Let's Go Europe 2011: The Student Travel Guide
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It’s a parking lot. Still, it’s the most scenic damn parking lot you’ll ever see. Cross the river and bear east until you reach the base of the steps. It’s about a 10min. walk uphill to the piazzale—a walk both pleasanter and cheaper than the one up the Campanile, but still requiring decent shoes. You can take the #12 or 13 bus if you’re lazy, but the short hike is rather pleasant itself. At the summit, you’ll be rewarded with a broad cement piazza upon which an oxidized reproduction of the David and a whole lot of parked cars enjoy a killer view. Ignore everything behind you and watch the sun set over the city.
From pretty much any bridge, walk left along the river until P. Guiseppe Poggi, where you will find the base of the steps. It’s up from there. Wheelchair-accessible only by bus. Free. Open 24hr.
FOOD
While Florence isn’t a culinarily distinct city, it remains a great place to find good food. There are trattorias everywhere, and almost every one of them is tasty. The only major variance between them all will be in cover charge and distance from a major piazza. If they begin to feel a bit too similar to one another, head to smaller places: the markets, the hole-in-the-walls, the local favorites. Whatever you do, you can’t go wrong.
Duomo And Piazza Della Signoria
The places in the city center all seem to have been cast from the same mold. They cost about the same, they offer similar fare, and most of them have a rockin’ view. For slightly more variety, venture a couple blocks from the main piazze.
GROM
V. del Campanile
GELATERIA
055 21 61 58 www.grom.it
Grom is a high-end gelateria, which means it has a posh location right off the Duomo, a branch in New York City, and a slightly higher starting price than the city’s other top-notch gelaterie. Nevertheless, it’s the best of the sweet stuff in the Duomo area. Sure, you’ll find it mentioned in every guidebook and, if you catch it at the wrong time of day, you’ll be waiting in line for 15min. Just come back later. The gelato will still be delicious.
Just south of the Duomo. From €2. Open daily Apr-Sept 10:30am-midnight; Oct-Mar 10:30am-11pm.
DA VINATTIERI
V. Santa Margherita 4r
SANDWICHES
055 29 47 03
This is a literal hole-in-the-wall that’s well worth tracking down. Unlike most of the panini in town, these are actually made to order. As in, the guy picks up the leg of ham and cuts off a slice for your sandwich. You can step into the tiny shop or just order a quick lampridotto (€3.50) from the alley through the counter window. Choose from the long menu of sandwich suggestions or invent your own—they all cost the same anyway.
Across the alley from Casa di Dante, so just follow the signs for that attraction. Shares a corner with Lush, which you can smell from 2 blocks away. Panini €3-3.50. Open daily 10am-8pm.
FESTIVAL DEL GELATO
V. Del Corso 75r
GELATERIA
055 29 43 86
We had dismissed this tacky, neon-flooded gelateria as a certain tourist trap, but when a local recommended it, we caved and gave the disco gelato a try. At our first bite of ciociolata fondante, the garish flourescence melted into warm candlelight and fireflies and a violinist in white tie began to...OK, no, the place still looked ridiculous, but hot damn that be good gelato.
Look for the neon. You seriously can’t miss it. Gelato from €1.80. Open daily noon-midnight.
OSTERIA DELL PORCELLINO
V. Val di Lamona 7r
RISTORANTE
055 26 41 48 www.osteriadelporcellino.com
This beautiful osteria has an alleyway to itself which it fills with wrought-iron tables and colored lights. Don’t come for lunch, when the adjacent Mercato Nuovo is bustling. Instead, wait until the evenings when the piazza clears out and the space is well worth the €2 cover.
Right off Mercato Nuovo. Vegetarian menu. Cover €2. Primi €7-10; secondi €14-22. Open daily noon-3pm and 5-11pm.
CAFFE DUOMO
P. del Duomo 29-30r
RISTORANTE
055 21 13 48
There are a number of nice trattorias all in a row here, staring up at the Duomo. They’re all roughly equivalent and offer specials, so browse them all and decide which you like best. We prefer this one for its lighter lunch specials, particularly the cheese and cold cut platter with a glass of Chianti (€12 for 2 people). The young staff have also been known to dance to Justin Bieber when business is slow.
In the shadow of the Duomo. Entree and a glass of wine for €9. Open daily noon-11pm.
CORONAS CAFE
V. Calzaiuoli 72r
CAFE
055 23 96 139
Cheap sandwiches and pastries (€1-3.50) as well as an open layout on the corner make this cafe a good spot for eating alone and people-watching. The excellent gelato is available in enormous American-appetite-sized cones if you want to be that guy.
Just north of P. della Signoria, on the corner. Pastries €1-3.50. Panini €3.50. Open daily 10am-1am.
The Outer Ring
One of the best options outside of the immediate center is to grab food at the great markets to the north of the Duomo, particularly Mercato Centrale. You can also head east to the Santa Croce area—where there are students, there’s cheap food.
EBY’S BAR
V. dell’Oriuolo 5r and Borgo Pinti 2r
MEXICAN
055 90 62 116
Heck yes, burrito joint! America has the leg up on Europe in a certain area—Mexican food just ain’t a thing on the continent. Imagine our joy, then, when we found a top-notch burrito joint right on the edge of Santa Croce’s nightlife scene. Eby’s is even good! This is a place that knows its purpose: a boasting sign on the door proudly announces the availability of “LATE NIGHT CHICKEN QUE-SADILLA.” Order your €4 burrito on the corner of Borgo Pinti and Dell Orioulo, then cross to Eby’s colorful bar and upstairs dining room. The food is so good that you can even come here sober.
Head away from Santa Croce, west from P. de Salvamini. Nachos €3. Burrito €4. Sangria pitcher €12. Open daily 10am-3am.
GELATERIA DEL NERI
V. Dei Neri 20/22r
GELATERIA
055 21 00 34
Our job description compels us to have our thrice-daily dose of gelato at a different gelateria each time to sample Florence’s wide range of offerings. So why can’t we stop eating at this one? It might have something to do with the mousse-like semifreddo—try the tiramisu—or the insanely spicy Mexican chocolate, which we found too intense to even finish.
On the right when heading to city center. Cups and cones from €1.50. Open daily 9am-midnight.
TRATTORIA MARIO
V. Rosina 2r
RISTORANTE
055 21 85 50 www.trattoriamario.com
If you’re starting to wonder where all the Italians are hiding, show up late for lunch at Trattoria Mario. Diners are packed into tables with strangers, and regulars will flag the waitress if they want a newcomer to be seated at their table. And then perhaps they will buy you wine. Lots and lots of wine. The food is pretty good too, with the day’s offerings written on brown paper by the kitchen.
Just off Mercato Centrale, on the right. Daily specials €6-9. Open M-Sa noon-3:30pm.
NEGRONE
P. del Mercato Centrale
RISTORANTE
055 21 99 49
Mercato Centrale isn’t just for groceries. The edges are lined with cafes, cafeterias, and panini stands that cater to workers and wise visitors. Negrone stands out as both the oldest, dating back to 1872, and the best. Crowd around the counter to order whatever happens to be on offer, take your tray, and squeeze in somewhere at the picnic tables along the wall. The food is fantastic and dirt-cheap, plus the atmosphere is far livelier than any cookie-cutter trattoria. Don’t forget to bus your tray when you’re done!
Along the wall of the Mercato. Primi and secondi €4-7. Cup of house wine €1. Open M-Sa 7am-2pm.
LA GH
IOTTA
V. Pietrapiana 7r
CAFE
055 24 12 37
Take a number at this student-y rotisserie with student-y prices—the line is out the door during lunchtime. Pick your meal from platters behind the counter or order one of 20 varieties of pizza (all €5.50) and cram into the seats in the back. You’ll eat even cheaper if you take it to go—get half a rotisserie chicken for a couple euros, go for a giant slab of eggplant parmigiana, or try whatever else they happen to have when you visit.
From Borgo Alegri, take a right. Primi €5-6; secondi €5-7. Liter of wine €6. Open daily noon-5pm and 7-10pm.
ANTICA GELATERIA FIORENTINA
V. Faenza 2a
GELATERIA
388 058 03 99 www.gelateriafiorentina.com
Off-beat flavors like rosewater, cheesecake, and green tea will add some variety to your gelato diet, and although the peanut butter chocolate was probably concocted to please Americans starved of their lunchbox staple, it at least succeeds in its goal. Antica is super cheap too, with cones starting at a single flavor for €1. If you want to go whole-hog American, there’s a ginormo cone (€15) in which you can try every flavor on tap. Don’t mix the cheesecake and green tea.
Toward the far end of V. Faenza, on the left. Cones from €1. Open daily noon-midnight.
OPERA ET GUSTO
V. Della Scala 17r
RISTORANTE, CONCERT VENUE
055 28 81 90 www.operaetgusto.com
This sleek joint is a little-black-dress sort of place, with black and red decor and limited lighting. The draw is the live performances most nights, which tend towards jazz combos and light world music but sometimes encompass diverse theatrical art forms. Considering the entertainment, the cover (€2) is a steal.
Coming from Santa Maria Novella, on the left. Show 9-10:30pm. Cover €2. Primi €10-12; secondi €11-22. Open daily 8:30pm-2am.
GRAN CAFFE SAN MARCO
P. San Marco 11r
CAFE
055 21 58 33 www.grancaffesanmarco.it
This place just keeps getting bigger. Enter from the main piazza, and it’s a gelateria. Enter from the side street, and it’s a pizzeria. Walk further in, and it’s a cafeteria, coffee bar, and garden cafe. Make your way to the tented garden for a bit of quiet. It’s a bit chintzy but cheap. The enormous gooey bowls of lasagna (€4.50) are reheated, but since when has a bit of reheating hurt lasagna?
The south end of the piazza. Huge variety of options, but meal-type food will run you from €3 panini to €7 secondi. Open daily 8am-10pm.
IL GIOVA
Borgo la Croce 73r
RISTORANTE
055 24 80 639 www.ilgiova.com
Settle down with a giant slice of watermelon on the mismatched chairs of this busy little lunch joint. At night, the outside tables fill the otherwise deserted intersection with couples and young people sipping wine. Menu changes daily.
At the corner of V. della Mattonaia. Primi €5; secondi €7. Open M-F noon-5pm and 7:30-11pm, Sa 12:30-4:30pm and 7:30-11pm.
RUTH’S KOSHER VEGETARIAN FOOD
V. L.C. Farini 2/A
KOSHER
055 24 80 888 www.kosheruth.com
There are probably some visitors to Florence who are stuck eating every meal here, and that must get old. For the carnivorous Christian getting sick of all that bistecca alla fiorentina or the nostalgic New Yorker who misses the Lower East Side, however, Ruth’s provides some nice variety. Have a falafel while surrounded by Israelite kitsch like Hebrew calendars, maps of Israel, and photos of bearded old Jews. If you look Jewish, the locals may stop by your table to say hi.
On the right of synagogue. Kosher. Falafel platter €9. Entrees €9-12. Open M-Th 12:30-2:30pm and 7:30-10pm, F 12:30-2:30pm, Sa 7:30-10pm, Su 12:30-2:30pm and 7:30-10pm.
OSTERIA E PIZZERIA CENTROPOVERI
V. Palazzuolo 31r
PIZZERIA, RISTORANTE
055 21 88 46 www.icentopoveri.it
Two adjacent restaurants with the same name but different menus. The long dining rooms with curved ceilings will make you feel like you’re eating in a tunnel, but the light at the end is the excellent pizza (€4-9) on the pizzeria side, and the Tuscan specialties in the osteria, with a prix-fixe menu (€35) featuring bistecca alla fiorentina.
Corner of Porcellana. Cover €2 in osteria. Pizza €4-9. Primi €7-10; secondi €9-19. Open daily noon-3pm and 7pm-midnight.
TRATTORIA ZAZA
P. del Mercato Centrale 26r
RISTORANTE
055 21 54 11 www.trattoriazaza.it
The tented alfresco seating is typical for a piazza ristorante, but the quirky logo on the menu—a naked child being stung on the buttocks by a bee—should give you a clue to the offbeat glamour of the inside dining rooms. Lurid frescoes coat the vaulted ceilings, while staid dead white men watch you devour fresh pasta from gilded portraits. For those not inclined to the bloody bistecca alla fiorentina, there are abundant creative salad options—try Zaza’s, with chicory lettuce, walnuts, brie, and Roquefort dressing.
Behind Mercato Centrale. Cover €2.50. Primi €7-11. Open daily 11am-11pm.
The Oltrarno
A lot of the Oltrarno’s restaurants are quirkier than their counterparts on the other side of the river. Unfortunately, they’re also a little bit more expensive and more likely to have a cover. Still, the locals who frequent these joints must know something we don’t.
DANTE
P. Nazario Sauro 12r
RISTORANTE
055 21 92 19 www.trattoria-dante.net
An excellent choice for students—with any meal, students get a free bottle of wine. No joke. The pizza is the same as anywhere, but dude, free wine. Also hosts lots of images of Dante on the wall, as you’d expect. Free wine!
A block south of Ponte alla Carraia, on the right. Cover €2.50. Pizzas €6-9. Pastas €8-10. Open daily noon-11pm.
OSTERIA SANTO SPIRITO
P. Santo Spirito, 16r
RISTORANTE
055 23 82 383
Delightful wooden tables behind bamboo screens line the street in front of this osteria, while inside large round tables are suffused with a flickering red light. Linger after your pasta for the crème brulée (€6) and other posh desserts.
Far end of the piazza from the church, on the right. Pizza €6-9. Primi €7-12. Wine by the bottle from €12. Open daily noon-11:30pm.
NAPO LEONE
P. del Carmine, 24
RISTORANTE
055 28 10 15
The most famous rule of naming your restaurant Napo Leone is to never get involved in a land war in Asia, but only slightly less well-known is this: never have dinner in a parking lot when romance is on the line. Thankfully, Napo Leone is compensating quite well, thank you, creating a romantic atmosphere despite the location, with stained-glass lanterns and curlicue chairs. The menu features inconceivable appetizer platters like the spread of prosciutto, salami, artichokes, baked tomatoes, olives, peccorino cheese with jam, liver pate, mozzarella di bufala, and fried dough for €12.
Against the wall in the back of the piazza. Cover €3. Pastas €8-10. Meat entrees €10-24. Open daily 7pm-1am.
BIBO
P. di Santa Felicita 6r
RISTORANTE
055 23 98 554
A quiet restaurant right past the Ponte Vecchio, Bibo is kinda on the tacky side of niceness, with electric candles on pink tablecloths, but it works.
Bear left after crossing Ponte Vecchio. Pastas €9-10. Open daily noon-11pm.
GELATERIA LA CARRAIA
P. Nazario Sauro 25r
GELATERIA
055 28 06 95 www.lacarraiagroup.eu
An excellent gelato option right across the river, with cones starting at €1. Try the After Eight. Not much ambience in the shop itself, but go stand by the river—it’s right outside.
Right over the Ponte alla Carraia. Gelato from €1. Open daily 11am-11pm.
NIGHTLIFE
Pe
ople don’t come to Florence to party. They come to Florence to stare at pretty things. During peak season, major sporting events, and other cultural happenings, the streets will fill with young people clutching wine bottles. At other times, you will be better off simply hanging out with the people in your hostel. For more hopping after-hours entertainment, head to Santa Croce or deal with one of the bazillion American or Irish pubs that litter the city.
Duomo and Piazza Della Signoria
This isn’t exactly a traditional nightlife area. You’ll find a couple of bars around, but generally you should head a little further outside the center. There is some DIY nightlife. The Loggia, Piazza della Repubblica, and Ponte Vecchio are all excellent places to hang out with a beer, so get one to go from Old Stove or a watering hole in a pubbier part of town. It should also be noted that the Ponte Vecchio is a fine place for a snog and that Let’s Go does not condone drunk-riding the P. della Repubblica carousel.