Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Touring Florence
A number of companies offer walking tours of Florence. Because the his-
torical district is very walkable, this is a good way to see, and learn about,
the city. The streets are filled with many historical buildings and sites that
would otherwise escape your attention. Quality of the tours varies widely,
though. Many local tour guides, while knowledgeable, lack English-
language skills or the ability to entertain. One of the best tour companies,
which combines native English speakers with interesting stories, is
Walking Tours of Florence
(Piazza San Stefano, 2, near Ponte Vecchio;
%
055-2645033; www.italy.artviva.com).
Its owners have a theater back-
ground and choose guides who are natural performers—their spirited tours
aren't just dry presentations of names and dates. The group offers half-
and full-day tours of the major sights in town, as well as an assortment of
custom tours, including out-of-town trips and a fascinating walk through
the artisans' shops south of the Arno. Prices range from
€
25 for a 3-hour
tour of the city center to
€
94 for a full-day tour, including museum admis-
sions.
Mercurio Tours
(Via Cavour 36R;
%
055-213355; www.mercurio-italy.
org)
runs a similar selection of town and regional tours.
A less recommended way to get oriented is to take a bus tour through
the area. The
City Sightseeing Firenze
(Piazza Stazione, 1;
%
055-290451;
www.city-sightseeing.it)
has two lines of open-air, double-decker bus tours
on which you can sit back and get a tan while you see the town. Its
€
20
ticket is a bit pricey, but if you're jet-lagged or just don't want to deal with
walking through the heat or traffic, it may make sense. (The elevated per-
spective is nice, as is the ability to take in Florence without the fear of get-
ting run over by, say, a bus.) City Sightseeing Firenze permits you to hop off
the bus, tour a sight, and catch the next coach when it comes around again.
The tour even goes up to the hill town of Fiesole.
Note:
The recorded head-
phone tour has all the basic town info, but the company promos get a lit-
tle tiresome, and the narration is often corny.
have a dedicated bus service running a dozen shuttles from the airport to Florence
each day for
€
7.50. From other airlines, you buy a train ticket for
€
5.10, and
walk to the nearby airport train station. Both airports have a full selection of
rental-car services—but you won't want a car if you're staying in Florence.
Florence sits on the main rail line between Milan (3 hr. away) and Rome
(about a 2-hr. ride).
Stazione Santa Maria Novella
(
SMN;
%
800-888088 in
Italy, or 055-288765; www.trenitalia.it) is the main Florence station, across the
street from the bus station, and a short walk away from dozens of hotels and
restaurants. A tourist information office is in the station, but it's really a hotel
booking service—go across the street toward the Santa Maria church to find the
main tourist office. Florence's other two stations,
Campo di Marte
and
Refredi,
are much farther from the tourist districts, and should be avoided.
