The T and L Diaries

We visited Florence for the first time this summer and it did not disappoint. From the incredible architecture, to the atmosphere around the city. Florence is a city that we are sure to return to. We stayed in this beautiful city for 4 nights in July. We are going to share all our favourite parts and what we recommend.

Whether you’re a history lover, food enthusiast or just love to explore a new city. We will be listing our top activities, restaurants and more.

Starting with the MUST do activities in Florence:

• Uffizi Gallery – This really is worth the visit! Whether you are into art or not, this gallery will throw you back in time. It really interesting learning about the history of Florence.
• Accademia – This is well known for the statue of David. It is incredible and worth the look, the statue is bigger than I ever imagined.
• Pasta and Tiramisu making with Unlimited Wine – This experience is one of the best that we have ever done! You are greeted with Prosecco, then make your tiramisu first. Then you will make 2 kinds of pasta, Ravioli and Tagliatelle. The food is then cooked by the chefs. You sit down with the rest of your class enjoying wine and the food you have made. Want to see? click here to see our Instagram Reel.
• Brunelleschi’s Dome Climb Entry Ticket & Duomo – Climb to the top of the Dome to have a stunning view of the city.
• Officina Profumo, Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella – This is the oldest pharmacy in Europe! The architecture is incredible and worth a look around. It’s almost like a free small museum.
• Giunti Odeon, Liberia e Cinema – This was such a cool place! Libby being a book lover and Troy loving movies, it was the perfect spot. So in short, this place looks like a long time ago it was a theatre. That has been transformed into a big library at the bottom with a cinema screen where the stage is. The top half is then the cinema seating area. They do show films in English with Italian subtitles, we saw the new Superman here. It’s an amazing experience. You can take your own drinks and sweets. Alternatively, there is a small counter selling drinks, popcorn, etc.
• Sunset at Piazzale Michelangelo – the sunset and the view from here is incredible. However, it is a spot that is now packed every time. Nevertheless it’s still a spot we recommend going to see just before the sunset! Then take a walk down the Giardino delle Rose, a beautiful garden next to the square.
• Stroll over the Ponte Vecchio – This medieval river bridge Is lined with jewellery and souvenir shops. This aside it is still a picturesque and unique bridge to walk over.
• il Mercato Centrale Firenze – This huge food market attracts lots of attention. Once you walk inside, you’ll understand why. It is every food lovers dream, with the bottom floor for exploring and buying products. And the second floor is a big food hall.

MUST try restaurants/cafes:

• Trattoria da Chef Enrico – Starting strong with our FAVOURITE restaurant of our whole 3 weeks trip in Italy. The quality of the food, the prices, it was all incredible. For reference we had: 2x Aperol Spritz, 2x Bruschetta, 1x Shrimp Risotto, 1x Cacio Pepe, 1x Panna Cotta, and multiple baskets of bread for 48 Euros (£41.74). The chef also came out to speak to us. He was correct. It was the BEST risotto in Italy!

The best time to visit Trattoria da Chef Enrico was around 6pm. It wasn’t too crowded, so it gave us a relaxed setting.

• Gustapizza – This spot is just over the bridge away from the centre and is a “Insta famous” spot. However, the pizza here was delicious and worth the wait. We had the Pesto, the Calabrese and water, this was 29.50 euros (£25.58).

The best time to visit Gustapizza was again around 6pm. It is a popular place so you will have to queue. However, the earlier you go the less time you’ll wait.

• Trattoria Pallottino – This spot was just down the road from our first recommendation. A lovely family own restaurant that has been around a long time! The pasta was delicious, we had a carbonara and the rigatoni pasta with tomato sauce, bacon, leeks and parsley. We also had some red wine and they gave us a basket of bread. All together this was 42 euros (£36.41).

We actually booked a table for Trattoria Pallottino, it is only a small restaurant and we wanted to sit outside. They only have 4 tables outside! We recommend using the app “The Fork” to book a table so that you’re not disappointed. As again it is quite popular here due to its fan static quality and heritage behind it.

• Corte Del Pazzi – This spot is actually where we did our pasta making class. The food was delicious. The chef, Clive, was a character and very welcoming. He’d actually learnt along side Gordon Ramsey! The menu looked delicious.
• RiveReno Gelato – We came here for an affogato. It did not disappoint. The creaminess of the vanilla gelato with the coffee espresso was divine. We loved it that much we went back multiple times for gelato.
• Gelateria La Carraia – We got recommended this spot by chef Clive at Corte Del Pazzi. The gelato was so creamy and delicious!
• La Schiacciata – We stumbled across this spot when we wanted a sandwich. We were going to All’ Antico but the queue was huge. Although All’ Antico is good it has got over priced due to its popularity. This spot was literally next door, half the price and the sandwiches were just as delicious. It also mean’t we were helping a locals spot.
• Panini Toscani – Another sandwich shop! But this time you build your own. You get to try the different meats and cheeses. This way, you see which you like. They were delicious and unlike other sandwich shops there is seating! With the perfect view of the Duomo.

Our tips and general information for first time visitors to Florence:

• Like most major cities we recommend wearing an across the body bag just incase of “pickpockets”.
• Most places in Florence are with in walking distance, avoid Taxis as they are expensive.
• Our recommended apps are The Fork (The Italians version of Open Table) and Google Maps. City Mapper (If you’re travelling by train to Florence, it’ll give you best route to your hotel. With walking, bus, taxi options). If you did want a taxi download FreeNow. Google Translate is always handy for any menus in Italian, though most places have an English menu. Omio was our favourite app for booking trains!
• Talking of trains!! We recommend buying your tickets through Omio as they are already as they are already validated. Many tourists are caught out when buying tickets at the station as you need to validate your ticket. And yes this is on a separate machine to where you bought your ticket. If you do not validate your ticket, you will get a hefty fine.
• Use our code GOOMIO10 to receive a 10% discount on your trains on Omio!
• Beware of “City Tax” on your hotel, it is per night. For 4 nights we paid 15 euros.

Are there any recommendations that you have for Florence? Pop them in the comment section for everyone to see. 

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Thank you for reading! 

Troy and Libby, The T and L Diaries.