Florence Sports & Outdoors

Corri la vita is both a competitive race and a non-competitive walk set up every year to raise fund for the research on breast cancer causes.
During the race many private gardens and villas are open and people can enjoy visiting them.

When I go to Florence, I eat a ton, so I like to work off the extra calories (other than by the usual walking like crazy) by swimming. This past trip I took a bus from the hotel to the Costoli/Palasport sports complex. It's a huge place with a couple of very large pools. IIRC, the admission was 5 Euros for all day and they have lockers, showers, etc. I think the lap pool was 50 meters with marked off lanes. There are other swimming pools in Florence preferred by tourists, and that makes them quite crowded. Which is why I like this one! :-)

Equipment: Bring your usual gear.

Largest gym (air-conditioned and over 1200 square meters) located in the historic center of Florence. Located in an old Medici family home, there is a plaque above one of the starimasters commemorating the birth of one of the popes on the premises in the 15th century.

Equipment: Stairmasters + Eliptical Trainers
Treadmills (6)
2 Aerobics/Step Studios
Outside garden to relax/take sun in
2 Free weight rooms
Women's weight room and exercise area
Spinning room
Room with Machines

Very friendly and multilingual staff, also members are multicutural as lots of students from around the world.

Costs about 10 Euros for a walk-in visit.

Monday to Friday 900 to 2200
Saturday 900 to 1800
Sunday 1000 to 1400

go to campo di marte, east of the city center and watch a game of calcio!

i think they're usually on sundays, go to one of the tabacchis near the stadiuim and purchase tickets there. the die hard fans buy the cheapest tickets, but if you want to observe the crazy fans from afar, get the higher priced tickets. women get a 5 euro discount.

i think watching the fans is actually more fun than the game itself, they're PAZZI (crazy)

This was quite possibly the most enjoyable thing I did the entire time in Italy. For $55 we started off at 9AM and biked around Florence and the hillsides and vineyards of Tuscany. A grueling 14km of biking uphill interupted by a stop at a vineyard where we were shown the making of olive oil and wine. We then sat in the wine cellar which is kept very cool and proceeded to eat lunch that was served by our hosts. We talked to a winemaster who showed us the ropes and then were served two free glasses of wine and a shot of grapa which then was all available for sale afterwards. Absolutely terrific. Then we biked back down the hills and into town. The staff of this biking tour really deserved a lot of credit for their professionalism and entertainment. Be advised that the bike ride is not for the weak.

Equipment: Bring your biking gear such as sweats and good gloves. The bikes, helmet and water bottle are given to you. the water bottle, which has the name of the place on it, is given to you for free.

I took a 4 hour bike tour with a small company that was located just before you cross the Ponte Vecchio. Tour was a 4 hour ride starting on the left bank side of the Ponte Veccho and riding up to Piazzale Michaelangelo and through the nearby hills. We stopped for about 1/2 hour to have some fresh bread, cheese and wine. My tour had about 8 people in it - all were 35 years of age or younger.

Equipment: Modern bikes and helmuts provided.

There is a rowing club right next to the Ponte Vecchio so you have a very scenic rowing location. But it´s a private club so no tourists will get a boat here.... Only a short distance on the Arno can be rowed, as there are two weirs after a few meters in each direction....Maybe that´s why they have such a rowing boat on the jetty!!!

There are various swimming pools in Florence which are very crowded during summer. Here is a link for the most popular ones. During winter pools work on a booked time slot basis.