Florence: The City of Dreams
Mark Twain once described Florence as a city of dreams, and after living in the city for three months while studying abroad, I couldn’t agree more. Florence is home to some of the most rich, artistic history that I have ever seen. Places like the Uffizi, Piazzale Michelangelo, and Ponte Vecchio, are just some of the longstanding representatives of the vast culture found in this city. Not to mention, Florence’s culinary expertise, shopping, and overall aesthetic surpassed anything I could have imagined when leaving the much smaller city of Beverly, MA. This blog will delve into my experience in Florence, and a few reasons why it resonated as the city of dreams for me.
Must See Attractions
There is so much to do and see, but below I have listed some of my absolute favorite things from my time in Florence.
Walk the Ponte Vecchio to see some of the best artisan gold jewelry
Hike up to Piazze Michelangelo & the Rose Garden and admire the fantastic view of Florence or have a picnic
Take a Vespa tour to the countryside of tuscany for a wine tasting
Visit the Uffizi Museum and appreciate the incredible artwork
Shop until you drop (read more about shopping below)
Sit and watch street performers in Piazza della Repubblica
Visit the Duomo and climb the bell tower
Take photos at the Selfie Museum
Take a trip to Pitti Palace and admire its architecture and the Boboli Gardens connected to the palace
Admire the Basilica of Santa Croce and the German Market that takes place in front of it every December
Explore the Gucci Museum
Walk and explore the city (something I did almost every day)
Hospitality
While I had an apartment assigned to me through my study abroad program, I felt that the living situation in Italy was very nice (see our view from the apartment below). We lucked out with a 4–person apartment with 2 beds, 1 bath, a kitchen, and a nice balcony that technically we weren’t supposed to have access to. Additionally, I felt that the customer service throughout the city was very hospitable and every waiter/waitress could speak English and were very patient with our terrible pronunciation of the dishes. For instance, I would walk across the street from class three times a week to Santa Croce Champagneria, and the employees would teach me how to order in Italian and would always address me by my name. I found that people who were working in the service industry were incredibly kind. I also got a gym membership at Swan Gymnastic Center, a smaller gym, to keep up with my lifting routine and the owners was always kind to me.
Transportation
Florence is known as a walking city, and almost everything you need is within walking distance. I remember just walking through the streets of Florence astonished by the number of shops that lined every street. According to my phone, I walked on average around 8,000 steps a day just exploring! You are more likely to see a Vespa than a car on the streets in Florence as the roads are narrow and often made of cobblestone, making a moped the easy choice to maneuver through the city. If you need to get to the airport, or don’t particularly feel like walking 30–40 minutes to get to a museum, taxis and trams are available to navigate through Florence.
Vespas lining the streets
Fabulous Food
I do not even know where to begin with the food in Florence. I have never gained such an appetite in my life until Italy and that is because the food is remarkable. I would say a lot of my budget for study abroad went towards food as we ate out A LOT. We absolutely loved the pizza, pasta, and gelato which you could find on almost any street in Florence.
When you’re in Florence you have to check out these restaurants:
All’Antico Vinaio: has great sandwiches and is supposedly the most reviewed venue in the word. Be prepared to wait in line!
Pizza Napoli 1995: affordable and delicious pizza shaped in a heart
Osteria Pastella: a family–run restaurant with incredible service and food
Braceria dei tre amici: some of the best pasta I had while abroad served in a parmesan bowl
Santa Croce Champagneria: the kindest employees and some of the best pastries
Base V Juicery: whenever I was craving something on the healthier side I would always stop at this juicery to grab my favorite Açaí Bowl
Caffè Gilli: For some of the most renowned hot chocolate
Los Chicos: A Mexican restaurant that has the best burritos
Fo Caccia La Notte: A pizza to–go window open throughout the night
Mister Pizza: one of out favorite restaurants, we always got the Pugliese pizza
Sgrano: completely gluten free menu, nice outdoor seating
La Spadelleria: great to–go food
Craving something sweet? Check out Gelateria La Carraia (my favorite gelato in Florence), Gelateria dei Neri (a local favorite), La Strega Nocciola Gelateria Artigianale, and Gelateria Mokarico.
Also, there are several markets located throughout Florence making it easy to buy fresh and affordable ingredients to cook at home!
Safety
I can only speak to personal experience in Florence, but as a younger woman often walking alone I felt very safe. During the day I would walk miles throughout the city taking photos, grabbing food, and stopping into stores, and I never felt threatened or afraid. Nighttime in Florence is a slightly different story. I personally wouldn’t feel comfortable walking by myself in Florence at night due to the intoxicated folks who would catcall you or follow you as you walked by. I don’t mean to generalize, but there were several times in my group of 5+ girls that we would be followed by older men after a night out, so I would highly recommend sticking with a group at night to walk home. I was also aware that pick-pocketing is a risk in Italy, but as long as you keep your belongings zipped up and close to you, there should not be an issue.
Nightlife
I’ve always heard “the city never sleeps at night,” but in my head that applied to modern places like New York City, but Florence was the same way! I found that part of the Italian lifestyle is to stay up much later and I found many streets to be crowded by people of all ages, even at midnight. To be perfectly honest, I have never been a part of the “party crowd” simply based on the fact that I desperately need sleep to function, but because my academic work did not require much time, I had more free time than I have ever had before. I met an amazing group of girls during my time abroad, and we would go out a few times a week to various bars and night clubs. Below are some of the ones we went to!
Red Garter: If you love karaoke, this is the place for you. Red Garter is home to a big stage for karaoke with a separate bar and dance area. We would often visit Red Garter to pre–game, or if we just wanted to have a chill night.
Reverse: A great pre–gaming spot with some good drinks. We would often grab a table here and enjoy some music before heading out.
Lion’s Fountain: Another pre–gaming bar known for it’s college T–shirts hanging on the ceilings as well as the walls decorated with students’ names studying abroad.
Babylon: Babylon was our groups’ go–to club. The music was definitely catered to Americans and a lot of students who were studying abroad went to this club. If you go, order the Camila drink, one of the bartender’s own creations.
YAB: Unfortunately, I never made it out to YAB, but I heard that it was a fun club to go to!
Blue Velvet: We went to Blue Velvet once and the interior is really cool. Unfortunately, we did not have the best time at this club, possibly because it was too early in the season, and we didn’t end up going back.
Our group became friends with one of the Florence club promoters, and they often advertised which club to go to each day. Sometimes we would purchase VIP tables which included drinks, while other times we just paid the entrance fee. There were several times we had to wait outside in line before getting into anything, but the great thing about these clubs is that they have coat checks, so if you get chilly you can wear your jacket until you get inside!
Shopping
I am not going to list all of the places I shopped in Florence because I think the list itself would be longer than this entire blog, but I will say that if you like to go shopping, even for the experience, Florence is an amazing place to do so. There are so many streets lined with a variety of shops and many of which are independently owned. I had some of my best conversations with shop owners who sold ties, pens, jewelry, and more. There are also brands like Zara and H&M which were dangerously located a 5 minute walk from my apartment, so it was nice to get a taste of home if I wanted to go in the stores. Florence specializes in leather, artisan gold, and wine–making so make sure to take a look at these specialized products unique to Florence. Also, keep an eye out for some amazing vintage stores like Melrose Vintage Store.
Education – FUA
My experience with Florence University of the Arts (FUA) was everything I could have wanted and more. While I was abroad I decided to complete my photography minor, so I took Street Photography, Fashion Photography (a 3–week intensive course), and Introduction to Italian Culture. I adored all of my professors as they kept our best interest in mind when giving assignments. Many of my assignments required me to get out and explore Florence, which was something that I truly appreciated at FUA. Additionally, all of the staff were very helpful in navigating such a drastic lifestyle change and were always a call away if you needed them. Below is some of the work I was able to complete while abroad including a fully designed photoshoot based around the idea of climate change.
Fast & Easy Travel
We traveled out of Florence several times and didn’t have any issues (excluding an airport strike which I will not delve into), and to get to the airport we walked from our apartment to the train station in Santa Maria Novella where we took a tram. Tickets for the tram were incredibly cheap and we just had to validate them once we got on board. The airport is very small with only a few terminals, but we always got where we needed to go through the Florence airport.
