Finding a (Good) Restaurant in Florence

Florence is a must-see. It's one of those quintessential European Vacation destinations, and in many ways, it's "got it all."

It's got all the Italian glamour, beauty, history, and culture you've always dreamt of, with famous art, fantastic shopping, exquisite hotels, and cuisine.

For romance lovers, well, who could resist a stroll 'round the Duomo or across the old bridge at night? For art fiends (like me), the treasures in the Uffizi alone are capable of sending viewers into paroxysms of glee at just a glance—and the chance to see the paintings, sculpture, and architecture you've long studied and admired right before your eyes, to be able to breathe in its scent and to be, in many instances, in the same "habitat" the artist was when it was created, is incredible.

A little melodramatic, I know. But it's the truth. There's even an illness named after it. The Stendhal Syndrome was named after a man who became dizzy and fainted when admiring Florentine art, especially in the Uffizi.

You may become dizzy and faint at the Uffizi too, but your illness will just as likely be more a reaction to the 3- to 4-hour line you have to stand in before you get in as to the art inside.

The problem with Florence, in the summertime anyway, is it's just so beautiful, but you can't take it in unless you stare up, to the second story or above, to miss the throngs so thick in the streets you can barely walk.

Want to see the inside of the Duomo or glimpse the city "waterfront" from Ponte Vecchio? Get in line, hurry up, and don't even think you'll be able to fulfill your quintessential Italian fantasy. You know the one, where you're sitting sipping espresso in a quaint cafe, serenely watching the world go by, or bowled over by the beauty of the David. You're far more likely to be bowled over by the stench coming from some poor tourist who lost their luggage, or by the astonishing prices of bad meals in the restaurants 'round the Duomo.

For all that, Florence can be a phenomenal place to visit, if you just go prepared. Don't expect to live your Italian fantasy. Don't think you can afford the shoes. And whatever you do, research the restaurants and find a good one before you go.

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

Plan to take a cab to your hotel from the train station if you get there by rail. If you drive, just have patience. I didn't have trouble driving in the city this time, but I can't forget the day I spent, 6 years ago, being quietly par-boiled in the backseat of my parents' car while my father swore and mother cried after spending the better part of an afternoon driving in a 5-block circle, looking for a road we "couldn't get to from here."
Once you're there, walking is a great way to get around: e, cheap, and a great way to make up for the food.

I almost don't want to tell you about Osteria delle Belle Donne (the bistro of the beautiful women, named for the street it's on), as I'm afraid of what will happen as it gets more popular. It's just perfect as it is.

But then again, everyone deserves the kind of special "only in Italy" Italian meals you've been hoping to find in Florence (and probably haven't).

I found it for the first time on a college February-break trip to Florence with my parents and brother years ago. We found this place on our first night, when the owner of our B&B recommended it to us.

Walking inside from the cold we were greeted by a blast of warm air from the kitchen. The 12 or so tables inside were packed; the walls were adorned with old movie posters, art, and antique farm implements; and the rafters were hung with herbs and vegetables. The menu was written on a chalkboard, all in Italian. My dad translated, and soon my brother and I, embarrassingly anti-veggie at the time, were fighting over the last bites of some delectable winter pulse accompanying the osso bucco we'd ordered. My family and I went back four or five times during the rest of our stay.

When my husband and I arrived in Firenze in the height of summer on our honeymoon, we wanted to find it but had never learned the name. We had a number of really terrible meals (we're not that picky; we'll rarely call something "great" but often give our stamp of so-so approval) so pricey we'd almost have done better to go to a fancy restaurant, and were still looking for one, just one romantic, fun dinner before we left the city.

One Friday night, exhausted and starving after spending the day walking all over the city, we were frustrated when almost every restaurant we came to was full. Instead of waiting, we kept walking. We finally sat down on a stoop across from a restaurant with an awning out front, too tired to walk any farther. And can you guess where we were?

The food was just as great as I'd remembered: rustic, plain, and delicious. The atmosphere was even better. And the prices were the best of anywhere we'd been.

If you go, try the osso bucco and a pitcher of the red. And make a toast for the honeymooners-at-heart who can only dream of being there, too.

Wonderful and terrible all at the same time - glorious art - some of the very best in the world - Stendhal-Syndrome inspiring pieces like the Botticelli's Birth of Venus and a room full of portraits of the Medici that gives me chills every time I walk through. But the interminable waits to get in are miserable, and by the time you get in you may not be in the mood to take in the world's best art anymore.

The museum is much described elsewhere on this site. I don't have much to add, except a tip. Go early. If you're like me and hate getting up at the crack of dawn you'll balk at that suggestion, but trust me. Get there by 7:00am or 7:30am. Drink a cappuccino to go (hard to get but oh-so-delicious) and eat a panino while you wait. The line won't move until the museum opens, so you'll be able to sit quietly and read if you like. And you'll be in one of the first batches to enter when it does open, chopping of an hour or more of wait time.

One night after dinner we started walking. From the Duomo, we wended our way to the Ponte Vecchio, where we listened to a band play for a while before heading on across the bridge, into Oltrarno - a grungier, less-traveled (by tourists), more "lived in" part of the city.

After days spent in what seemed, to us, like a different, infinitely-more-glitzy-than-the real-world dimension, we were starting to get tired of being tourists in a tourist city. That walk across the bridge was like heaven for us.

It was nighttime, so nothing was open but restaurants and bars. But instead of being expensive and obviously catering toward tourists, the ones we passed in Oltrarno were filled with laughing college kids, gossiping and flirting with one another in typically Italian group of 20 or more. And beyond the bars, squares were full of people talking and dancing, mothers pushing carriages in packs, fathers swinging children through the air, groups of girls sitting on church steps chattering away.

It was just... refreshing to see life happening in a city that so often is known only for it's past. It's comforting, somehow, to know even as the statues crumble and the city center becomes too expensive for 99.9999% of the world's population, the city is still living on across the bridge.