Florence

[LondonMummer]

Planning a trip to Florence the week before Christmas with my DS and looking for tips.

Any recommendations for places to stay? Ideally something central but affordable.

Has anyone stayed in Oltrano? I feel like it could be a good option to be a little away from the chaos but worried that walking back and forth over the Arno in the cold might not be that great in reality.

I've been lucky enough to have had a number of wonderful trips to Florence when I was younger but I studied History of Art and my son is (much) less of an art buff so I'm also looking for alternative things to do. He loves trains and I've heard that HZero is amazing. We'll probably also catch a train to Bologna one day. Anything else that might appeal to a teenage boy?

Any great restaurant or other foodie tips? Not particularly into beans, offal or heavy meat dishes

Mumsnet has been amazing for inspiration in the past so please share any tips you have

Bologna -Florence by train is less than an hour. Travelled Sept and day return trip £50. The Portico walk in Bologna was great in Sept. In Dec you may need warmer jacket as all outdoors. No great foodie places en route to Portico walk, so eat in centre of Bologna where lots of choice.

Santo Spirito is a good neighbourhood to be out of the main centre but still in easy walking distance.

On that side of the river Trattoria Da Ginone 1949, l'Brindellone (I'd suggest booking) and Trattoria Sabatino (you may have to queue but they are efficient!) are all great traditional restaurants.

On the other side, Pino's does delicious sandwiches and Forno Becagli is a great place to pick up gratuitous snacks for the train. Trattoria Sostanza is meant to be excellent but you definitely need to book in advance.

If you want to get in from the cold and rest your feet without spending money then I'd also recommend checking out Giunti Odeon. It's an old theatre converted to a bookshop downstairs, but still with the theatre seating upstairs where you can sit and watch old movies.

Have an amazing time!

Thank you both so much. @PBizzle amazing recommendations and Giunti Odeon sounds like the perfect hidden gem, to say nothing of the sandwich spots. Thank you for taking the time to share them. Hugely appreciate it. MN comes up trumps again