Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
are erratic. The town comes close to shut-
ting down in August as everyone leaves
the sweltering heat for the mountains or
beaches. Many museums are closed on
Mondays. It can be pretty tough to find
an open restaurant any time from 3 to
6pm, though many do stay open past mid-
night, particularly in tourist-heavy areas.
Consulate
The U.S. Consulate in Florence
is in the big pink Palazzo Canevaro
(
Lungarno Vespucci,
38;
%
055-266951;
www.usembassy.it/florence;9:30am-1:30
pm for non-emergencies). It has a list of
English-speaking attorneys and doctors
on its website. Generally not your first
point of contact for anything except a
lost passport.
Currency Exchange
All over the place in
the Santa Maria Novella district, but
banks are safer, albeit confusing and
rarely open. ATMs are probably the best
option for getting your hands on euros.
More machines are clustered around the
high-end shopping district of Tournabuoni
Street.
Doctors
The U.S. Consulate has a listing
of local English-speaking doctors (see
consulate info above). You can also call a
24-hour English-speaking medical service
line (
%
055-475411), or the “tourist”
medical-service (
%
055-212221).
Emergencies
Dial
%
113
for general
emergencies,
%
112
for police,
%
115
for fire, or
%
118
for medical emergen-
cies.
Hospitals
Italy has socialized medicine,
so you can get treated without insurance
or payment problems. Try
Arcispedale di
Santa Maria Nuova
(
%
055-27581) in
the Santa Maria Nuova Piazza, north of
the Duomo, or for more pressing emer-
gencies, the
Misericordia Ambulance
Service
(
%
055-212222), which is actu-
ally in Piazza del Duomo, on the south
side by Giotto's Bell Tower. A volunteer
group, AVO, offers phone translation serv-
ices for medical issues (
%
055-2344567)
from 10am to noon, Tuesday and Thursday,
and from 4 to 6pm Monday, Wednesday,
and Friday, so it's best to get sick during
these times.
Information & Tourist Offices
Florence
has three tourist offices in town. One is
across from the Santa Maria Novella train
station at
Piazza della Stazione, 4
(
%
055-
212245). The “tourist office” in the sta-
tion is just a commercial hotel-booking
service. The
main city tourist office
is at
Via Cavour, 1R (
%
055-2760383). The
latter has standard city maps as well as
information on hotels, restaurants, local
classes, and area trips. It does charge for
some of the materials. There is also a
newer tourist office
a block south of Santa
Croce (
Borgo Santa Croce, 29;
%
055-
212245). Florence tourism's comprehen-
sive website is www.firenzeturismo.it.
Internet Access
Many hotels offer a free
“Internet point,” although sometimes it
can be a hassle waiting for other guests to
get off the machine. Besides a few hot
spots, wireless Internet hasn't really made
it to Florence, although some high-end
hotels offer wireless access for a fee.
Internet cafes, which usually charge about
€
2.50 to
€
3 per hour, are easy to find in
most districts of the city. Many Internet
cafes line Via Faenza, including
Caironet
at no. 49, open 9:30am to midnight; rates
start at
€
2 per hour, with the same rates
at the Via De Ginori shop.
Internettrain
is
a large chain with 12 shops across
Florence (www.internettrain.it).
Laundry
The
Wash & Dry Lavarapido
chain has eight laundromats in town, all
open from 8am to 10pm; most offer
Internet access for
€
.50 per 10 minutes.
Laundry costs
€
3.50 to have a large load
washed and dried. Soap is available in
vending machines. Locations: Via Dei Servi,
105; Via Della Scala, 52; Via Del Sole, 29;
Borgo S. Frediano, 39; Via Dei Serragli,
87; Via Nazionale, 129; Via Ghibellina,
143; Via Dell'Agnolo, 21.
Newspapers & Magazines
Every major
international newspaper or magazine is
