Florence

[Nevercan]

Any tips or recommendations for hotels/restaurants or places we must see. Thanks

I stayed in Hotel Pierre recently and I was very happy with it. Booked through Expedia.

As for restaurants, there's one in every door way, so you'll just have to walk around and step into one. I found they were all pretty much the same, and generally good. One night we walked over Ponte Vecchio, straight past the entrance to the palace and a few hundred meters after there's a restaurant called "Ca' del vin santo" (or something like that). It was excellent.

we stayed here

lovely products here

www.mercatocentrale.ph/
i think this was the market i went to, got parmasan cheese half the price it is here. lovely sun dried tomatoes.

Central market is brilliant - definitely worth going to for your first meal.
Think we went to a great Indian in Florence - we were heartily fed up with eating Italian every night so it made a great change!

Thanks all. What was your top place to see?

Restaurant: Cantina Barbagianni. It's smart (and not cheap) but a lovely lovely meal if you want to treat yourself. Reservation needed.

Museums: Go to the Villa Borghese to see the Bernini statues - they are amazing and the villa has a lovely setting and gardens. Don't try to do too many art galleries/museums though - I found the Madonna with Childs all started to blend into one after a while

Top tip if going to the Uffizi gallery, go at around 4pm and the queues are much shorter to get in.

or book online in advance!

Great tips thanks. Keep them coming

Here's the Indian I mentioned below - just in case you need a change of scene.

Thank you we will definately pay the indian a visit as we are there for 6 days

Don't get a coffee in the Uffizi cafe, it's 15 Euros for 2 coffees . Go to one of the little coffee shops instead.
If you can, walk round the city at night with a camera, the architecture is stunning.
If you can, go to Pisa on the train (not far or expensive) and go to the Leaning Tower. It is truly mindblowing and was my favourite thing of the trip.

Totally agree about Pisa - stunning.

Every corner you walk round in Florence opens up an amazing view.

book in advance for art galleries well worth missing the queues.

Wear comfy shoes and be prepared to walk up lots and lots of steps.

We had a brilliant 2 days stay there.

God yeah - never eat a meal in a touristy square - we paid £8 for an orange juice - I was spitting nails it was our fault because we hadn't checked on prices first!

I stayed in a lovely B&B in the city centre with a lovely rooftop terrace. Here's the TripAdvisor page Enjoy your trip - it's a lovely city.

Good tips thanks. I hate being ripped off for drinks too

And don't forget the Duomo!