Florence has changed
You can still find Renaissance piazzas filled with rustling pigeons, romantic Italian men wooing ladies, and Michelangelo sculptures. But today’s Florence, as the locals know it, is a fashionable, modern city, home to Ferragamo, Gucci, and Roberto Cavalli, and offering vibrant nightlife, great restaurants, and for the visitor, stylish boutique hotels. But Florence isn’t the easiest place to visit. Many complain that it’s overrun with tourists, and that the bread is flavorless. All true—Florence has the most American student programs in the world and admittedly unseasoned bread. But go where the locals go, and you’ll get an entirely different picture. You may encounter the cold shoulder at first (Florentines are known for being snobs, or “the Parisians of Italy”). But even more than Parisians, they’ll warm up if you’re willing to break the ice with a little respectful conversation.City Layout
Florence’s cobblestone streets are best navigated in relation to two landmarks: the Arno River, which splits the city in half from west to east, and the old city doors, or porte, the remains of which demarcate the center of Florence, or centro storico. North of the Arno is where you’ll find the majority of the famous sights and most of the tourists. And, though you haven’t seen Florence until you explore that area, you should also check out the south side of the Arno, called the Oltrarno. Similar to Paris’s Left Bank, the Oltrarno is Florence’s bohemian quarter, made up of art schools, artists’ studios, and more casual cafés. However much time you’ve got will do, but it takes at least four days to really get a sense of the city. Florence is also a great base from which to take day trips into surrounding Tuscany or even nearby Emilia-Romagna, Liguria, and Umbria. The best time to visit is late spring, early summer, or early fall, when the streets are filled with locals and the weather is pleasant.
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FOOD is one of the most—if not the most—important topics of conversation in Italy. People may have no idea how to cook, but they can talk for an hour about where to find the best prosciutto.
Each region of the country has its own cuisine, and in Tuscany, the fare is meat-centric, rustic, and simple. Wild boar and big, juicy steaks are served with roasted potatoes. You’ll find porcini mushrooms and cannellini beans on nearly every menu. Although Florence is not known for its pasta, you will find great versions here. Less so pizza. There are delicious salads, panini (sandwiches), and focaccie to be had, too. You just have to know where to look.
Below are the best restaurants at which we’ve eaten, organized by Day and Night. Not only are some of the daytime establishments not open at night, but also like Americans, Florentines tend to eat a lighter midday meal than dinner. You may want to do the same.
Colazione, or breakfast, is typically small and simple, made up of an espresso drink (latte, cappuccino) and a cornetto (croissant). Lunch is usually pasta or a panino. Nobody would even think about entering a restaurant before 7 p.m., much less eating before 8 p.m. When ordering dinner, you’ll be offered choices for antipasti, or appetizers, which may include crostini (see Tuscan Dishes) or mixed cured meats; primi, or first courses, which are generally pasta; secondi, the main courses, which are your big protein dishes; and dolci, desserts, which won’t be sugar-laden but more likely something along the lines of nut-studded cookies with fortified wine, cantucci con vin santo. Don’t feel obligated to order every course—Italians certainly don’t. But portions are smaller than what you’re probably used to, no more than six to eight ounces of pasta as your primo. Main courses are usually served à la carte. If you want sides, or contorni (things like spinach, beans, or roasted potatoes), you’ll have to order them separately.
Day
OSTERIA BELLE DONNE
Via delle Belle Donne, 16rTel. 055 2382609
€€
Locals and a thicket of fake foliage crowd this tiny osteria. But it’s worth toughing it out for fresh, seasonal salads and delicious daily pastas. Be sure to show your enthusiasm—the owner may hover and watch your facial expressions. In spring and summer, outdoor seating and the restaurant’s location next to a popular shopping street make Osteria Belle Donne perfect for a midday repast.
CANTINETTA ANTINORI
Piazza degli Antinori, 3rTel. 055 292234
€€€
Businessmen in suits do power lunches at this highbrow wine bar. But don’t let the buttoned-up service and white-tablecloth ambiance turn you off, or you’ll miss the chance to try some of the best (and most expensive) wines in Italy at reasonable prices by the glass—while partaking of elegant salads, pasta, and carpaccio.
ENOTECA CANTINETTA DEI VERRAZZANO
Via dei Tavolini, 18rTel. 055 268590
€€
In the city center, where mediocre eateries abound, Enoteca Cantinetta dei Verrazzano is exactly what you want. Besides serving great (and often high-end) vino, this wine bar makes fresh sandwiches featuring mind-bendingly good focaccia. You can also build a salumi plate from an entire counter of cured meats, and select from many good cheeses. If you’re too hungry to wait in the usually long line, buy some bread to go at the counter up front.
TRATTORIA 4 LEONI
Via de Vellutini, 1rPiazza della Passera
Tel. 055 218562
€€
Located on a piazza that was once the site of a brothel, Trattoria 4 Leoni serves what some consider to be the best bistecca fiorentina (see Tuscan Dishes) in Florence (one of the restaurant owners is also a meat purveyor). If you forgo steak, it’s still a great place to hang out on warm days, with a giant outdoor seating area that’s usually packed.
ENOTECA FUORI PORTA
Via Monte alle Croci, 10rTel. 055 2342483
€
Located alongside eclectic boutiques and quirky eateries, Enoteca Fuori Porta is a relaxed, young people’s hangout. Since there are only three tables, you quickly become best friends with the approachable servers. The food—small sandwiches, and straightforward pastas—is consistently good. During winter months Fuori Porta offers great versions of stick-to-your-ribs local specialties like ribollita (see Tuscan Dishes).
ZOE
Via dei Renai, 13rTel. 055 243111
€
The glamorous crowd at Zoe probably came to make the scene, but you will want to go for the big, fresh salads featuring hearty ingredients like avocado, arugula, tomato, and nice-quality hard cheese. The carpaccio and panini are also excellent. The piazza on which Zoe sits is home to several popular bars. During aperitivo, twentysomethings pack in for a few drinks before the night gets started.
I FRATELLINI
Via dei Cimatori, 38rTel. 055 2396096
€
The White Castle of panini bars—but only in terms of size, not quality—I Fratellini serves sandwiches so small they fit in the palm of a woman’s hand. They come with a wide range of fillings, the most popular being soft, creamy goat cheese, prosciutto, and arugula. Located in a small, nondescript storefront in a crowded, touristy part of the city, I Fratellini would be easy to miss if there weren’t throngs of locals spilling out onto the street in front. Don’t feel like a glutton if you’re not satisfied with just one panino: Most women eat three to four in a sitting, most guys five to six.
PRICE LEGEND
(based on average price without wine for one person)€ = less than €25
€€ = €25–€35
€€€ = €35+
Address Note: The r refers to the red color of the address number, which designates businesses. Residences may have the same number, but theirs will be blue.
Phone Number Note: To reach Italy from the United States, dial 011 39 before all phone numbers listed.
Night
TRATTORIA GARGA
Via del Moro, 48rTel: 055 2398898
€€€
If you’re ready to drop coin for a good fancy-restaurant experience, this is the place to do it. In Trattoria Garga’s 28 years, the restaurant has come in and out of fashion. After becoming popular with locals in the ’80s, it was overrun with tourists in the ’90s and quality declined. Now it’s back with superb food and service, and a renewed local following. Its most famous dish is scaloppine all’avocado, veal scaloppine in a light avocado cream sauce. Also try the pastas, such as spaghettini alla Donna Karan, pasta in a tomato sauce with calamari, or tagliatelle del Magnifico, pasta in a lemon cream sauce. Among Florence foodies, it’s debated as to whether Trattoria Garga or Ristorante La Giostra (see next entry) has better bistecca fiorentina; decide for yourself by trying both. Save room for dessert, because the fondente al cioccolato, chocolate tart, is decadent, and the cheesecake is possibly the best New York cheesecake ever made by Italians.
RISTORANTE LA GIOSTRA
Via Borgo Pinti, 12rTel. 055 241341
€€€
The chef-owner of Ristorante La Giostra is an Austrian prince (he and his son, who manages the dining room, are descended from the Hapsburgs). But he’s mastered classic Tuscan fare. The ravioli di Pecorino toscano e pere William’s, ravioli with pecorino and pear, is so ridiculously good that you may want to order a double portion right from the get-go (the kitchen is used to the request). For your main, try bistecca fiorentina or filetto di Chianina alla normanna, fillet of beef with reduced balsamic vinegar. For dessert, pay your respects to the princely heritage and order the Sachertorte, an Austrian chocolate cake enrobed in chocolate ganache.
TRATTORIA PIZZERIA NAPOLEONE
Piazza del Carmine, 24rTel. 055 281015
€
Dining at Trattoria Pizzeria Napoleone, a former monastery with a warren of small, eclectically furnished rooms, is like entering a cozy hunting lodge, sans kitsch. While you wait for the famous crispy Neapolitan-style pizza (try the simple caprese), the servers often treat you to little glasses of Prosecco (sparkling wine). The best nonpizza options include orata all’isolana, sea bream with grilled vegetables; scallopine di vitello al vino bianco, veal scallop in white wine; and omlette ai tartufi, truffle omelet. On weekends, you’ll have to wait up to an hour for a table without a reservation. Better to cross the piazza and get a drink at Dolce Vita (see Bars) until a table’s free.
IL SANTO BEVITORE
Via Santo Spirito, 64/66rTel. 055 211264
€€
If you can only eat one dinner out in Florence, go here. Located in an old carriage house, it’s known among its younger, cosmopolitan clientele for its relaxed atmosphere and its use of local, seasonal produce (you won’t find tomatoes on the menu in the middle of winter). Regional dishes from all over Italy are given a fresh spin. The menu changes frequently, but past hits have included involtini di spada, a traditional Southern Italian dish featuring swordfish stuffed with tomatoes and tapenade; risotto con vin santo, pere, e gorgonzola, risotto with vin santo (fortified wine), pears, and Gorgonzola cheese; and passata di ceci, garbanzo bean purée with shrimp. The secondi are a welcome departure from bistecca fiorentina and cinghale (wild boar) with dishes like filetto brasato col miele, beef fillet braised with honey. You’ll also find top-notch, house-made charcuterie, cut to order on an antique meat slicer.
OSTERIA DE’ BENCI
Via de’ Benci, 13rTel. 055 2344923
€€
Extreme eaters, this is for you. On a busy thoroughfare next to a kebab shop, Osteria de’ Benci offers traditional Tuscan offal dishes that other restaurants have dropped from their menus due to changing (finicky) palates. These include fried tongue, ox testicles, and tripe. Everything else is good too, if you’re feeling less adventurous.
RISTORANTE DA ALBERTO
Piazza del Cestello, 8rTel. 055 2645364
€€
When it originally opened a few years ago, this restaurant failed in its overreaching attempts to be an ultrachic, modern dining destination. Now, Ristorante da Alberto has reinvented itself as a traditional Tuscan eatery with a somber, dark-wood interior your parents will love. That said, you and your parents will love the menu, which includes an exceptional wine list and excellent homemade charcuterie among the well-made standards.
FUOR D’ACQUA
Via Pisana, 37rTel. 055 222299
€€€
Florence is more than 50 miles from the ocean, but you’d never know it at this excellent fish restaurant. Try the crudo appetizers like carpaccio and marinated fish; the perfect, simple pasta; or the branzino (a type of bass) baked in salt, served tableside, and about as close to the Platonic ideal of baked fish as you can get. Fuor d’Acqua is the priciest restaurant on this list (and you’ll want to dress up a little when you go here), but its relaxed, professional service will make you forget how much you’re about to spend.
RISTORANTE BECCOFINO
Piazza degli Scarlatti, 1rTel. 055 290076
€€€
In traditional Florence, where dishes like bistecca fiorentina are served the same way from restaurant to restaurant, Ristorante Beccofino broke the mold by creating innovative versions of the classics. The gnudi, or dumplings stuffed with ricotta, pancetta, and a leafy winter green, are not to be missed, and the wine list is one of the most expansive in the city. During the warmer months, it’s lovely to eat on the patio before events at the Boboli Gardens.
BISTECCA FIORENTINA
The Tuscan version of a porterhouse steak is cooked over a grill and served sanguinoso, or rare. Traditionally, the meat should come from the Maremmana or Chianina oxen, but cheaper restaurants might serve imposter steaks from imported oxen. You’ll be charged per kilo for this dish. If it looks like an astonishingly good deal, it’s probably lower-quality beef.CINGHALE
PORCINI
The wild boar, or cinghale, competes with the Maremmana and Chianina as Tuscany’s most revered animal. Every autumn, locals try their hand at hunting it and also at foraging for meaty-tasting porcini mushrooms. You’ll find both cinghale and porcini prepared almost every way possible on any self-respecting restaurant’s menu in the fall.CRESPELLE FIORENTINE
The Florentines gave France Caterina de Medici, and in turn, the French influenced Italian food. One of the best things to come out of this exchange was crespelle fiorentine, or Florentine-style crepes layered with béchamel sauce and spinach.CROSTINI AL FEGATO
Many a meal starts with an appetizer of crostini, or little toasts with various toppings. Even if you’re squeamish about eating liver, consider trying crostini al fegato, chicken livers sautéed with vin santo, garlic, and herbs. Vegetarians should look for crostini topped with cavolo nero (dinosaur kale) or with white beans such as cannellini.FAGIOLI ALL’UCCELLETTO
Legumes of all sorts are more common on Tuscan menus than pasta. Our favorite preparation is fagioli all’uccelleto, or white beans stewed with tomatoes and sage.LARDO
Fat from the stomach of a pig, lardo comes from the Tuscan town of Colonnata. It’s flavored with salt, black pepper, and garlic, and sometimes herbs like rosemary and thyme. You’ll find it sliced thin on a mixed plate of salumi. Sweet like prosciutto, it should be placed on your tongue and allowed to melt there.PAPPA AL POMODORO
RIBOLLITA
A testament to the peasant roots of Tuscan cuisine, both of these soups were created to use up stale bread. The pappa al pomodoro is like a tomato-basil sauce containing disintegrating bread, while the ribollita most closely resembles vegetable soup with porridgy bread. Not for the small of appetite, a bowl of either is hearty enough to fill you up on a blustery winter day.PATATE ARROSTITE
Roasted potatoes go well with many Tuscan dishes, from bistecca fiorentina to arrosto di maiale, roast pork, and pollo arrostite, roast chicken. Often cooked with rosemary and garlic, they could be considered Italian home fries.TORTA DELLA NONNA
Pine nuts and almonds are common in Northern Italian fare, even in the desserts. Torta della nonna is nothing more than pie crust filled with pastry or ricotta cream and topped with pine nuts and, sometimes, almonds, then dusted with powdered sugar.TRIPPA ALLA FIORENTINA
Florentines love offal, and tripe, or trippa, is no exception. If you can overcome the honeycomb texture of this variety meat, then try it prepared alla fiorentina, or stewed with tomatoes. Look for it on the menus of hole-in-the-wall cafés and various cantine, where you can wash it down with a glass of Chianti.
Travel doesn’t have to mean being duped by bad recommendations and spending precious vacation time (and money) on a lackluster experience. Or hearing about a not-to-be-missed experience only after you’ve returned home. Here are a few must-misses and must-sees.
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OVERRATED
RISTORANTE IL LATINI
Written up in countless guidebooks as an affordable local favorite, Ristorante Il Latini is like a Florentine Medieval Times. Long lines lead to a kitschy interior where you’re served a bottomless flask of Chianti encased in straw and unmemorable food presented quickly and carelessly.HARRY’S BAR
Burt Lancaster and Elizabeth Taylor partied at this American-style bar. And if lace curtains and geriatric waiters are your thing, then you may want to pay your respects. Just don’t forget your Polident.OUTLET MALLS
Yes, there are outlet malls in Tuscany. And, yes, maybe a handful of days per year they have good deals on designer clothes. But more often than not you’ll find mediocre deals on fashion old enough to have been designed by the late Gianni Versace.LEATHER
There are a handful of good, but not amazing, leather shops in Florence. However, with the exchange rate so much to our disadvantage, it’s not worth buying leather while you’re there. The salespeople are aggressive (sometimes even sleazy), and if you’re not careful, you may end up with a pleather jacket that disintegrates in the rain.UNDERRATED
CHOCOLATE
Florence is no Turin when it comes to chocolate, but there are still many cioccolaterie worth visiting. Don’t miss the gianduja, hazelnut-flavored chocolates, at Rivoire (Piazza della Signoria, 4r), or pretty much anything at Gilli (Piazza della Repubblica, 3r) and Ballerini Panificio Pasticceria (Borgo Ognissanti, 132r).BISCOTTI
Northern Italy is not as well known for its sweets as Southern, but there are great biscotti, or cookies, in Tuscany. Try almond-filled cantucci alla mandorla or the aptly coined bruti ma buoni (“ugly but good” almond meringue blobs). Stop by Antico Forno Santi on Via Nazionale for these as well as biscotti al cioccolato (chocolate cookies) and cantucci all’albicocca (apricot cookies). They travel fabulously, so pack up a few kilo for your trip home.
Until five years ago, a visitor had the choice of staying in an older, luxury hotel or a humble pensione—only one level above a hostel. Boutique hotels with modern design were unheard of. Not anymore. The following are several of the most interesting new places to stay in Florence.
If you prefer to room in the busy centro storico yet want a calm spot to lay your head, stay along the Arno at the Continentale. This contemporary hotel is part of the stylish Lungarno chain owned by the Ferragamo family. With can’t-lose views of the river, the city’s skyline, and the famous cathedral (or duomo), it’s supermodern yet tasteful (kind of like an Italian W Hotel).
The Borghese Palace Art Hotel can’t be beat for its location: steps from the duomo in the middle of a palazzo. That said, it feels tucked away and restful. A former palace once inhabited by Pauline Bonaparte, Napoleon’s younger sister, it’s been updated with fun new pieces: a pewter bench placed on 300-year-old marble floors, for instance.
If you prefer to room in the busy centro storico yet want a calm spot to lay your head, stay along the Arno at the Continentale. This contemporary hotel is part of the stylish Lungarno chain owned by the Ferragamo family. With can’t-lose views of the river, the city’s skyline, and the famous cathedral (or duomo), it’s supermodern yet tasteful (kind of like an Italian W Hotel).
The Borghese Palace Art Hotel can’t be beat for its location: steps from the duomo in the middle of a palazzo. That said, it feels tucked away and restful. A former palace once inhabited by Pauline Bonaparte, Napoleon’s younger sister, it’s been updated with fun new pieces: a pewter bench placed on 300-year-old marble floors, for instance.
People may tell you to avoid Piazza Santa Maria Novella, home to the Santa Maria Novella church, which houses Masaccio’s Holy Trinity (the first paintings to have used Western perspective). And yes, the historic square was once overrun with loitering beggars and pigeons. However, the area was recently made an area pedonale, or pedestrian-only zone, and is now cleaner and more upscale. The recent opening of the high-design J.K. Place has played a major role in the piazza’s revitalization.
The UNA Hotel Vittoria is located in the Oltrarno, the boho neighborhood that also houses the biggest fashion and fresco restoration schools in all of Europe. At UNA’s popular bar, you’ll find struggling artists and older, painstakingly dressed professionals socializing, not unlike you’d come across in Manhattan’s East Village. As the funkiest hotel in the edgiest district of Florence, UNA has décor that is reflective of everything right and wrong with Italian design: loud, overdone, but somehow endearing (think Stanley Kubrick meets Boogie Nights).