What are off the beaten path places to see in Florence and recommend a local guide for the city?

Question

Sites not mentioned in every other guide book as well as non-touristy restaurants.

Can anyone recommend a local guide who can do a tour of the city?

Is there a Christmas Market in December?

Anyone run the Florence Marathon in November?

Answer 1

Our online, non-commercial travelogues can serve as a free guide.  You'll find our personal recommendations on hotels, restaurants, sights to see, etc.

We've written about many visits to Firenze so if you type "Firenze" into the search box on this page http://www.thetravelzine.com/search.htm you'll find all the relevant links.

Good luck with the Marathon.  Chill out with delicious gelati afterwards.  Yum!

Answer 2

i ve been living here in florence for the last 4 years so i know it pretty well. i didnt understand, what do you mean by 'off the beaten path places'? first of all florence is really tiny in comparison to rome or milan, so i mean  you can see all of florence in one day. the only thing that would use up your time are the meusums, long lines, churches ecc. so i recommend you to make early reservations to certain museums like the Uffizzi before hand so you dont have to wait the horrible 3 hour lines.

aside from the main spots all the basic monumentale areas are already noted well in any guide book, there isnt anything really hidden, in fact i can name them all to you: il Duomo, Santa Croce, Palazzo Viechio, Piazza della Signoria, Uffizzi, Ponte Vecchio, Palazzo Pitti, Piazza Santissima Annunciata, Santa Maria Novella, Palazzo Medici, Palazzo Strozzi. these are the main ones.

you can cruise between the streets of palazzo pitti and santa spiritu.  i love that area because the streets are so narrow and tiny and you can see the old old spots where the 'artigiani' use to work and till this day do. theres a top restaurant at that spot, ask anyone there they will tell you. (i forgot the name its something like, 'quatro...??')

when you go by santa croce, stop and get a panino (sandwich) at the famous antique "Noe's" dont get overwhelmed since it looks pretty trashy in an ugly street, but it the name spot, really extremly well known, and its tiny like maximun five people inside. so you buy and you leave. real good spot.

another good restaurant is called Tratoria delle Belle Donne in via delle belle donne. i go there often since the service is real nice compared to so many other spots and the food is good, plus its really small and really traditional and beautifull too.

well ill stop here, if you have any questions feel free to send a message and ill be happy to help.

good luck!

responding to your additional questions:

in relation to hidden points and highlights about florence, maybe now that i think of it, what i think isnt really known or heard off are the shows and events that occur in florence. i mean when i lived in the eye center of florence for 3 years straight, i would never ever hear of special events occuring in such piazza or some parade in a certain date, instead, i would just be walking and out in the blues there was this big show in the middle of some piazza all free. so sadly, its not very easy to come upon events and free shows that are to occur in florence, thats one bad ponit of florence. dont be surprised if some reason you bump into one in some street.

another thing that might be odd, kinda hidden and not mentioned in a guide book, is the Corridoio vasariano that is actually this corridor above ground that takes you from palazzo vechio a palazzo pitti passing by the uffizzi and ponte vecchio. it was the corridor that Cosimo I used. however this corridor is like almost always closed, i dont know why, but once in a while they have it open once a year and you have to make reservations to go there. so you might want to contact the florence information offices and see.

another thing that maybe isnt really highlighted, is the little town of San Gimignano. its about 1 hour away from florence and you can only reach it by bus not by train. its a beautiful little town still closed in by the walls. i highly recommend you to go there, its real close to florence and must visit spot.

An 'artigiano' means, an artisan. in the past there were the blacksmiths, the butchers, there were the artigiani, who did the furniture, the design, the objects in carved or constructed material. they were the masterminds of design in that age. so in between santo spirito and palazzo pitti through the littel streets where there was that restaurnta you said, Quatro Leoni, you can see the old 'botteghe' (workshops) where the artisans use to work. however thats one thing i never read in a guide book, i just figured it out because i once lived in one of those streets for a year and i got to see a lot of these only that spot in florence and yet still open, you can see these old men carving out frames or building objects out of wood.

about favorite restaurants, like i said the ones i like, are Trattoria delle Belle Donne located in Via delle Belle Donne. its a tiny restaurant but its real good, and be sure to go there early or else there it gets full. its called via delle belle donne (street of the beautiful women) because in the past it was the main tiny street where all the prostitures use to hange aroudn even during the day and its in the center of flowers. now however, its just a regular street, no prostitutes dont worry. like i said, for lunch go to Noes, located in Via M. Palmieri its actually under a small short tunnel that seems kinda dirty and smelly, but its good place and like i said, well known. ask anyone if you cant find it.

about wine tasting, im not that familiar with that, since im not much into wine, however there are a lot of wine bars around florence, ask at the information offices which ones are the best and recommended to visit.

ok! have a good trip!

any other questions, feel free!

Answer 3

The Pitti Palace and the Boboli gardens are really amazing. They're across the river from the Uffizi Gallery. Florence is a great walking town so you can basically wander and find stuff. Lots of good restaurants in Signorina square.

Answer 4

Hello.

The best advice I can give you for your first question is to just walk.... Walk, walk, walk. You will feel like you are lost, but will never be because with the exeption of Rome, Italian cities are really not that big. While you feel like you are "lost", you will discover many nooks and crannies where you will be blissfully away from pesky tourists. You will be on a special adventure of your own.

Safety is not an issue either. Florence as all Italian cities are quite safe. I got lost in many, and am here to tell the tale. Not something I would do in North America though.

If you should be really lost, ask for directions. I am sure you will make friends in the process. I still keep in touch with a guy that befriended me after asking for directions.....

Christmas markets are all over the place in Italy during the month of December. Their lenght varies by town, city, etc.... Some travel, while most are static, but they are all worth the experience. Eat the food at the market. It is better than most tourist restaurants and much, much cheaper. I am sure a city like Florence will have a couple of markets...not just one. Beware of gypsie pickpockets though!!! Otherwise markets are safe. Especially at Christmas time. Visit churches too. They are extra special at Christmas time.

The Florence marathon? Had no idea there was one. Much less run on. ;-) Cannot help you with that, but the links I provided below should help.

Ciao and buona fortuna!!!

Answer 5

Have a look at this site it tells you whats on at the time you're visiting. For non-touristy restaurants simply eat a little later as they do for dinner on the continent and head for where the locals eat.

http://www.whatsonwhen.com/scripts/query...