Tuscany and Venice. Please help me plan my trip.

[Ilikegherkins]

We are planning a trip to Tuscany (Luca / Florence/ Bologna ) then on to Venice and are looking to book a few nice things to do. It’s our first trip to that region of Italy. We will be travelling to each by train and don’t plan on hiring a car ( but we might hire a scooter for the day). I like the look of the vineyard tour from Florence to Chianti. Has anyone done this and do you have a company you would recommend?

Any other recommendations in that area greatly appreciated

Piazzele Michelangelo in Florence is worth a visit in both daylight and darkness, the views are stunning. Recommend sitting up there for sunset.
There's a restaurant called Zaza's in the central market square that does the best marinara pizza I've ever tasted. And you need to go and see the statue of David, of course. It's mind-blowing.
Florence is my favourite city I've ever visited.

Venice is amazing too and it's so cool when you walk out of the train station and bam! There is Venice, just like you see in films.

Very jealous. Enjoy!

Oooh Thankyou. I'll check these places out. We are really looking forward to exploring the area. It's been on our bucket list for a long time.

Venice: We did the Murano and Burano boat trips and both are gorgeous. The one we did pulled up at a glass blowing factory and we saw some lace being made too.

Sounds lovely. I'll have a look. Thankyou

Best steak I've ever had in my entire life at Chianineria Trattoria dell'Oste just off the main square in Florence. Go at lunchtime (you won't need dinner after) as it gets rammed at night but is much more relaxed in the afternoon.
Trattoria San Lorenzo just up the same road on the corner is also excellent.
Nutino (also on the same road) v good for a quick pizza/pasta.
Tbh, you can't go wrong for food in Florence (it's a million times better than Bologna IMO)

Don't fall for queuing to get into the Duomo in Florence- it's empty inside! Literally, empty. Everyone queues because everyone else does, then just laughs when they get through the door.
Go up it, but not in it!

Day trips out to Pisa and Siena. If you download the Trenitalia app you can book and check in online and ticketing works pretty much like the UK but cheaper.

Agree too about Piazzale Michelangelo. We went at dusk and it's lovely. Buskers singing and teenagers all just sitting listening. Great atmosphere.

I would highly recommend Curious Appetite and Degustibus Tours.

Curious Appetite do food tours in Florence and Bologna and partner with Degustibus for wine tours. We did their Chianti Classico and it was amazing + a restaurant tour in Florence, also well worth it.

We booked a private tour and a lot of effort was put in to thinking of exactly what would suit us, but I don't think this was strictly necessary and it was £££££ - Tomasso from Degustibus is a great host.

This sounds fabulous - food is a big part of why we chose the area - I'll have a look. Thankyou

Agree the Duomo is v dull inside. There are a couple of v famous frescos but honestly if you are limited for time, go somewhere else like Santa Croce.

I prefer the food in Florence to Bologna too and I live in Bologna! 😆 There are some nice places to eat in Bologna but there are also a lot of mediocre restaurants that have popped up recently. In Venice I recommend going to the lesser known islands like Torcello. My favourite restaurant is on the island of Mazzorbo - Trattoria della Maddalena. You don't need to get a guided tour there as there is a regular ferry service.

I disagree about the Duomo - I went on a guided tour and it was really interesting! In Venice I recommend getting a guided tour of the ghetto as it is the only way to see inside of the synagogues which are amazing.

When I went to Bologna no shops were ever open! We used to joke about it all the time. Whatever you do DO NOT do the 666 arches walk or whatever it's called up to a godforsaken church. You will die. That is all.

In Venice there a “Secret Tour” option of the Doge’s palace that’s fantastic!

You cross the bridge of sighs to the cells, see the interrogation chambers and Casanova’s cell, the attics with spy holes into public chambers, private offices of clerks and officials, the secret back stairs hidden in furniture, the letterbox you could post accusations about other Venetians - but if they were innocent, you served the punishment for whatever you accused them of - and then the main big public rooms.

Definitely worth it if you’re at all interested in Venice history.

Also, if you can possibly go outside of Cruise Ship season, it’s very, very worth it. Both Tuscany and Venice are great in autumn and early spring, and no crowds.

Florence we love paskowskis in piazza republica for prinks (wanky word) and people watching. We liked the mercato centrale for amazing lunches and a good old mooch. Ufizi. David (loved the prisoners) ponte vecchio just to say you went but not much there other than photo ops and jewellers. You can cross to get to piazza Michelangelo like pp have stated also boboli gardens and pitti palace. Florence is my favourite city in the whole world. The best part of Venice I thought was the journey by river taxi to it. I mean it wasn't awful but I never 'felt' it like I did Florence and Rome. Sigh. If my mum wasn't so ill I would be there now!

Fantastic. Thankyou for all this. Some great tips.

Thankyou everyone - some fantastic recommendations- I wish I'd have posted on here months ago. It would have saved me hours and hours of trawling the internet.

Anymore recommendations greatly appreciated. Thankyou in advance

Thankyou. And sending hugs to your mum

Definitely plan a day trip to Siena..such a beautiful place and so accessible by train from Florence.

If you’re looking to buy Florentine hand crafted leather goods then head to Peruzzi on Via dell'Anguillara. They’ve a huge collection.

Food wise, a must is the onion flan in Osteria Cinghiale Bianco. I’ve never tasted anything like it. Grab a porchetta sandwich in Antica Porchetteria Granieri and for dinner just a couple of doors up to Casa del Vin Santo.

Pre book tickets to the Accademia to see David and skip the queue. See the Bobboli gardens early in the morning when it’s quiet and not too hot. Then spend the afternoon wandering around the Uffizi.

So envious, I adore Florence!

Or the Boboli just before closing, though we were terrified we were going to let locked in as they kept going "ding ding, the gardens will close in 15 minutes, make your way to the only exit still open" and then counting it down. We followed an efficient looking man who looked like he knew where he was going, then a family followed us and by the time we hurtled through the last closing gate we were all in stitches (and a bit relieved!)

Free walking tour in Bologna, meet outside the tourist office. The public library is built over Roman ruins which you can view through a glass floor and then visit below.

Keep it coming- this is fabulous - I love Mumsnet

I have family in Lucca and it’s a great place to base yourself with easy travel by bus to Florence and Pisa. It’s a lot busier now than 25 years ago when I first visited but it’s much more relaxed than the bigger cities. Hiring bikes and cycling round the walls is a favourite activity as you can see down into beautiful gardens etc. if you happen to be there on a Sunday early evening then head to the Main Street (Via Filungo) as that’s when all the beautiful locals come out to be seen!

Thankyou. Love the idea of cycling round the walls - Ill add that to my itinerary.

😂 It's not that bad! I used to do it 3 times a week but I normally got the bus back down as my knees hated it! Also - take water!

Traditional shops close between 12.30 and 15.30 (or 16) and Thursday afternoons (in Bologna). My favourite shop is Drogheria della Pioggia which is a real, old-fashioned sweet shop that also sells cake decorations, alcohol and rat poison! It closes at lunchtime.