Florence, Italy

[Jackleman]

Thinking about a short break in March, probably 4 nights.

Is there enough to see and do in 4 days, I like photography, art galleries and architecture.

Also, how crippling will the Euro be if I want to eat and drink reasonably well in the evenings?

I think I found a good place to stay so it is just about the visit itself, any ideas would be welcomed!

Thanks

Stephen

[miniman]

Lovely place, infinitely preferable to Rome IMHO.

[YRRunner]

Florence is stunning, simple. Get a guide book. There are thousands of things to do and fantastic photo opportunities. Many plaza's and Duomo's, the Uffizi gallery (Michaelangelo's David), many others galleries, the Da Vinci Museum, Ponte Vecchio bridge, Boboli Gardens, Galileo's residence. It's a stunning, vibrant city. My personal favourite world city. Go to the roof terrace of the Cosmopolitan Hotel before dusk, relax on the big sofa's with a large Hendricks Gin & Tonic or a glass of champagne. It overlooks some of the most beautiful parts of the city. Truly spectacular. Enjoy it, it will be memorable. It is very expensive, but it's not the kind of place to spare the horses. Just go with it.

[The Leaper]

GRRRR...Wife and I go to Italy every year, usually in September. Been to most of the likely places but Florence remains the one place we're still desperate to visit. From your post it looks like we gotta go soon! It's Bellagio, Lake Como, in May for us this year.

R.

[lauda]

A really fantastic city and certainly enough there to keep you occupied.

Make sure you have a meal at Il Latini and get some drinks and nibbles at Le Volpi e l’Uva. Two of the highlights of my honeymoon to Italy a couple of years ago.

[YRRunner]

The Leaper said:

GRRRR...Wife and I go to Italy every year, usually in September. Been to most of the likely places but Florence remains the one place we're still desperate to visit. From your post it looks like we gotta go soon! It's Bellagio, Lake Como, in May for us this year.

R.

Greetings Roger. Sorry we'll miss you at the 24hr this year, but all the very best to you and thank you again for the memorable grandstand seats last year.

You really must visit Florence. September would be perfect We were there in mid August... 40*C most days! Enjoy the lakes lucky man!

[don logan]

Make SURE you go to Il Latini to eat and Vivoli for an ice cream, a walk to the top of Boboli Gardens, take look inside Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella churches even if you`re not that into churches!

[don logan]

The Leaper said:

GRRRR...Wife and I go to Italy every year, usually in September. Been to most of the likely places but Florence remains the one place we're still desperate to visit. From your post it looks like we gotta go soon! It's Bellagio, Lake Como, in May for us this year.

R.

Hi

I`ve been to Bellagio a few times (have you been before?) the only thing that REALLY disappoints me is the food, I LOVE Italian food but almost all of it is from the - we don`t need to make a lot of effort because we have a never ending stream of tourists that we`ll never see again variety!(trout and vegetables isn`t my idea of great Italian food yet it appeared on almost all menus)

Last September I went to Lake Iseo which was nice but NOWHERE NEAR as nice as Como / Bellagio but was full of Italians and we had great food!

[The Leaper]

Hi Mark,

Great to hear from you. Re LM 2012, now that Toyota have entered I'm seriously trying to work out how I could be there, but it will be difficult due to other commitments. I suspect it'll be Eurosport and RLM for me, unfortuately. Are you going?

Thanks for the Florence comments. We're both desperate to go, being big fans of Italy, their architecture, galleries, lifestyle etc. I suspect we'll go in 2013 or wait till 2014 and go on our big anniversary which is in September, and which time of year seems about the best.

Don,

Thanks for your comment about Bellagio. In fact, there's three couples going together, staying at the Metropole, pretty central and near the ferry terminal. The others have been before so know all the places to go, things to see, and good restaurants etc. We've not been to the Lakes at all as we really do like the cities such as Verona, Bologna, and also Ravello etc, so the Lakes will be somewhat different.

R.

[Jackleman]

Thanks for all the great suggestions everyone, can anyone suggest what the going rate is for a beer, bottle of wine and a half decent evening meal?

I don't want to go without having a little bit of money to splurge but I don't want to break the bank either!

[jonno990]

If you do go can you try and take a pic from this angle? (One of my favourite pieces of art, I really need to go there myself, so jealous)

http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/picture-of-mont...

[The Leaper]

Jackleman,

This may help you.

Wife and I spent 7 nights in Ravello last September. I keep reasonably accurate holiday costs. We spent around £550 on 7 evening dinners for two including wine, other drinks, service, everything. So, maybe a bit less that at an Italian restaurant in the UK. We also spent about £550 on general spending during the day which includes all lunch, all drinks, all transportation (airport related excepted), entrance to museums, galleries, ferries, etc. Overall, Italy cannot be considered cheap, and I think it is getting dearer each year. What I can say is that Ravello 2011 was a lot less expensive than when we were at Sorrento in 2010!

R.