How To Spend A Day In Florence

By Kelsey Gibson

One Day in Florence

Florence: so many sights to see, foods to devour and places to be; but, can you conquer it all in one day? YES!

 

Even though I would never recommend trying to take in the beautiful Firenze in one day, here is a guide to be able to make the most of one day in Florence.

1. One of the most popular attractions in Florence is the Duomo in the center of the city. Tourists flow from all over the world to climb up the 463 steps to get a picture of the picturesque and unforgettable view.

But instead of waiting for the long line, try climbing up the Bell Tower! It always has a shorter line, less steps, different perspective at the top where you can actually get a view of the Duomo, and it something a little more unique to do!

       PHOTO BY KELSEY, THE BELL TOWER

2. Next you can head over to the Central Market to shop through the fresh market full of local produce downstairs. You can also grab a light lunch on the the second floor after working up an appetite from climbing up the Bell Tower.

PHOTO BY KELSEY, CENTRAL MARKET

3. Right outside the Central Market, you will find yourself in the midst of anything and everything leather in the San Lorenzo Leather Market. Get ready to play the bargain game here, if you play your cards right, you can come home with some real leather treasures!  

PHOTO BY KELSEY, CENTRAL MARKET

4. After searching through the leather market, go see the real statue of David. Hint: buy your tickets ahead of line for a certain time in order to skip the lines that wrap around the corner.

5. Ready for a mid day snack? Head a little out of the way to Ponte Santa Trinita for some authentic and refreshing gelato. Here you can enjoy your gelato with a beautiful view of the Ponte Vecchio!

6. While you are already across the river in the “Oltrarno” neighborhood simply get lost in it for a couple hours! You will find many artisan shops, the Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens, and the local bars and restaurants of Santo Spirito.

PHOTO BY KELSEY, BOBOLI GARDENS

7. From Santo Spirito head towards San Niccolo and climb up to Piazzale Michelangelo justs in time for sunset! Here you will come upon people sharing wine and enjoying the impeccable view.

8. After taking in this breath taking view of the whole city center, head back down the hill and stop by the Santa Croce church and grab a mojito from … during their apertivo, which is arguably the best one in town!

PHOTO BY KELSEY, SANTA CROCE

9. After trying this Italian drink, the fun isn’t over yet. Head back over to Santo Spirito to eat dinner at Osteria Santo Spirito! The gnocchi dish is so creamy that you won’t be able to stop no matter how full you feel! The steps of the church in the square is a wonderful place to enjoy some friendship, local music and dancing, and maybe even a drink from one of the many local bars.

Florence is the perfect walkable city full of intriguing wall art, famous sites, and amazing food. You could spend weeks but still never get bored in this small city. However, you can still make the most of only one day in Florence.

 

Did we miss anything? Share you comments below!

 

Here at TIS we are specialists in custom travel planning, so if you are looking for more info on visiting Bella Firenze simply contact us here.

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Kelsey is the Part Time Assistant Travel Consultant for Travel Italian Style and is a student at the University of Mississippi studying Hospitality Management with a minor in Spanish and Business Administration. Kelsey took part in an exchange program in Argentina in high school which created a flourishing passion for travel and learning about other cultures. From then on she took every advantage to study abroad and backpack through Europe. This past summer, Kelsey interned for a local restaurant, Touch, in Florence, Italy and fell in love with the Italian culture. She was able to have a real local experience by making friends with coworkers and locals. She wants to make it possible for everyone who travels to be completely immersed into the culture in order to gain another perspective and to be able to enjoy life even more. 

Day Trips From Florence, Italy

By Kelsey Gibson

Day Trips from Florence

            While there are numerous things to do in Florence, day trips are the perfect way to travel if you have limited time and want to see somewhere new!

Here are a few places that are perfect for a one-day trip:

Verona

Many Italians are very proud of the little town called Verona because it is one of the first cities travelers from the north go through. Located in between the popular cities of Milan and Venice, it is a pure depiction of simplicity and romance and is home to the tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet. Here you can write love letters and wishes on paper and stick it on the walls below Juliet’s balcony in hopes that she will make these love wishes come true.

You can spend hours reading these heartfelt, passionate, and unforgettable letters of people from around the world. Even though Verona is mostly known for the setting of Romeo and Juliet, it has much more to offer. The Piazza delle Erbe is a beautiful open square full of markets selling all kinds of souvenirs during the day and full of people having an apertivo during the evening. This renaissance town is also home to their exquisite Arena of Verona.

This arena resembles Rome’s Colosseum, and even though it is smaller in size, it is still an incredible sight worth seeing! Verona has many attractions and sights to see, but it is also the perfect place to sit back, relax with a glass of wine, and enjoy the beauty of the architecture and people or even take a stroll around the whole town in just an hour or so! Definitely a must do day trip and is only about 3 hours away via train from Florence!

PHOTO BY KELSEY, JULIET'S BALCONY

PHOTO BY KELSEY, PIAZZA DELLE ERBE

Cinque Terre

While working in Florence, the Amalfi Coast was hard for me to get to since it was a bit further away. I would have had to take a couple days off to really embrace the gorgeous beauty of it all and did not want to cut my time short. However, the next best place to enjoy the coastal cliffs of the Italian Riviera is Cinque Terre, meaning the 5 lands. These 5 ‘lands’ include Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. Cinque Terre is the perfect place for a quick getaway full of sunshine, clear blue water, and some limoncello! The train is easy to hop on and off of to get to each different ‘land’; however, if you are going in the middle of the summer be prepared for the crowds.

My advice would definitely to try to avoid peak season, but it is still well worth the visit! You can also opt out of the train hopping and take a ferry, which I definitely recommend, because you are able to have a different perspective of the cliffs from the water. The last option is to hike between the different towns.

These hikes are a little more strenuous than a stroll through a park, but the views from above are worth a little bit of sweat! Everyone needs a little exercise after some limoncello and pesto too, right!?

If you want to avoid the moving around, pick a place and stick to it! Monterosso al Mare definitely has the most beach area to relax on and it is easy to either rent a chair and umbrella or you can set up your own towel on one of the public beaches! Either way, you get to enjoy the same view! This trip from Florence to Cinque Terre is also about 2.5 hours, but can have at least one, maybe two different train changes (most likely Pisa and La Spezia).

PHOTO BY KELSEY, CINQUE TERRE

PHOTO BY KELSEY, CINQUE TERRE

Chianti

When thinking of day trips from Florence, you don’t have to go too far to have an incredible day experience. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when thinking of Tuscany…WINE! What better of a day trip than a wine tasting in an old vineyard somewhere in the hills of Tuscany. Better yet, why not the land of the black rooster, Chianti! Joining a tour to Chianti for the day was easily one of my favorite days in Italy last summer.

Driving from Florence through the winding roads of Tuscany is truly unbelievable and makes you feel as though you are in the middle of a movie. Pictures do no justice here. Last summer I took a cooking class and wine tasting through the restaurant Touch at the Colle Bereto vineyard and it all took my breath away!

The drive out there would be enough within itself; however, when you arrive to these old vineyards, you really get to enjoy the passion, pride, and love of these winemakers while they tell you the history behind each one of their wines. Best part about organized tours to a vineyard, is that you won’t have to worry about the driving after a couple glasses of wine! Time and distance varies depending on where exactly you decide to go, but on average, Chianti is about 30 min – 1.5 hours away!

PHOTO BY KELSEY

PHOTO BY KELSEY, CHIANTI

Florence is a spectacular place and there are so many surrounding places to see. 

Need some more tips and ideas for taking a day trip while visiting Italy? Contact our Custom Travel team here

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Kelsey is the Part Time Assistant Travel Consultant for Travel Italian Style and is a student at the University of Mississippi studying Hospitality Management with a minor in Spanish and Business Administration. Kelsey took part in an exchange program in Argentina in high school which created a flourishing passion for travel and learning about other cultures. From then on she took every advantage to study abroad and backpack through Europe. This past summer, Kelsey interned for a local restaurant, Touch, in Florence, Italy and fell in love with the Italian culture. She was able to have a real local experience by making friends with coworkers and locals. She wants to make it possible for everyone who travels to be completely immersed into the culture in order to gain another perspective and to be able to enjoy life even more.

Inspiration For Young Travelers

By Leora Kahn

It is officially the spring of 2016, which means that the most dreaded time of my life has finally snuck up on me: my college graduation. I know that I am supposed to be excited to enter the real world. I should be excited to finally be able to support myself financially and live wherever I want, with whomever I want. But if I am being honest, I am absolutely terrified! Let me tell you; the quarter life crisis exists. It is real and it is happening.

"The world is a HUGE place and my home life feels safe. My friends, family, and comfortable ways surround me, I feel at peace. However, it is time to face the music."

PHOTO COURTESY OF LEORA KAHN

I am sure that many of you out there reading this have been through what I am going through, or are going through it right now. I want to share some of my favorite quotes that have encouraged me to leave the comfort of my home and follow my passion: travel. Fair warning- I am a huge advocate of Fernweh (an ache for distance places, a craving to travel). So let’s get started-

“And so the adventure begins…”

What adventure? Life. Life is one long adventure, and it is ours to do with as we choose.

“But we lean forward to the next crazy adventure beneath the skies.” –Jack Kerouac

Up until now, us twenty-somethings have had the good life. College can be stressful, but hindsight, it was all worth it. Our friends are always less than 10 minutes away and laughs are plentiful. Just because one chapter is closing, doesn’t mean that the book is over. There is so much more to see in this enormous world, and I’m determined to chase the sun.  

“You don’t have to have it all figured out to move forward.”

Take it from me- I don’t have a plan! But I have a dream. I know that I want to see what else the world has to show me beyond my comfort zone.

“The world is too big to stay in one place & life is too short to do just one thing.”

 There are over 7 BILLION people in this world, each with their own history, culture, and traditions. There is SO much to see and SO many people to learn from in this short life we are lucky enough to live.

“The trouble is, you think you have time.” –Buddha

When I tell people that I want to travel, I get one of two responses. I either get, “Oh yeah, maybe you can one day!” Or, “You are young, you should go now!” I prefer the later response, because it is true! We all think that we have time and procrastinate on our dreams to focus on reality. We focus on climbing the corporate ladder, starting a family, and planting roots. But we only have so much life to live, and I want to learn about all there is to see!

“You are what you settle for.” –Janis Joplin

Now that I am graduating from college, I have the option to begin my career wherever I choose. Most of my classmates are interviewing for corporate jobs at fortune 500 companies, and that is amazing! And honestly, I think that my dad would be a lot happier if I was one of those people. But I think that I have my whole life ahead of me to make a name for myself in the corporate world. I don’t want to settle. I want to learn from people I’ve never even met before in places I cannot pronounce. So, I encourage you all to not settle into society’s norms. Do what makes YOU happy.

“Stay close to what keeps you feeling alive.”

I am a firm believer in living an exciting lifestyle. If you do what you love, it won’t feel like work. If you love where you live, every day is an adventure. Travel often, and travel far. Life isn’t meant to be lived in one place!

 “Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.” –Jack Kerouac

I idolize Mr. Kerouac. His cross-country adventures are legendary and inspiring. So take a page out of his book, climb that goddamn mountain!

“So this is the part where I’m supposed to tell you it’s not scary. Well it is. But fear is natural, fear is good- it just means you’re growing.”

Change is scary! Especially entering foreign cultures where norms, languages, and customs are unknown. But someone very wise once told me, you will never learn if you do not take that leap of faith outside your comfort zone. If it scares you, it may be a good thing to try.

“Live, travel, adventure, bless, & don’t be sorry.” –Jack Kerouac

Take that trip that you have been putting off. Get up, get out that door, and don’t be sorry!

“Life is short. If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now.”

The moment is fleeting. Responsibilities will soon kick in and the opportunity to press pause on your life in order to tour Italy may not be realistic. Put your dreams into action today!

 “Don’t wait. Life goes faster than you think.”

I think you guys get what I am trying to say here.

“Don’t tell me how educated you are, tell me how far you have traveled.”

After studying abroad, it is safe to say I learned immensely more about my studies and myself then I could have EVER learned from a textbook. I am a huge supporter of studying abroad and learning about foreign cultures.

“Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.”

Some may say I sound naïve, or unrealistic, or a dreamer. But ask adults their opinions on escaping reality! Some are stuck in their boring day to day average lives and encourage us to get out their and see the world. So save your money, don’t spend it on materialistic things.

“Life was meant for good friends and great adventure.”

Don’t embark on the journey alone! Sign up for group tours. Make friends, or bring old friends along! The more memories made, the better.

“Be in love with your life. Every minute of it.” –Jack Kerouac

Be happy! This is the most important factor. Take pictures, embrace the culture, retain as much as you can! Fall in love with the nomadic lifestyle.

“In the world through which I travel I am endlessly creating myself.”

Travel is one of the best ways to learn about yourself, and develop into the person who you truly want to be.

“Travel. Not to find yourself, but to remember who you’ve been all along.”

Sometimes, life can get in the way. Travelling is an amazing opportunity to clear your mind, and focus on what really matters to you!

“Traveling is like flirting with life. It’s like saying, ‘I would stay and love you, but I have to go; this is my station.’” –Lisa St. Aubin de Teran

Once you start to travel, you will never want to stop. Trust me.

“Once the travel bug bites, there is no known antidote, and I know that I shall be happily infected until the end of my life.” –Michael Palin

Like I said, the travel bug is contagious!!

“It’s a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same. You realize what’s changed is you.” –F. Scott Fitzgerald

There is no better way to grow as an individual, than to travel. Learn about foreign cultures and people. Learn about their ways of life, and take their lessons home with you. You’ll be amazed.

“Don’t listen to what they say. GO SEE.”

Okay enough of me rambling on. Don’t just take my word for it, GO!! I hope that these quotes have inspired you to develop drapetomania (an overwhelming urge to run away).  Go see the world!

I am a huge believer in group tours run by people who know the business inside and out. Group trips are one of the best methods to see the world in a time effective and economically productive way. Which is why I am a HUGE fan of Travel Italian Style. Cassandra Santoro is one of the most reliable, hard working, driven, and culturally educated women I have ever had the pleasure to know.

So go out and see the world. Weekend trips, monthly trips, or semi-permanent trips!.

What are my post-grad plans? Honestly, I’m not exactly sure. All I know is that I am young, I am independent, and I am free. I am going to save up my money and follow my passions. I am going to explore the world, and I’m going to find myself. I highly encourage you all to do the same. And on that note,

PHOTO BY LEORA KAHN

"You may have the world if I may have Italy."

Wondering what your next step should be? Then come meet our Founder & CEO Cassandra Santoro at the upcoming National Organization of Italian Women event on May 17th in Ciprani Wall Street in New York City!

Along side Cassandra will be 4 other travel & business guru's who have made a life by following their passion. Purchase one of the limited tickets here

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Leora is the Public Relations and Marketing Coordinator for Travel Italian Style and is a Marketing student at James Madison University. In the spring of 2015, she was accepted to study business in Antwerp, Belgium, which allowed her to explore Europe and open her eyes to new opportunities and experiences. Needless to say, she is now consumed with a passion to travel! Leora loves to document her travel stories through all types of social media in order to share with everyone the happiness that accompanies exploration.  Leora spent time travelling through 11 countries during her time abroad, while Italy was hands down her favorite due to the blissful culture, beautiful scenery, and tasty food. She cannot wait to visit again soon!