NFT: Milan and Florence

but I find that half the fun is almost blind exploring of a city. Not going to where everyone else goes.

Fun place not far from the Duomo named Piz. Great pizza and great service. Free prosecco and limoncello shots. Tell them to stop or you won't be able find your hotel.

to mix in a day in Siena. Beautiful little city.

Florence has lots to do. Make sure wherever you go you order your museum tickets ahead of time. You can skip the big lines.

Go to restaurants that don't have big English menus outside. Get the steak at least once in Florence.

Enjoy.

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https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy/florence - ( New Window )

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https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy/milan - ( New Window )

In comment 13511203 Chris in Philly said:

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to mix in a day in Siena. Beautiful little city. Florence has lots to do. Make sure wherever you go you order your museum tickets ahead of time. You can skip the big lines. Go to restaurants that don't have big English menus outside. Get the steak at least once in Florence. The Enjoy.

Agree on Siena and Lucca. Named my daughter Sien Catherine after the city

We don't have much time so I'm not sure we can fit in those other cities. I'll definitely look into it though. Pizza place songs great. Great input from all.

Terrific museums that will always be with you. More of a contemporary city with modern shopping as well. My wife and I loved the experience. Avoid the lines and get the tickets.
Hope you enjoy.

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https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/making-museum-reservations-in-florence - ( New Window )

We did the following tour in Florence and were pleased with it. It's actually 3 tours in a package, You can do it all in one day or on separate days.
ArtViva Tour - ( New Window )

is a rather boring large city. Florence, on the other hand, is wonderful. Whatever you choose to do you'll enjoy it. Slow down and get a sense of how the Italians enjoy La Dolce Vita. They're the best!

cut some time from Milan and spend more time in Tuscany. As mentioned Lucca is a great little town too. But Florence and Siena are musts.

Get a sandwich here.
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In comment 13511212 Grey Pilgrim said:

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. https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy/florence - ( New Window )

The wife just got his guide book for Paris

Highly recommended!

I work in both cities a lot and have lived in the latter for about six years. They're very different - Milan is a 19th century town, designed on the Parisian model (large avenues and plazas) whereas Florence is a 14th century one (Roman grid in the center, meandering medieval streets around it). I've grown to like Milan a lot, but only after accepting the fact that it's not meant to cater to tourists, but is instead a living, breathing, modern city.

When in Milan, learn to love public transportation - buses and trams - because the sights are too spread out to reach by foot (unless you're in really good shape and it's not too hot out). When dining there, go for rice dishes and scallopine, and drink white wine. The fish won't be great there, but the red meat will be excellent.

Florence is everything it's cracked up to be, and your BBI friends have given you excellent advice about buying your tickets in advance to avoid lines that can last for literally two hours at a time (the Uffizi and Accademia, in particular, are impossible in the summer without reservations). When eating in Florence, go for pasta dishes with tomato based sauces and, at least once, have the bistecca Fiorentina - a huge chunk of meat ALWAYS cooked rare that will run you about $30. I like a little place called Il Latini, event though it has become awfully touristy these days. Hell, everywhere is touristy in Florence now.

For gelato, I always recommend the Gelateria dei Medici in the Piazza Beccaria, on the east side of town beyond Santa Croce. It's about a 10 minute walk from the Piazza della Signoria, but well worth it.

I also concur with the advice to find a way to get to Siena, where I stayed for three weeks just last April. The museums (plural) inside the Hospital of S. Maria della Scala opposite the facade of the duomo are some of the most interesting I've ever seen in Italy, and - seeing as how it's my job to know museums in Italy - that's saying something. Oh, and if you can get to Siena on either July 2 or August 16, you'll want to see the famous Palio horse race (pageantry starts at 7 pm, the race at 8 pm), which rings the Piazza della Repubblica three times.

Here's the thing, though: neither Milan nor Florence have many green spaces inside the city limits; you really need to seek them out and enjoy them, particularly in the hot weather. The Piazza d'Azeglio in Florence, not far from the Gelateria dei Medici, is a nice respite from the urban carnage wrought by thousands of tourists who troop through the city each day.

Finally, a word of advice: Italians never expect foreigners to know a lick of their language. So if you can cough up "si" and "grazie" and "per favore" instead of their
english equivalents, you'll get a little bit farther with the residents than you otherwise might.

Have a great time!

Asshat info! Much appreciated!

lies this freakin place:

Great call!

Cinque Terre was the first part of Italy I visited. A great way to ease into a vacation! Very relaxing!

Also, I flew into Milan and didn't spend any time there, but it seemed like a business hub and pretty bland from what I did see.

LOVED Florence! My fav Italian city. Even more than Rome.

Have Fun!

JMO FYI

Never been to Sienna, but it looks amazing.

One of my best friends lived there for awhile and I visited. It was wonderful and I consider it one of my favorite cities. I agree with the other advice to wander. One of my favorite elements of walking through some of the neighborhoods a little farther afield from the city center is that you could be dropped in that neighborhood and have no idea what century you're in - it could be 200 years ago or last week! And the food is amazing - so fresh and flavorful, though that is true for just about anywhere you'll travel in Italy. I am also a huge fan of some of the local pottery.

Sorry I can't comment on Milan. But if you ever decide to go to Venice, I recommend also visiting Padua on your way - such a lovely place!

and not going to Rome? Holy Christ - Rome is the best ... I was there in '91 and swore I would be going back every 2 years ... or so.

Never been back ... but, Man that city is impressive.

The things I remember about Florence -

-The statue of David at La' Acadmie of Art (or something like that).
-Day trip to Pisa (meh)
-Medici Palace (?) - or some art museum with their name on it that has original Boticellis ("Birth of Venus").
-La Duomo - famous church in the center of town.
-Ponte Vecchio (bridge) - if you want to buy gold.
-Michelangelo Plaza? - he was born there so right on the city border (I guess) is this plateau that has great views of the city.

Except for Pisa - everything is very close and pretty much un-avoidable (not that I would want to avoid it) but, most of the time we had to go through 1-2 things to get to the 3rd. It is not a very big city.

The art is right there in the center of town .... but, forget Florence, forget Milan .... - go to Rome. Take the extra days if you are already over there.

I have been to Florence, Venice, and Milan. I never have to see those cities again (and that is not in no way critical - I am glad I went) . But, Rome ... Madonne (4 fingers grab the thumb and shake) - oooooffff. : )


(I know - easy for me to say).


Anyway ,,, Have a great time and a safe trip!

Right next to the old Medici palace - I believe. The Medici's were his patrons.


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Maybe I am biased (never actually been there) but, what is up with THAT HORSE RACE?

We were in Florence and we walk into a small café and as we sit down I notice a horse race from Siena about to start on the TV. We sit and wait for about 10 minutes before our waitress came and took our order. We wait another 20 minutes for the food. It takes another 20 - 30 minutes to eat(?) , and all the while they are still trying to start this horse race. We finish the food and order a couple of beers(?) and we drink them slowly because I already have over an hour waiting for this race to start. Finally after another 45 minutes - I said "screw this ... lets' go." I was actually annoyed. This is some kind of world famous horse race that has been going on since the Renaissance that I was slowly learning the history of from the waitress and other patrons of the bar. All the towns/cities/districts (whatever they call them) of the Siena region compete against each other for the championship and the competition is pretty heated for bragging rights. Here's the problem - THERE IS NO GATE !!!

This 1 guy holds a rope and will not drop it until the noses of every horse is touching the said rope at the same time (or something like that) .... can you imagine? It was over 2 hours and he wouldn't drop the rope .... When we left I was ready to hang him with it.

I have seen it on TV other years after that and it was over pretty quickly IIRC .... but, holy crap. Tradition is 1 thing but, at some point you have to join the 21st century.

It is a big deal over there in Siena though .... and sort of a microcosm of the Italian Govt. - nothing gets done. To many parties and to many elections, to many rules ... and 1 guy holding a rope.

(I don't know what that that means in the analogy .... "and 1 guy holding a rope" .... the Prime Minister?).

You will no doubt want to check out Ghiberti's phenomenal baptistery doors when you are in Florence. Please be advised, however, that the door panels that are currently on the baptistery itself are reproductions (casts), and not the originals. The original door panels are located in a nearby museum whose name escapes me. Worth the visit to see them up close.

In comment 13512260 short lease said:

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Maybe I am biased (never actually been there) but, what is up with THAT HORSE RACE? We were in Florence and we walk into a small café and as we sit down I notice a horse race from Siena about to start on the TV. We sit and wait for about 10 minutes before our waitress came and took our order. We wait another 20 minutes for the food. It takes another 20 - 30 minutes to eat(?) , and all the while they are still trying to start this horse race. We finish the food and order a couple of beers(?) and we drink them slowly because I already have over an hour waiting for this race to start. Finally after another 45 minutes - I said "screw this ... lets' go." I was actually annoyed. This is some kind of world famous horse race that has been going on since the Renaissance that I was slowly learning the history of from the waitress and other patrons of the bar. All the towns/cities/districts (whatever they call them) of the Siena region compete against each other for the championship and the competition is pretty heated for bragging rights. Here's the problem - THERE IS NO GATE !!! This 1 guy holds a rope and will not drop it until the noses of every horse is touching the said rope at the same time (or something like that) .... can you imagine? It was over 2 hours and he wouldn't drop the rope .... When we left I was ready to hang him with it. I have seen it on TV other years after that and it was over pretty quickly IIRC .... but, holy crap. Tradition is 1 thing but, at some point you have to join the 21st century. It is a big deal over there in Siena though .... and sort of a microcosm of the Italian Govt. - nothing gets done. To many parties and to many elections, to many rules ... and 1 guy holding a rope. (I don't know what that that means in the analogy .... "and 1 guy holding a rope" .... the Prime Minister?).

Here is short lease and family on their recent trip:

A home run day. What an incredible place. Today was race day, so we got
to see the plaza where the race is run and it was buzzing. The race only happens twice a year. The whole town is jammed with race fans, and we got to see the parade through the old city with all 10 regions' guilds and fans marching and singing. Couldn't stay for the race, but is was a spectacle never to be forgotten. Thanks to all who recommended Siena. Back to Florence now for another incredible meal! Thanks for all the suggestions!