Traditionally, one of Europe’s greatest cities for the arts, with an enormous range of fantastic restaurants, nightlife and the wider Tuscany on its doorstep, Florence is a real gem. A beautiful city mixing history, contemporary art and cool unique independent stores. Florence is also home to the bi-annual Pitti Uomo, the men’s fashion event and, for that reason, is why we wan to visit.
We want to stay at Riva Lofts
Away from the bustling and crowded streets of Florence, next to the south bank of the river Arno, you will find Riva Lofts. Although some distance from the city centre, if you borrow one of the hotel’s bikes you can be in the centre in around ten minutes. The hotel contains nine ultra-modern suites with separate independent entrances, ranging from 30 to 100 square metres, with the majority featuring functioning kitchenettes and unique bathrooms. The grounds are vast and quiet and have a stunning swimming pool to cool off during the hot Tuscan summer months.
We want to eat and drink at Ruggero and Ditta Artigianale
A bit of a walk from the centre, but worth it for the down-to-earth Tuscan home made cooking. A classic Italian trattoria, the menu is full of Tuscan staples and so authentic you should really try to speak some Italian to visit. Although, more often than not, we’ve found you can get by when in these situations by finding someone to translate for you, so don’t let it put you off.
While the traditional hard roasted Italian espresso is not necessarily our choice of coffee, there are still some excellent options in Florence. One being Ditta Artigianale, created by Francesco Sanapo (who secured 6th place in the World Barista Championship finals in 2013). Francesco created Ditta in order to pay homage to a respected tradition in Italy with an international style and Italian hospitality. Ditta is also a coffee roasters and serves exclusive and ethically produced coffees. The coffee shop bar is open 9am – Midnight and also serves up gin’s, so you could potentially be visiting several times in the day for different types of drink!
We want to workout at Virgin Active
There isn’t much in this classic city in the way of open warehouse gyms or outdoor gyms. Luckily, there is a Virgin Active, which we know well from living in London, so makes sense to try the Florence equivalent.
We want to see all the sights and Tuscany!
The Ponte Vecchio bridge, The Michelangelo, the Duomo and many more. There is so much to see in Florence, we’d like to visit over a long weekend/ week at least in order to see everything and also see the beauty that the rest of Tuscany has to offer. Time permitting of course.
Are you a resident of Florence or visited the city? What locations would you recommend we visit? We’d love your feedback. Let us know in the comments below.
