Piazzale Michelangelo,Fiesole for dinner and Oltrarno walk

When I am in Florence I always make time for Fiesole. Among other things, you'll find a Roman amphitheater, a monastary and great views of Florence. The Pizzaria Etrusca (on the square near the bus stop) has great gorganzola pizza and pesto. For a nice dinner with a view, I like the restaurant at Hotel Aurora.

thank you Carole... How did you get there from Florence? Bus? or Taxi? there are four of us.

thank you again

Florence is very safe, I'm in my 20s and felt quite safe at all hours of the day and night. you MUST go to piazzale Michelangelo!! I ate dinner at sunset at "Ristorante Michelangelo" - you can't miss it. I had a pizza and glass of wine for maybe 15-20 euros. Overpriced, sure, and not my best meal in Florence, but the view at sunset is priceless. Get there early for a terrace seat and the view of the Ponte Vecchio is spectacular. They had a full menu, but I don't remember what the prices... you don't eat there for the food really, of course ;) There's also a fancier restaurant, whose name is escaping me right now, but I believe it's very expensive. Also when you are at the Piazzale, try to make the extra walk uphill to San Miniato al Monte, a beautiful church and the views are even better up there :)

Thank you Debra for your help. I was hoping for good food and a view.. but will settle for the view ;o)

When you say to go early for " try to make the extra walk uphill to San Miniato al Monte".. what time do you suggest for mid June? We can try to go early before dinner. About what time in summer will the sunset be there?

thank you again for your help

Viv, for dinner in Fiesole, I will mention the Villa San Michelle. If you eat out on the terrace area, you have a wonderful sweeping view of Florence. I must mention that they are more than pricey. They are flat out expensive. We had lunch there and for the two of us, with desert and wine, it was 357Euro. We knew this in advance from friends who had their wedding reception there so we were prepared. It really was great, however. Take a look at http://www.villasanmichele.com/web/ovil/villa_san_michele.jsp. To get to Fiesole, you can take the #7 bus from the bus station next to the Florence SMN train station. For the Villa San Michelle, its a bit of a hike up their driveway from the main roadway. Also, there are some very nice other restaurants up there as well. Not sure about the views. I think that Samantha Brown on the Travel Channel had something on dinner in Fiesole.

Larry you had to tell me about that place! :-D
Now I will have to look into it. Sounds fabulous.
thank you for your help on how to get there. My husband just asked another question (and I didn't know the answer to) Is there a bus schedule to look at? We are just concerned about missing a ride back. Thank you so much for your help... Things are getting closer for our 12 week trip and my head is spinning.

I will try to look online for Samantha Brown (Travel channel) for more information on Fiesole.

thank you again
Viv

Hi Viv,
My husband and I just returned from Italy last night and we were in Florence for one day on the 19th. We found the details for the Oltrarno in the Lonely Planet (Florence) guide. Our Rick Steve's didn't mention it. We just followed the walk and found it very interesting. Have a great trip! Dorothy

I just returned from Firenze a couple weeks ago, and we had a great evening at Piazzale Michelangelo. I didn't eat at the restaurant, but after taking pictures of the sunset & some night photos of the Duomo, we just sat on the steps (huge area for sitting & looking out over the city). We weren't there too late, but as soon as it got dark, the tourists left, the restaurant closed, and all the Italian locals came with boxes of pizza & vino or beers & sat on the stair talking & enjoying the still great view. It was a Friday night, I don't know if the experience would be the same during the week.

Instead of paying for an adequate & overpriced meal, bringing your own pizza or panini could be a nice option also.

There would even be plenty of room for your kids to wonder around (within view).

I don't know where you're staying, but the buses run pretty regularly, it might be easier than the long walk back into the center of the city.

Viv, My wife and I are fans of fine dining and as such, we will include a couple of places on our trips. The Villa San Michele was one of those places. CLICK HERE to see the afternoon schedule for the #7 bus. There are about 5 things you can click on to see the entire daily schedule. You can also take a taxi up and back. We did. It was 25Euro each way. If you PM me with an email address, I can send you some pictures of the view, building and grounds.

Viv, I'm writing this sitting in Villa Bonelli at Fiesole. The #7bus runs every 20 minutes with slight reduced schedule after 8pm. You won't have problem getting the bus. FYI, this afternoon there's a bus strike. So we took the cab back from Ponte Vechio 22euro, not trhat bad.

wow! Thank you for all the help. I really appreciate all your time everyone! I can't begin to tell you how excited I am about this trip and with all your help with the extra details. It so great that we can do more than just the "top tens".

Cheers!
Viv
ps/ I am quite excited to do the top tens as well :-)

We enjoyed Fiesole but I do want to mention to you that you should be very careful about pickpockets on the bus. Ours was crowded. Although my husband was wearing a vest with numerous zipped pockets inside it, he put his wallet in his front pants pocket, thinking incorrectly that it would be safe there. Within five minutes of getting on the bus in Florence, he realized the wallet was gone and within 15 minutes of its being snatched, $1110 had been charged to our account. We think the pickpockets got off the bus before it left Florence. In retrospect, my husband remembers being jostled on his left side and the police say that while his attention was being diverted to his left side, the wallet was taken by the other thief from his right front pocket. So use precautions to safeguard your belongings--and then have a great time on your trip!

Thank you Sally for the warning. I will have my pac safe purse with me and only that days spending money in it~ anything else will be in a money belt.

Someone tried to pick pocket me in Paris once ( I had a money belt on) so they didn't get anything out of my backpack that held tour books, maps and water. However the experience has made me very alert now in crowded places.

thank you for the help
Viv