florence

I'm with you, Brittany, on your asessment of Florence. There seem to be two types of people in this world: those who love Florence and those who don't. I won't stay overnight there, but continue to take students on day trips to see "David" and the other monumental works that call Florence home.

brittany, I wasn't sure what to expect on my first visit to Florence, however I found that I liked it far more than I expected. I also visited the Ponte Vecchio, Uffizi & Accademia to see the main attractions. I enjoyed all of them, however I'm not sure I have the education or background to fully appreciate what I was seeing.

What I hadn't anticipated was such a vibrant and interesting city. I enjoyed the people (including other travellers that I met), the restaurants and just the general ambience of the city. I spent some time visiting with various street performers by the main plaza (can't remember the name), and found they were very interesting people (many of the ones I spoke with were from the Ukraine).

I also took a short trip up to Fiesole (based on recommendation from a Teacher that I met on the train from Venice). What a beautiful area!

I do hope to return to Florence in the not too distant future. Hopefully I will have gained some "art appreciation skills" before then!

My wife and I were there 5 nights and saw most everything. The Cezzane exhibit this year was one of our highlights. Seeing David was the best of all. Third was the Duomo museum. The rest wasn't all that great. RS really likes the Bargello. We couldn't see why. Bobobli Gardens were not that great. The art in the Uffizi is really limited to "Madonna con il Bambino". Rooms and rooms of the same topic. I realize that it's about the religious renaissance but you're really overwhelmed with it. You even see rooms and rooms of Madonna con il Bambino AND the Mediccis and other wealthy citizens in the painting. I even asked the guide - I thought that the only people present at the birth of Christ were Mary, Joseph, the ass they rode in on and 3 magi. Where did these other people born 1,400 years later come from?. I knew the answer but I had fun asking the question anyway. We enjoyed the art in Venice and Assisi much more. We would like to return to the region of Tuscany but we don't need to go to Florence.

I really enjoyed the art, architecture and history in Florence. It was worth the visit.

The bad side for me was the low quality lodging at the same price as nice hotels elsewhere. If I hadn't talked to many other travelers who said the same of their hotels, I would have thought I had just picked the wrong hotel.

I also didn't like the fines for driving into the central zone which made us park our car on the outskirts of town and hike to a hotel (arguably your hotel can make arrangements to allow you in without a fine, but I din't want a hefty surprise fine that I couldn't fight later). I'm glad we were carry-on only.

Signs regulating behavior (don't litter, etc.) written in English rather than Italian, French, Spanish or German also made me feel less welcome. I'm not sure whether it reflects an anti-American/British bias or the sad reality that we are pitiful guests.

I was a bit disappointed by Florence also. To me Florence has great art, and a nice ambience, but the city itself is not that impressive. The buildings are old, but the architecture is not spectacular, except for the Duomo and the Medici palace. The Arno is a non-sight as a river, (though I did manage to take some nice pictures of the Ponte Vecchio reflected in it). It just seems like a more down to earth place, certainly compared to Paris, Venice and even Rome -- I guess it just depends on the type of experience you are looking for.

I just returned from a week long trip to Florence and Venice. While I had been to Venice before I had never been to Florence. I have to say I absolutely adored Florence. After Paris it is my favorite European city. It is wonderful mixture art, history and fashion. I just loved the vibe of the city. We even stayed at a very nice small hotel, Otro de Medici - I highly recommend it.

Nobody mentioned the museum of science or the city museum. What great places. I suspect the city has lots of places like that, which might make your visit more enjoyable. I passed on the Uffizi. I had seen way more paintings than I wanted to, by that time. I would go back to see the science museum again, and to see the less-traveled by ways of Florence.

while i got some good opinions from everyone about florence, i like to see that none of us are calling eachother out on our differences of whether we like florence or not. We are keeping it friendly with everyones opinions. ( to be honest, i was sort of worried that some of us might argue too strongly about this topic ).

I respect everyones opinions, i just wanted to post this since after joining the helpline, i only found a lot of posts of travellers who love florence. i felt i was maybe the only one who didnt love it as much. but its good to see why certain people love the city, and those like me agree on why not. Thanks for all your inputs!

This is just one of the great things about this board. Me I LOVE Florence (I sorta eat my way from site to site but anyway). My husband is a real and true rocket scientist and loves scientific venues and will eat when directed to do so. Point is there is something for everyone pretty much wherever you go so, find what makes your inner traveler smile and go with it. What part of history really interests YOU not everyone else, what kind of art, what kind of food, what kind of nightlife (or not). I love Florence but can't stand being in a city for very long so we stay outside in the countryside. Bottom line try it once and move around a bit until you find your niche. Happy Travels and a Safe and Interesting New Year! (And I don't mean interesting as in the way the Chinese say it as in "may you live in interesting times". Translation interesting meaning yikes!"

brittany, in your last post, I think you've touched on an important aspect of travel. I find that that travel is a very personal experience, and each individual has different impressions of a particular location based on the circumstances they found. These can vary (ie: being robbed), so one person might have a very negative impression of a particular city. On the other hand one can also find very unique and unusual experiences, and these will also set the tone for perhaps more fond memories of a particular city.

Interesting post!

Florence is, right beside Rome and Paris, my favorite city in Europe. Everytime I am there I feel a magic...it settles itself on my skin and in my heart and everything glows. It's a beautiful city with incredible history...but I understand that it is not for everyone.

I hope that everyone finds a city in the world that makes them feel like Florence makes me feel.

Brittany, I appreciate your most recent post about this subject. Not everyone has to like what the majority likes or what is highly touted by Rick in his books and TV shows for that matter. Visit places that interest you and make up your own mind where you are most comfortable. For me, so far Paris and Venice are the cities by which I judge all others. I just went to Rome 4 months ago, and don't think I will go back. While I loved seeing some of the sites, the city itself did not move me... I'm sure others will strongly disagree, but it's not always about agreeing with the majority. We should all go where our spirit takes us!

thanks BG. this has come out to be a pretty good post. i can understand more now how some love florence. its not that i really missed seeing any great sites really, but more how the city makes you feel just being in its ambiance. i understand because how all you describe YOUR florence to be, is how i feel in MY venice. it feels like ive stepped into one of those imaginary places, the kind you only read about in books. and the people are fantastic, and really love their city. thanks to everyone who posted!