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Palazzo Pitti, home of the Galleria Palatina
The queue outside
Naples train station- waiting for Florence train
Biennale "Grand Opening" .
I plan to book a hotel in this quarter of Firenze. Is it a good part of the town(quiet, safe, places for eating, cheap or expensive location?). How long is by foot from there to "ponte vechio" for example?
Thanks in advance!
P.S. And another question, what is better transport for 1 day trips arround Firenze - train or bus, which station gives access to many sides? My "base camp" will be in Florence.
Sorry:-(( "sites", instead of sides
There are some excellent eateries in and around P. San Lorenzo...I recommend ZaZa's in particular. I haven't stayed in the area, but walked through it every day from my hotel. Florence is a very walkable city, and you will find it a convenient location for visiting the places you are likely to want to see. Can't remember exactly how long it would take to walk to the Ponte Vecchio, but not more than 20 minutes or so (depends on how long you spend looking at things on the way!).
As for day-trips, whether you use train or bus depends entirely on where you want to visit. Fiesole just requires a quick trip on a local bus, Pisa is best by train.
www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html will give you train times and fares in English. Italian trains are very reasonably-priced, and the service frequency is very good. There are ticket machines with English langage options at Florence SM Novella station, so it's easy to buy tickets. You do not need to book in advance, but you must remember to validate (date-stam) your ticket before boarding, using the yellow machines on the platform. There is a large on-the-spot fine if you don't, and the guards do check.
The only place where it is better to use bus than train is Siena. The railway station is quite a distance outside the town (you need a bus or taxi) so getting the bus from Florence is much more sensible. It stops in the historical centre.
Bus times here:
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/d16ba/1a1205/
Click Linea Firenze Siena.
Check the Florence VT pages for ideas and info on what to see/do/where to eat etc (use the searchbox top right of this page).
San Lorenzo area is very well located being close to the buses and trains and near major sites. you can get to ponte vecchio by foot in 15 minutes if you don't stop (but you will, a lot).
as for your day trips, it depends where you are going. there are many nearby locations only accessible by bus (like siena, as mentioned, but lot's more too) while trains get you to lots of destinations more quickly (like lucca, pisa, etc).
The Duomo, and Boboli Gardens. The Ostello (hostel) on the edge of town is excellent, better than most $100 per night hotels. Otherwise, it's noisy and smoggy in town. Mopeds everywhere, like raging mosquitoes. Once you get over your smog headache, it's a lot of fun. Very Very Very touristy.
Remember that the area where you’re situated in a bar generally determines how much you will be charged: It’s cheapest if you stand at the counter, a bit more expensive when sitting at a table and at its dearest when you sit outside!
Stibbert is one of the most eccentric museum in Florence. Federico Stibbert was a collector who lived in Florence during the 19th century. He kept an original collection of arms and armor, from Japan and all over Europe, toghether with clothing, dolls, furniture, porcelains. The Museum is very interesting for children. Choose to go there in a sunny day: you can also enjoy the park which is one of the nicest garden in town.
Some trains going through Firenze don't stop at the main station Firenze Santa Maria Novella [Firenze S.M.N.], but rather at Firenze Campo di Marte.
For example, many overnight trains to/from places like Sicily, Vienna, Munich, Nice, Geneva, Zurich, and Paris stop at Firenze Campo di Marte instead of Firenze S.M.N..
Also, some fast day trains to/from Roma, Venezia, Trieste, Milano, Genova, and other places to/from Firenze stop at Firenze Campo di Marte instead of Firenze S.M.N.
Don't let this discourage you from taking one of these trains to/from Firenze.
Trains go between Firenze S.M.N. and Firenze Campo di Marte about every 15 minutes, even early in the morning or late in the evening. And, the journey takes only about 8 minutes.
Also, bus#12 stops in front of the Firenze Campo di Marte station and goes to Firenze S.M.N.
Upper right corner of map shows Bus#12 route at Firenze Campo di Marte
[tip created 1/07, modified 1/09]
Gelato, Italy's ice cream. There are gelaterias or gelato shops all over Florence. It seems like there is at least one per city block. A trip to Italy would not be complete without sampling all the different flavors of gelato.
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