I can’t begin to explain the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, the beauty of Michelangelo’s David, the joys of The Uffizi – possibly the world’s most beautiful art gallery – or any of the other iconic markers that are the essence of Florence.
And I won’t pretend I’m an expert after one visit because it seems like everyone who’s been considers him or herself a trusted guide. While I’m often guilty of offering unsolicited advice (get a white-noise machine for your bedside) I know this is not an exhaustive guide.
It is however a peek at an amazing hotel, some killer meals and a day trip to a Tuscan vineyard dotted with contemporary art.
The St. Regis Florence, housed in a majestic building designed by Brunelleschi. The Arno runs along the sunny side and the front of the hotel overlooks Piazza Ognissanti. There is a free 13th-century church in the piazza where Sandro Botticelli is buried.
STAY
The St. Regis Florence, a former family palace built over 600 years ago, is unbeatable in terms of location, comfort and amenities. It is minutes from central landmarks, like the Ponte Vecchio and The Uffizi, and overlooks the Arno River. There are amenities like butlers and a business centre, but it’s really about the light-filled rooms and the setting – be sure to book a river-view room.
This was our suite which combined just the right amount of old-world Florentine grandeur with modern comfort.
Peekaboo! It’s pretty nice to look out your hotel window and see The Arno and The Ponte Vecchio.
It’s also pretty nice to get back to your hotel room and have fresh flowers, berries and glasses of bubbles waiting. Thank you St. Regis!
The central food market.
EAT
Osteria delle Tre Panche takes its name from its seating: three benches (or tre panche) with bench-like tables. There are two long ones for regulars and a shorter one by the door where we were sat with the other two tourist couples (a small indignity remedied by the warm service and superlative food). The place is miniscule – if you’re sat near the often-opened door your back will be very familiar with it by the end of the night. They specialize in fresh just-foraged ingredients. Highlights: salad of raw sliced porcini mushrooms followed by white truffles shaved over a baked potato blanketed in young melted pecorino. Go here for simply prepared regional food.
Tre Panche’s shaved raw porcini salad with Pecorino, pepper and olive oil.
Counting calories is not allowed. My spaghetti with toasted breadcrumbs and bottarga is in the background but it’s kind of hard to compete with carbs, melted cheese and white truffles.
The family-run Osteria Vini e Vecchi Sapori is also cramped and beyond busy – reservations are a must. At lunch, we had to wait for our table which turned out to be a boon as we were pressed up against a counter where, wine glasses in hand, we watched one of the cooks speedily shaving raw artichokes for salads. We sat next to three generations of a Florentine family (always nice in such a touristy city) and had hearty ribolitta and duck pappardelle that made the angels sing. The best – I can still taste it.
By the time we finished lunch, the lineups were gone so I could pose here and get a shot of the front of the resto - don’t I look just like a local here?
Cibreo was originally on my radar but I was put off by its oversized breadsticks shaped like bones – I thought they looked touristy and gimmicky so crossed it off the list. But when a local recommended it as one of the best places to eat, we reconsidered. I didn’t realize that under the Cibreo umbrella there is a trattoria (home to those breadsticks), a café and a more formal resto (they’ve since added a Tuscan Asian restaurant as well). We unknowingly walked into the formal space – all candle-lit ochre walls, red velvet chairs and ladies who lunch. There was no menu, rather a server sits tableside to tell you what’s on offer that day. It seemed a bit precious at first and I was nervous we’d chosen the wrong spot for lunch – I was very wrong. Three delicious courses and the most sublime chocolate tart followed. And those lunching ladies? They, like everyone else except us, were locals.
Perfectly prepared langoustine at Cibreo.
Al Tranvai is in Florence’s Oltrarno (other side of the Arno) “working-class” district. The name translates as “tram” and the front of an old tram car separates the dining room from the tiny open kitchen. It is super rustic, friendly and specializes in Tuscan classics, including Penne alla Chiantigiana, penne cooked in Chianti and served in a Chianti and pancetta sauce. It was mostly locals eating here and it felt like a proper neighbourhood place.
I hadn’t tried pasta cooked in Chianti before but can now recommend it. Loved the paper placemats and wicker wine bottles here.
Also in the Oltrarno is Cammillo, a white-tablecloth trattoria serving mostly Florentine classics. Although the ribollita (one of their signature dishes) was way too salty, the fried artichokes followed by shaved celeriac and bottarga salad and handmade tortellini redeemed it.
This was fresh and salty at the same time – delish. And don’t you love restaurants with personalized dishes?
They were even better than they look.
Our one misstep was Buca dell’Orafo, which is recommended by high-end tour guides and social media alike. It’s a very rustic, small space in a cellar – minutes from The Uffizi but one of its dishes really disappointed. We enjoyed a white bean and tuna salad, good meatballs and duck pappardelle. Then the one that didn’t work: it was truffle season so we ordered accordingly but the greasy-looking truffles arrived already shaved on heavily buttered pasta – the dish lingered, but not in a good way. It gets glowing reviews from many just not from me.
The meatballs were very good and, with wine and bread, probably enough for lunch.
TO DO
You can’t go to Tuscany and not visit a winery. People immediately recommend the Antinori headquarters which, while it boasts striking contemporary architecture, is right beside the highway, filled with tour buses and surrounded by vines that are for show only – they don’t use them to make wine.
I did a lot of research – enough to know there’s more than I’ll ever know, so turned to Firenze Yes Please, an amazing private guide. They organized a day trip to Castello di Ama, an award-winning winery set in a preserved Etruscan village dotted with an impressive collection of contemporary art, including pieces by Anish Kapoor and Louise Bourgeois. We toured the grounds, watched just-harvested olives being pressed, tasted the wine and had a sunny lunch (with the best pappa al pomodoro ever) before being driven back to our hotel. If you’re going to Florence consider Firenze Yes Please and ask for the beautiful and charming Doris.
One of the most dramatic installations at Castello di Ama: artist Daniel Buren’s mirrored wall of windows that frame the surrounding hills and put a new spin on landscape painting.
I couldn’t resist getting in the picture.
It was tough, but somebody had to do it.
It is wondrous how something as simple as tomato and bread soup can taste so intense and fresh at the same time. After a bowl of this, you feel like everything makes sense.
A special merlot - very deep and lots of berry flavour but still delicate. Please google if this description is too esoteric.
Handmade potato tortelli with a white (no tomato) pork ragu. That Tuscan sunlight…
Vin Santo grapes drying in the sun.
What a boar! On the way back to Florence, make sure to stop off in Greve’s Falorni butcher shop, a salumi lover’s heaven.
Castello di Ama: not a bad place to have lunch… Seriously, I firmly believe that trips should be pleasurable and not a line list of destinations to cross off. We were in Florence for five days only and I was happy to “give up” one of those for a day in Chianti. That means there’s lots more of Florence to discover so I have even more reason to go back – look out Galileo Museum.
