|
Condé Nast Traveler picks
 Best of Florence
“I was in a sort of ecstasy, from the idea of being in Florence…" The French writer Henri Stendhal wrote that in 1817, when visiting the church of Santa Croce, where he saw the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo, the robes of Saint Francis of Assisi, the famous ceiling by the Italian primitive painter Giotto. There is no city in the world like Firenze (as the Italians call it), and since you can stroll across the heart of it in less than an hour, there is no other city in the world that crams as much history, art, and sheer grandeur into so compact and charming a place.
Attractions & Activities The question for novice visitors is not only what to see but when. Summers are high season, which means the city is crowded and expensive—and often brutally hot, with the daytime high averaging 88 degrees in July. May, September, and October see temperatures in the 70s, meaning you enjoy walks on the cobblestone streets and stops at sidewalk cafés. Winters are relatively mild, with temperatures generally in the 50s. Allow at least five days for your first visit, and try to allow time to visit the surrounding countryside as well. Tuscany is one of the most famous regions in Italy, Europe, and indeed the world. Once you’ve seen it, you’ll know why. As for what to see, Florence is above all a Roman Catholic city. Its most famous work of art is almost certainly Michelangelo’s David, at the Accademia, and like so many of the city’s chief attractions, the statue is biblical in subject. You can, therefore, enjoy Florence on two levels: as a treasury of some of the greatest faith-inspired works and as a treasury of some of the greatest artistic achievements (39-055-238-8612). Among the former, Santa Croce cathedral stands out—as Stendhal realized when he nearly fainted there, overcome by being in the presence of so much history. In contrast, Florence’s cathedral complex impresses with the sheer magnificence of its three buildings: the massive marble-clad Duomo, whose soaring dome still astonishes engineers; its elegant Campanile, whose 414 steps you can climb to enjoy the lovely view; and its Baptistry, whose bronze doors have some of the finest reliefs in the world. This small city has several dozen museums, the most famous of which is undoubtedly the Uffizi Gallery, near the banks of the Arno River. It has perhaps the most important collection of art in all of Italy, with works by Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli, Caravaggio, Titian, Tintoretto, and scores of others, many of them household names around the world (39-055-294-883). Lodging Four Florentine hotels rank on Condé Nast Traveler’s Gold List of the very best places in the world to stay. Among them are the Hotel Lungarno, one of several properties in town owned by the Ferragamo fashion family, and a sleek, modernist enclave on the Arno with views of the famed Ponte Vecchio (“Old Bridge”); hotelier Rocco Forte’s Savoy, with 107 rooms, including some suites with Merchant-Ivory–worthy vistas, located on the Piazza della Repubblica, around the corner from the Duomo; the Grand Hotel, dating to the nineteenth century, with frescoes, stained glass ceilings, tiled walls, and rooms with balconies overlooking Renaissance squares or the Arno; and the Westin Excelsior, a merger of two Arno hotels near the Uffizi Gallery, with rooms outfitted with handcrafted Florentine furniture and art. The Hotel degli Orafi, facing the Arno River and the Ponte Vecchio, claims both cinematic and aesthetic merit. Used in the evocative 1986 movie A Room with a View, it reopened in 2002 following repairs necessitated by the 1993 bombing of the neighboring Uffizi. Sip espresso in the lovely roof garden at the quaint nearby Tornabuoni Beacci hotel and you might forget that you’re a tourist. Located on the upper floors of two fifteenth-century Renaissance palazzos, it’s on the elegant Via Tornabuoni, with Ferragamo across the street and Prada several doors down. In addition to the rooftop terrace, it has a dining room, a bar, and satellite TV. The charm, comfort, and central location of the Hotel Brunelleschi make it popular with tour groups. Hidden at the back of a quiet piazza near the Duomo, it gives guests a mix of the old and the new. Those not lucky enough to snag one of the rooms facing the cathedral can still get a glimpse of it from the terrace. An eighteenth-century residence in the trendy Santa Croce neighborhood, the Relais Santa Croce has been deftly converted into an upscale hotel. The palatial music room, with its delicate frescoes and stuccoes, has minimalist black leather armchairs and couches. The 24 guest rooms, a blend of comfort and high-tech, are similarly furnished. Attentive, informal service includes a welcome drink, afternoon tea, and fine cigars in the smoking room. Feel like splurging? A sixteenth-century palazzo meticulously restored by modern-day art patrons Maria Rosa and Gilberto Sandretto, the Residenza del Moro has been transformed into an 11-room hotel, from the vast Marchese’s Suite in the former ballroom to an intimate double in the family chapel. An impressive contemporary art collection adds a modern touch. The butler will unpack for you and serve you an aperitif in the rooftop garden, and the superb staff are available around the clock. Una Hotel Vittoria, a former warehouse in the funky San Frediano district, is modern, bold, and more affordable. A floral runner composed of tiny glass tiles travels up a wall, overhead, and down the opposite wall in a surreal spiral that ends at reception. The restaurant is dominated by a serpentine refectory table with sinuous stained glass lighting. In the 84 rooms, technology rules: flat-screen TV, broadband Internet access, a sleeping alcove. Overdesigned? You be the judge. The first of several Florentine hotels now operated by the Ferragamo family, the Gallery Hotel Art opened in 1999 as a “museum hotel” with its own exhibits. The sleek and witty fusion of 1940s decor with contemporary touches—call it post-moderne—proves that Florentine creativity is alive and well. For quieter quarters, the Relais Uffizi is a comfortable pensione in a fifteenth-century building with a breakfast room overlooking the Piazza della Signoria. The family’s newest hotel, the 43-room Continentale, has a couldn’t-be-better location in the heart of the city and a rooftop bar with incomparable 360-degree views. Renovated by its stylish owners (the Ferragamos again), it has a chic contemporary look made comfy by cushioned white sofas and white drapes flowing from luxurious four-posters. The guest rooms have elegant furnishings and walk-in showers with thunderous water pressure. A huge elevator decorated as a sitting room takes you to the mezzanine breakfast area. Dining The deservedly famous Il Latini is sort of a cross between a medieval tavern and a grade-school cafeteria: rafters hung with cured hams, a raucous clientele of tourists and locals, and long lines. But the food—traditional and hearty bistecca alla fiorentina and ribollita—tastes homemade (6r Via del Palchetti; 39-055-210-916; entrées, $10–$35). Cibreo is quieter, its adaptations of Tuscan fare more daring: yellow squash soup with olive oil, cinnamon, and Amaretto di Saronno biscotti crumbs, for instance. The owners also run a communal trattoria and, for the less gregarious, a regular restaurant next door (8r Via Andrea del Verrochio; 39-055-234-1100; entrées, $23– $36). Inexpensive (by euro standards) restaurants include two standouts. At the tiny, popular Trattoria Mario, near the San Lorenzo Market, the menu—always Tuscan food—is posted every day, so if nothing looks good to you, move on (2r Via Rosina; 39-055-218-550; entrées, $8–$13). With tables on the Piazza Santo Spirito, the Caffè Ricchi attracts casual diners with simple but superbly made dishes such as lasagne (8-9r Piazza Santo Spirito; 39-055-215-864; entrées, $14–$17). You may not be able to pronounce I’CchéC’éC’é, but you can’t go wrong ordering lunch or dinner at this fixed-price trattoria, where the decor combines old Chianti bottles and modern art prints (11r Via Magalotti; 39-055-216-589; lunch, $23; dinner, $36). That the owners of Il Giostra are Hapsburg royals may explain its popularity. Or perhaps it’s the consistently good food (especially the fresh pasta), the warmly inviting arched dining room, and the cellar that hosts monthly wine-tastings. But it’s probably all of the above (12r Via Borgo Pinti; 39-055-241-341; entrées, $25–$45). Opposite Santa Maria Novella, one of Florence’s most beautiful churches, the J. K. Lounge has a Tuscan-based menu, clubby dark-wood floors, huge framed prints, and a smattering of Asian furniture, and it has become a central hangout for fashionable Florentines and savvy tourists. Notable dishes include potato ravioli in a guinea fowl sauce, sformato di ricotta, and spaghetti with garlic and peperoncino. The restaurant occasionally has tasting nights, including one that coincides with the November olive oil harvest. After dinner, venture down the back stairs, which lead to another world: an all-white underground cocktail bar lit in pink (9-10r Piazza Santa Maria Novella; 39-055-264-5282; entrées, $12–$31). Truth in Travel is the guiding principle for all content published in Condé Nast Traveler. Other travel publications often accept free travel and accommodations. Condé Nast Traveler does not. It is independent of the travel industry. The magazine always pays its way, and, as far as possible, its correspondents travel anonymously. By doing so, they experience the world—both the good and the bad—as other travelers do, and their reports and recommendations are fair, impartial, and authoritative.
|
||
 |
