostel that opened in 2021 in the San Lorenzo neighborhood with common areas, a rooftop terrace and nightly events. Mixed-dorm beds from around €60.
- Walking is the easiest way to get around the compact city center. There are also buses and trams (tickets cost €1.70 and can be purchased from automatic vending machines, at tabacchi shops or with the Autolinee Toscane app; remember to validate upon boarding). Driving should be avoided since most of central Florence is a limited traffic zone, with hefty fines levied against unauthorized vehicles. Taxis can be found at designated stands or called to any location.
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