Visiting Florence

TOURIST INFORMATION
The official tourist board (APT) of Florence offers up-to-date information and advice to visitors and supplies a list of hotels, a map, opening times of museums and current exhibitions, etc. Web site:

On arrival in Florence you can visit the APT Florence tourist office at 1 (red) Via Cavour or 29 (red) Borgo Santa Croce
(tel. 055. 290832 or fax 055. 2760383).
The web site for the Region of Tuscany is www.regione.toscana.it. There are official local tourist offices in every small town in Tuscany.

WHERE TO STAY AND WHERE TO EAT (Please click here for our list of preferred hotels and restaurants).
Florence and Tuscany have numerous hotels of all categories listed in an annual publication with prices issued by the Florence Tourist Board (APT). Hotels are classified by stars as in the rest of Europe, and the five official hotel categories range from the most expensive 5-star luxury hotels to the least expensive and modest 1-star properties. It is advisable to book well in advance, especially at Easter and in summer. Accommodations are also available in Tuscan farmhouses called “agriturismo” recommended for visitors with their own transportation (a list of agriturismi is available through the Florence Tourist Board).

Restaurants in Italy are called ristoranti or trattorie. There is now very little difference between the two, although a trattoria used to be less expensive than a ristorante. Italian food is usually good and not too expensive. In all restaurants it is acceptable to order a first course only, or skip the first course and have only a second course. Fish is always the most expensive item on the menu at any restaurant. Prices include service unless otherwise stated on the menu.

Bars and cafés are pleasant places to have a good snack. They are open all day, and most Italians eat the excellent refreshments they serve standing up. You pay the cashier first, and show the receipt to the barman in order to get served. In almost all bars, if you sit at a table you are charged considerably more (at least double) and are given waiter service (and you should not pay first). Ice-cream is always best in a gelateria where it is made on the premises.

CURRENCY
The Euro is the official monetary unit of Italy. Most credit cards are now generally accepted in shops, hotels, and restaurants. ATMs (called Bancomat) are located on the outside of banks.

VISITING MUSEUMS
Up-to-date opening times of museums and churches are provided by the APT. The most important museums such as the Uffizi Gallery, the Galleria Palatina (Palazzo Pitti) and the Galleria dell’Accademia are open all day from 08.15-18.50 except on Monday.
There is an excellent telephone booking service (tel. 055. 294883) for the state museums of Florence which enables you to enter at a specific time by reserving tickets without having to queue.

TRAVELING BY TRAIN
Italy’s railways is operated by Trenitalia. For timetables, purchasing and other information, see www.trenitalia.com.
Florence is on the main line from Milan and Bologna to Rome. This line also has stations at Prato, Arezzo and Chiusi. The coastal line from Turin and Genoa serves Versilia, Pisa, Livorno and Grosseto. There is a line from Florence via Empoli to Pisa, and via Empoli to Siena, and a secondary line from Florence to Prato, Pistoia, and Lucca. There are various categories of trains, the fastest and most expensive being the Eurostar trains which run between the main Italian and European cities. They have a special supplement and booking is at present obligatory. These do not stop at small towns, which are, instead, served by local trains. Tickets must be bought before the journey and stamped at automatic machines in the railway station before starting the journey. The most convenient way of buying rail tickets (and avoiding the queues at large railway stations) is from a qualified travel agent. There are also numerous local country bus services in Tuscany.

TOWN BUSES
Now that most towns have been partially closed to private traffic, town bus services are usually fast and efficient. You buy a ticket before boarding (at automatic machines, tobacconists, bars, newspaper kiosks, and information offices) and stamp it on board at automatic machines.
Buses in Florence tend to be crowded and it is usually worthwhile walking instead of waiting for a bus, especially as the center (within the Viali or avenues forming a ring road around Florence) is so small. However, the small electric buses which follow four interesting circular routes through the historic center are well worth taking once for the ride, especially if you are on your first visit to Florence.
For information on the town bus service run by ATAF tel: 800-424500 or www.ataf.net .

TAXIS
These are white in color and are provided with taximeters. The fare includes service, so tipping is not necessary. They are hired from ranks or by telephone; there are no cruising taxis. In Florence there are ranks at the Santa Maria Novella railway station, Piazza San Marco, Piazza del Duomo, Piazza della Signoria, and Piazza della Repubblica and elsewhere.
For Radio Taxis tel: 055-4390 or 055-4242.

TIPPING
Most prices in hotels and restaurants include a service charge, and so tipping is far less widespread in Italy than it is in North America. Even taxi-drivers rarely expect more than a Euro or two added to the charge (which officially includes service). In restaurants, prices are almost always inclusive of service, but if this is not specified on the menu, it is best to ask for confirmation. In hotels, porters who show you to your room and help with your luggage, or find you a taxi, usually expect one or two Euro.

DAYS OUT OF FLORENCE
The most attractive and interesting place in the neighborhood of Florence is the little town of Fiesole, on a hill from which there is a superb bird’s-eye view of Florence. You can also take delightful walks here, and in the vicinity of the nearby village of Settignano.

Some of the most interesting towns in Tuscany can be visited on day trips from Florence. If you are without a car, details of the excellent public transport services from Piazza Stazione in Florence are given below. Siena is reached by a frequent SITA bus service in 75 minutes along the superstrada to the center of Siena (Piazza San Domenico). The train service to Siena, along a pretty secondary line, takes a little longer and is less convenient since the railway station is outside the center of the town. San Gimignano is served by a frequent SITA bus service via Poggibonsi in 1hour 40 minutes. The SITA bus service to Volterra takes two hours. Lucca is on a direct railway line (the journey takes 1.5-2 hours), or there is a Lazzi bus service along the autostrada in 80 minutes. The Lucca railway line also serves the interesting but less-visited towns of Prato and Pistoia, reached in about half an hour from Florence. For Pisa there is a frequent rail service via Empoli in about one hour (the Lazzi bus service takes about half an hour longer). Arezzo is on the main railway line between Florence and Rome: although not all of the fast trains stop here there is one about every hour and the journey takes 30-40 minutes.

"by Alta Macadam, author of Blue Guide Florence (9th edition, 2005), published by Somerset Books, London, www.blueguides.com ."

CULTURE AND EVENTS