Should You Visit Florence, Italy?

I spent two weeks in Florence, Italy (Firenze!) while studying abroad. I stayed with a host family where the father was a chef! Neither of the parents had great English so communication was rather difficult. We kept to key words that we knew in the other language! They had a cute little apartment that was on the outskirts of the city. They still had their 30 year old son with them who was unwed so I guess that’s totally normal! Not quite the same as America!

Wanderings

Florence was my first experience in Italy and it was a great way to start my trip. I absolutely loved exploring this city! My friends and I would just walk and wander. We explored the cobblestone streets one by one stumbling upon cute cafes and gelato shops. The duomo (church) was this massive building that was the center of all of our wanderings. Fair warning there a lot of pigeons! I hate birds and they were everywhere! Do be careful you do not accidentally stumble upon a bad neighborhood. If you do, just keep your head down and keep moving. Italians are rather forward and don’t abide by the same social rules we do in America. They feel no shame in cat calling and yelling “Ciao Bella!” aka hi beautiful.

History & Museums

There is a lot in terms of history and museums in Florence. You can see the David and Michelangelo’s finest work. I’m not much for museums. I went to only one in all my time in Italy, just not my thing. I love the history and culture in terms of architecture and people, not museums. If this also is not your thing, visit the fake David statue at Piazzale Michelangelo. You get to see a David without all the people and get a great panoramic view of the city!

The most iconic spot of Florence is Ponte Vecchio which is a bridge that goes over the river that runs through Florence. Definitely spend some time here taking in the scenery and snapping some pictures.

Nightlife

One of the best parts about Florence for me was the nightlife! There are a ton of study abroad students in Florence so huge groups of people go out to the bars every night. I found the bars with fellow tourists to be the most fun because you could make friends all over the world and you instantly become best friends because you both can speak English. Not to mention the more Italian places meant everyone spoke little English and you almost constantly get hit on by very forward Italian guys. I have to say by the end of my time in Italy I was very very annoyed of this aspect. Not to mention Italians are huge smokers! So they will leave the bar every few minutes to go smoke! It is just the culture there. Nothing against Italians just the culture was a bit of a shock in these terms.

Anyways, the more touristy spots I met people from the states, the UK, Germany and so many more tourists. My favorite bar was this karaoke bar where everyone put back a few beers and enjoyed the atmosphere! Another place had a huge beer pong tournament one night that was a blast. If you are there for study abroad, there are Facebook groups that tell you where the spot to be is that night. Bars and clubs stay open till all hours of the night so expect to be up until the sun comes up! There is this little pizza stand that stays open really late so getting late night Italian pizza was a huge plus!

Food

Oh and how can I even begin to describe Italy without the oh so amazing food!! Italian is my favorite food so you can say I was in heaven. Pizza, pasta, and gelato? Yes please!! By the end of my summer I definitely put on a few pounds, but it was worth it! I discovered gnocchi which is like a pasta dumpling and it is sooo good. The pasta meals in Italy are made with high quality pasta and isn’t processed like American Italian chains rather it is Mom and Pop shops. What this meant is you can eat pasta without getting that gross full feeling like you do after the awful portions at a chain restaurant in America.

The pizza was also delicious. My favorite was the margarita pizza which is tomato and mozzarella! This combo was pretty popular as you could get this as salads and sandwiches too. Then to my absolute weakness, the gelato!! So good!! What I loved about all the food in Italy is I knew what everything was on the menu without knowing Italian. It was comfortable and familiar yet foreign! Italians have this tradition of apretivo which is basically like our happy hour. Pretty much you buy a drink during certain hours and you get access to a buffet. It is so much fun to hit up with your friends and it’s cheap!

So, should you go?

My overall opinion of Florence was that it was a great introduction to Italy. Florence introduces you to the charming Italian culture where people drive their scooters on cobblestone streets and the duomo is a major cultural center. You get introduced to Italian food and the nightlife in Italy. This is a great hub of tourism.

That being said, if I were going back again I would probably skip Florence because I am not much into museums and as great as walking around and exploring was, I found there to be not much to do. I think if Florence is on your way spend a day or two walking around and taking in the sites, but I wouldn’t go out of your way because I think there are more interesting cities to visit to discover the culture and charm of Italy. I found Rome to be my favorite which I will get to in another post!

Ciao!