Venice/Florence, Italy Travel Tips?

[FCollinsBuckeye]

Hey everyone.

So, my wife and I will be spending some time in Venice and Florence, Italy in May. This will be my first visit to Italia and I thought I'd solicit travel advice from BPs travel experts. Anyone been? Any must-see attractions in Venice or Florence? We already have advanced tickets to visit the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and will likely skip the Galleria dell'Accademia due to time constraints.

TIA

 

[buckeyebri]

My wife and I just came back from Florence, Rome, etc. in February. Where possible, I would take the train and ditch any rental car. Florence was absolutely phenomenal in our opinion. We are not museum types and just enjoyed wandering the streets and seeing the sites. The area around the Duomo was excellent Unfortunately we did not make it to Venice due to Carneval. As they say Rome was not built in a day, nor can it be seen in a day. We also enjoyed Pisa and Viareggio by the Ligurian Sea. Viareggio was a great seaside town with nice cafes. The cafes and coffee are to die for. Be prepared to spend time when eating lunch and dinner (2 hours or so).

 

[buckeyboy]

Unfortunately, my wife and I did not get a chance to tour Florence when we were in Tuscany (ran out of time). If you do get the opportunity, there is a lot to see in Tuscany as it is such a beautiful area to visit. Some of the towns we liked were: Montepulciano, Sienna, San Gimignano and Lucca. Italians for the most part were very friendly. It helped that I speak the language as my parents immigrated from Italy in the 50's and I grew up speaking it at home.

Like buckeybri stated, Viareggio (beach town on the Mediterranean side) and Pisa were very nice. We did rent a car (which cost a small fortune) and found getting from one place to another was pretty easy with the GPS. However, Italians are very aggressive drivers. I thought I was a pretty aggressive driver but they bring it to a new level. Driving around in some of the smaller cities in Tuscany just about gave me a heart attack. Taking the train in Italy is convenient and cheap.

Sorry, I can't give you any further info on Florence or Venice. Two places that are still on my bucket list.

 

[Trevi]

If it's a clear day and you're up for a little exercise, climb up to the top of the Duomo - excellent view from there. Also if you have time, the Museo Galileo is pretty cool, if you have any interest in the history of science.

 

[NJ-Buckeye]

Are you or wife art or history junkies.. cuz it doesn't get any better if you do...
One could make a case that the history of art centers in Florence and Venice...
Since you don't have time to take an art history class from a local HS adult ed night pgm (which would be outstanding prep)

so you might have to either go to the library for some vid CDs or internet
Travelers obviously can only relay what they saw...
vids will give you the best version

Oh.. and make sure you have sunglasses
else your wife will catch you ogling the GORGEOUS Italian women
and you'll wish you were on United getting beat up vs your wifey's anger

 

[NJ-Buckeye]

Florence

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

I was in Venice for the first time last year. The main pathways down to St Mark's are pretty shitty and touristy. Go off of them into the neighborhoods along the smaller canals and find local places. If you can, consider squeezing Bologna in. It's my favorite place in Italy and arguably has the best cuisine in the country.

 

[TDunk]

If you have some free time, read John Grisham's "The Broker". Decent book, but it'll give you some insight about what to expect with Italian cafes, meal times, and what types of coffee to drink depending on the time of day. My cousin who lives in London and frequents Italy all the time told me to enjoy at least 3 days in each location, don't try to rush and do touristy crap. To truly enjoy Italy would take at least a month. So focus on a few highlights and enjoy the nuances of Italian life.

 

[ExpatAkronite]

Hey everyone.

So, my wife and I will be spending some time in Venice and Florence, Italy in May. This will be my first visit to Italia and I thought I'd solicit travel advice from BPs travel experts. Anyone been? Any must-see attractions in Venice or Florence? We already have advanced tickets to visit the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and will likely skip the Galleria dell'Accademia due to time constraints.

TIA

It is difficult to see everything in Florence but try not to miss the Accademia. The Hall of Prisoners (Michelangelo's statement on humanism) leading to the David will blow your freakin' mind. The Boboli Gardens in the back of the Pitti Palace (can't remember if you can enter separately) are fantastic and there is a cafe where you can hang out and soak it all in.

My favorite experience in Venice was literally getting lost for the better part of an afternoon wandering down narrow alleys from one piazza to another. There was no shortage of tiny cafes or bars to provide sustenance. May is a great time--fewer tourists and lower humidity (but as Ord noted St. Marks will still be packed with tourists--and pigeons). If you can check out some of the islands (via water taxi) in the lagoon. Read Thomas Mann's Death in Venice on the plane. The Venice Accademia is probably the best museum and the Doge's palace probably tops most lists. If you're into modern art the Peggy Guggenheim is very impressive.

Don't get overwhelmed by sightseeing--Italy is just as much about eating and drinking (and I'd do more of that in Florence than in Venice. And if the menu in the window is in multiple languages they cater to tourists. Better to find a small trattoria and go for it). If you can get out into the Tuscan countryside for a day it will be well worth it. Cheers!

 

[BayBuck]

This:

My favorite experience in Venice was literally getting lost for the better part of an afternoon wandering down narrow alleys from one piazza to another. There was no shortage of tiny cafes or bars to provide sustenance.

and this:

If you can get out into the Tuscan countryside for a day it will be well worth it. Cheers!

are a couple of really nice little suggestions. Getting lost in a confusing new city is one of my favorite things about traveling, and in any European country it's so rewarding to get out of town and see the little old towns and outposts, especially in such a famed countryside as Tuscany.

 

[NJ-Buckeye]

I loved Italy... but if your time frame is narrow... you have to decide.. ambiance or traditional
If you have a long time... you can afford ambiance
but if you only have a couple days, you might want to go traditional and pretty much touristy

IMO Florence is THE art history capital of the world... so you might want to consider taking in as much of that aspect as you can
you can do that... and.. enjoy the food.. plus Florence shares the limelight as a major player in the fashion world... along with Milan...
Venice is obviously known for the canal... thus... experience the canal

after that... you can fill in the blanks with as much time as you have to spare
the other members are absolutely right... about the non-traditional treasures...
but I suggest you consider hitting the highlights... and what these cities are historically known for

 

[FCollinsBuckeye]

Thank you all for so many great insights and suggestions! As it turns out, I won a bicycle touring trip and we will be cycling from Venice to Florence over 6 days - over 200 miles in all - so I suspect we'll have a good dose of the countryside. We will be arriving in Venice two days before we ride out of town and will probably only have one solid day in town. From all I'm absorbing here and elsewhere, I think 'getting lost' in the smaller side streets of Venice sounds like the thing to do. I may look into advanced tickets to The Venice Accademia as well.

Once in Florence, we will have Sunday afternoon to do what we please and all day Monday. Unfortunately, I learned the museums are closed on Monday, so we only have a few hours on Sunday for Florence museums. After a bit of research, we decided we'd rather dig in deep at the Uffizi gallery rather than try to hop around and scratch the surface at two or more museums...

Thanks again, and I'm still listened for other pearls of wisdom from BPs travelers!

 

[NJ-Buckeye]

If you'd pedal faster... you'd have more time to play

 

[Zander42]

Plenty to do in Florence on a Monday. Actually, if I only had a couple of days there, I probably would not do the museums anyway, I'd save that for a longer stay.

Pretty sure the churches are open, and if so, the Duomo should be on your list. It's pretty much the symbol of Florence. If the dome is open to walk up to the top, it's a cool view from the top. About half way up you get to see the fresco on the inside of the dome, up close. The fresco is of Dante's inferno and this one doesn't leave out anything. Hot poker up a dudes ass. Yep, a few of those. Naked people being eaten alive by demons. Plenty of that. Thanks Dante!

Even if the Duomo is closed, just seeing it from the outside is an experience. It was refurbished in the 19th century, I think and it looks close to what it looked like in the middle ages. Brightly colored marble, painted statues. It really is spectacular.

The Ponte Vecchio is another cool stop. It's a bridge with shops and homes built on top of it, allowing only a narrow passage. It was built in the 13th or 14th century so it is an actual medieval bridge, pretty much continuously used by merchants for 700 or so years.

The Piazza della Signoria, just up from the Ponte Vecchio is an awesome public area, filled with statues which are reproductions of famous statues housed in museums in Florence, including a David replica (but not the level of detail as the actual David).

Another church that might be open since it's not really a museum, is the Basilica de San Lorenzo. It's burial place of several members of the Medici family. Very cool marble mausoleum. Serious wealth those Medici's. Those dudes knew how to die in style.

I'd also recommend checking out Mercato Centrale, an inside open air market just north of the Basilica de San Lorenzo. Lots of vendors with booths, kind of like the West Side market in Cleveland, if you've been there. We picked up the best piece of pepperoni I've ever had there. Still have fantasies about that pepperoni. For a good cheap lunch, visit Da Narbonne in the Mercato. If you're adventurous, try a tripe sandwich. I thought it was OK. The flavor was great, but tripe is mushy my nature and they lay it on thick. Pulled off a couple of layers and it was much better. Also had a great roast beef sandwich there and a good bowl of a local soup/stew called Ribolita.

 

[The KSB]

Never did Florence, I spent a couple days in Venice and two weeks in Rome. Venice is small enough that you don't really need pointers. I took the family on a gondola ride and had a blast. The routes and fees are regulated so no worries about getting ripped off. Other than that we just explored. We loved it. If you get a chance Pompeii is a great day trip. Piza was okay too.