What is it like living in Florence, Italy?

Question

I plan to rent a room in Florence, Italy June 1st to 30th. Is there plenty to do there? I plan to take day trips to other places too. Do some people speak english there? What are some differences I'll notice right away and those after time?I'm just looking for general info about living in Italy, especially Florence. Thanks.

Answer 1

It's probably going to be new and interesting for you because you've never been there!  Watch out, though, because they carry a very strong disdain for Americans!

Answer 2

I also stayed in Florence for 1 month, but I went to school and had italian lessons. I can tell you that I've been in many italian cities, but Florence is definetely the loveliest and most interesting one. There are many historical sites, one particularly beautiful is the hill that looks over the whole city, you should go there in the evening. Of course, there are sooo many museums, starting with Uffizi Galery, basilicas and squares, Ponte Vecchio with little jewlery shops on it and other bridges....One month could even be too short. Transportation is ok, you should only be careful when they have their holidays, and they have them all the time, sometimes they change the routes of buses. Certain part of the city central is forbidden for cars to enter, except for those who live there and public transportation, this way they avoid the traffic jam.  Night life is also good, I recommend Central park, next to the hippodrome. Coast is about one hour away, and there are many small cities and villages you can also visit, like Viarreggio, for example. There is also a lovely excursion named Cinque terre, 5 villages that are attached to each other with magnificent nature. You also have excursions where you visit places where they grow vine. Don"t worry about english, Florence is always filled with tourists, so comunication shouldn't be a problem. My advice is, for start, to find some organized tours or excursions, because it is much more interesting to hear about something from expirienced people than to read it in a tourist guide. That is how i learned about history of the city itself, and it was most interesting because we walked through the city center, and guied showed us everything he was telling us about. Next thing you should do is meet local people, they are very friendly and they can take you to the best places. Hope this helped a bit. Have a lovely time!!

Answer 3

Plenty to see In Florence, especially if you are in art & architecture and history. You can take day trips to number of towns nearby: Pisa, Lucca, Siena, San Gimignano, Arezzo, Cortona, Volterra....they are very good connected with Florence, best way is to use trains, cheapest solution. For some destinations you will need to use bus as well, to go to country side or Volterra, but easy as well. Try to find good guide book or use internet to get information about what you would like to see & do.

You can use English no problem, but will be handy to know some phrases in Italian as well. About differences, personally cannot say a lot, but Florence is full of tourists form all around the world and it is kind of international place.

Don’t skip to go to Piazza Michelangelo and the Basilica of San Miniato on Monte alle Croci on foot or by bus.

The Piazza itself overlooks one of the most famous and magnificent city views in the world: from here you can see the whole of Florence at a glance; there is also copy of David.

Also afternoon trip to Fiesole, bus no.7 from Santa Maria Novella. Panoramic view over Florence (Via di San Francesco), Good ice-cream (Via Gramci 8).

Have a good time!!!

More about Florence&Tuscany:

http://www.tuscanweb.com/towns/244/

http://www.tuscanweb.com/regions/400/

Hope it helps.

Answer 4

stressfull

Answer 5

You'd better like their football team (soccer), Fiorentina. I don't right now, because they are competing for fourth place with my team, AC Milan, for the final Champions Leaque spot in Serie A.