Anyone been to Florence?

AshleyC

AshleyC

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Thinking of booking a long weekend there in Feb and it looks like all the flights go into Pisa. So I would have to get the train over to Florence? Is that right? If so, is it a hassle for non Italian speaking tourists ?
 
We flew to Pisa when we were going to Lucca. Took the train to Florence for a few days there.
There's always someone about who speaks English. In this case we just went to the Information desk and they help you out.

It helps if you can speak a wee bit of Italian :)
 
There's a train from the airport to the city and you change for Florence. Also lots of busses do the journey direct from the airport.

Both the airport and train station had staff who speak English / look kindly on my poor Italian.
 
I flew direct from Gatwick. However there are far more daily flights to Pisa and the trains easy
 
I drover there a couple of years ago.

It's *very* touristy so (1) easy to get round if you speak no Italian (2) quite a hassle because tourists (3) amazingly beautiful

If you only have a weekend and aren't bothered about the Uffizi etc then maybe consider Lucca. Beautiful medieval city with a laidback feel, closer to Pisa than Florence is. If it wasn't for Pisa and its wonky tower then it would be world famous.
 
I used to live there. Everyone flies into Pisa. Everyone. There's technically a small airport by Florence itself, but it's mainly just small internal flights. (you could also fly into Bologna and get a train down, but that's if there are no cheap flights into Pisa)

You probably could get a train from Pisa station to Florence, but right outside the airport there are two coach services leaving 1-2 times per hour straight for Florence. It's about €12 and takes ~75 mins. This is the route I always took. All the tourist workers speak English fine, so don't worry about it.
 
Also, hotels are expensive. Airbnb is great, if you've never taken the plunge.
 
I was there in 2008 as part of a med cruise so I cannot comment on accommodation.
It's a stunning place and great for photography, I plan on going back at some point in the future
 
andyman_esq said:
Feel free to pester me with more questions. I need to rack up 25 posts (and two months of time...) before my account becomes "normal"...
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Liking the honesty and the offer to help. Welcome to TP.
 
Nod said:
Liking the honesty and the offer to help. Welcome to TP.
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Quite. The forum is a funny place - when I first came here it was solely because someone had suggested it was a good place to get used kit, and when I mentioned that early on the level of surprise was as though I'd walked into a strangers house and told them I was only there because I'd heard their wife was good in bed and was looking forward to finding out. :p

At least things have moved on a bit since then.

To the OP - Florence is lovely, and even if it's full of tourists, that shouldn't spoil it too much.
 
Thanks guys.
Feb should be fine re: tourists. The s***show only starts around May, and it's far too hot by June.
Mar-Apr should be peaceful and great for wandering.
 
Thanks for the replies chaps. Very helpful. I'm going to spend the afternoon/evening in Pisa then get the train over to Florence. Hopefully the tourist crush won't be too had in Feb.

One thing I didn't think of was you have to pay to get in everywhere. I'm too used to it all being free here.
 
True of the museums and palazzi, but Florence is like an outdoor museum so a lot of it is just walking around and going into random of the many, many churches there. You'll find paintings on the walls that have been there since the renaissance.

The duomo/cathedral itself is free to enter, but there's not much in there anymore. If you want to climb to the top it's a separate entrance and ticket, though it also gets you into the Campanile (tower beside it) and the baptistry in front, at least.
If there happens to be a huge line into the Uffizi (unlikely in Feb), go into the entrance to "book tickets in advance" and book them for the next slot (e.g. in 45 minutes). Hopefully not too many people have caught on to this trick...
 
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Hi.
We went to Florence in the summer. Really easy to get around Italy on their trains. Florence is a lovely city with plenty to do. The trip to Pisa is easy to do though very busy when you get there.. still has to be done though. Go. You won’t regret it
 
Not much in the Duomo? Have to disagree as I believe there is a bit of a painting going on at the top of the stairs below the dome and a fair old view to be had from the top. On the whole we really enjoyed Florence and it is quite an outside museum. Sienna was great as well. Best thing I found was the Italians themselves,
 
gerry s said:
Not much in the Duomo? Have to disagree as I believe there is a bit of a painting going on at the top of the stairs below the dome and a fair old view to be had from the top. On the whole we really enjoyed Florence and it is quite an outside museum. Sienna was great as well. Best thing I found was the Italians themselves,
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I was talking about the free entry at the bottom, separate from the duomo access which requires a ticket.
 
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Harriers9 said:
Train on the left as you come out of arrivals at Pisa airport. Direct to Florence. Takes about a hour and a bit and doesn't costalot.
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I think you have to get the PisaMover train to Pisa Centrale from the airport, and then change for a train to Florence. You can buy a combined ticket for both trains at the airport. The train trips are quite cheap in Italy. :) Almost all the people at the airport or station ticket offices have had very good English from my experience.
 
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