Florence on a budget

Of course, the major must-see sights are the Duomo, Uffizi Gallery, Accademia and Santa Croce church. We opted to skip the Pitti Palace (we've heard mixed reviews). We also liked poking through the street markets and the Mercato Centrale, looking at some great bargains and some cheesy souveniers (an apron with a close-up of a certain area of the David, anyone?). One of our best memories was eating breakfast every morning - we got rolls, yogurt and juice from a local store and ate them on the steps of the Duomo. Spend at least a half hour people watching in front of the Duomo - our favorite thing was watching the unlicensed street vendors and the carabinieri (police) play cat-and-mouse.

Quick Tips:

There are several great budget lodgings in Florence, many of which are near the train station or Mercato Centrale. We found several hotels (including the one we stayed at, look at the accomodations listing) in our Rick Steve's Italy 2001 guidebook.

Best Way To Get Around:

We walked everywhere we went to in Florence. Most of the sights are pretty well clustered, take some good walking shoes and agree to give foot rubs every night before bed. The buses were prominent and readily available, but we opted to walk. If you opt to go to Fiesole, you'll need to catch the bus, however.

This is a wonderful little 6 room place, run by the very friendly and English-speaking Daniela. It''s small, so in the high season you may want to book ahead (we called the morning we were going to arrive and got in, but that was March). For a double room with bath we paid L100,000 (about $48, based on a 1 USD = 2100 ITL exchange rate). The bathroom was tiny, just enough room for a shower, toilet, sink and bidet (whatever happens, don''t drop the soap in the shower or you''ll never be able to bend over to pick it up). We stayed in room #6, which had a cute reproduction of Raphaello''s "The Kiss" over the bed.

The hotel is located between the train station and the Accademia - I''d say it''s about 3 minutes from the train station and 6 from the Accademia. We had difficulty finding the place at first, mainly because of the way streets branch off of the main piazza outside the train station. The map failed to show that the street we should have taken was VERY wide near the piazza - we thought it was another square rather than a street.

E-mail address is: 055291660@iol.it, fax is 055-287-145

I'm not going to go into the detail of these museums other than to say they are definitely must-sees. What I am going to say is MAKE A RESERVATION. We went on a strict budget, and I cannot stress enough that the reservation is more than worth the extra $1.50 it costs. Without a reservation, you will wait in line at least an hour (maybe two) even in the off-season. With a reservation, you walk right in. You can make a reservation over the phone or at the reservation office near the entrance to the Uffizi. In high season, you'll need to make a reservation a day or two in advance, but in shoulder or off season, you may be able to snag a reservation in the morning for later the same day. (We got a reservation at about 10:30am for 3:15pm the same day.)

Florence is the shopper's paradise. You can get everything from $200 Gucci shoes to a $3, 6-inch plastic replica of Michelangelo's David. My favorite shopping is in the various street markets, the most promient of which is the San Lorenzo market. Street markets sell everything from real Italian leather jackets to silk ties to cheap tourist souveniers. Take several hours and poke through a few markets. Look for the ugliest pair of pants, the tackiest souvenier, and the best deals. Snag a leather jacket for $100 if you have the cash and spare room in your luggage. Grab a few scenic postcards to mat and frame when you get home. Try on one of the tacky aprons and get your picture taken in it (then hang it back up, or buy one as a gag gift for a friend). Unless it's a cheap souvenier, don't accept the listed price as something set in stone. Bargaining is an odd experience for many Americans, but it's an accepted part of the street markets. Give it a shot!

The signature of the Florence skyline, the Duomo, is an amazing architectural feat. Begun by a sculptor named Cambio in the late 1200s, the church features Giotto's belltower and Brunelleschi's masterful dome and cupola. An interesting tidbit about the dome - the dome was not built until over 100 years later in 1420. During this time, the church stood open to the elements, as no one knew how to build a dome to cover such a large opening. The size of the opening would have caused a traditional dome design to collapse. Brunelleschi designed a dual-layer dome - an inner and outer shell with 5-7 feet of space between them.

For a thrilling experience, pay the L8,000 and head for the cupola (if you can handle the heights). You'll walk around the base of the inside of the dome and have a great view of the church from above.

There is nothing in the world quite like gelato. The Italian version of ice cream, it is an experience all its own. No day in Italy feels complete without a taste of the amazing treat.

Gelato is richer, creamier, and smoother than American ice cream. It's dipped out with a wide-spatula type spoon, and comes in more flavors you could dream of. (In Turin a few years ago, I ran across a place that sold rose and violet flavors!)

For L3,000-L6,000 (depending on location - the more "touristy" the city, the higher the price of course) you can have your choice of 2 to 3 flavors of heaven. My favorites are fior di latte (a creamy white almost vanilla like flavor), fragola (strawberry), stracciatella (chocolate chip) and niocciola (hazelnut). Ask for a "cono" (cone) or "copeta" (cup). Or just point and use sign language.

In Florence, try Vivoli's, near Santa Croce. Just get near the church and ask where it is (or follow the trail of cone wrappers and napkins on the ground). Grab a cone or cup and spot on a bench outside the church and people watch for a while. (We like to look for the person with the craziest shoes.) Also, the Mio Bar near Piazza de Repubblica has decent prices and good-sized scoops.

In Florence, take your time to wander. Cross over into Oltrarno (the other side of the river) and wander down the banks of the Arno. We took a stroll in the evening and saw otters splashing near the banks! Search for antiques on Via Maggio. Hike up the hill behind the old tower for a great view of the Florence skyline from the bus parking lot.

Wander through the San Lorenzo street market (not really off the beaten path, but fun none-the-less). Try to find the cheesiest souvenier & take a picture of it. Search through booths of leather jackets, silk ties, pashima wool scarves and find the best deal. Buy a few scenic postcards to keep in your travel journal/scrapbook.

Think about seeing an opera. Even if you aren't an opera fan and can't understand it, it's the quintessential Italy experience. You can have any unsold seats for L15,000 (this was the price on my first trip in 1998) by heading to the box office an hour or so before the performance begins. I decided to see the opera at the last minute and ended up sitting one row behind friends who had bought L40,000 seats the week before!

Catch the #7 bus out to Fiesole, and wander the back streets. There are great views of Florence here as well. If there is a production in the ampitheater, check it out. We couldn't afford to shell out the L25,000 for tickets to the ballet that was going on, but we walked along the side of the ampitheater (down the street to the right of the entrance) and watched the performance for free from the street through the fence. The wings (of the stage) blocked a bit of the show, and there were a few tree branches in the way, but we had a memorable evening all it cost was the bus ride.