Piazza Santa Maria Novella

The areas around stations in Italy are often not the tidiest (or safest) parts of town and whilst you should keep your wits – and your wallet – about you in Florence’s Santa Maria Novella, the newly renovated piazza is a complete contrast to what many people expect. Exit from the station and go south and you enter the piazza along the side of the church. Here you can plant yourself in one of these cafes that have yet to display the ridiculous prices of their counterparts in piazze such as Signoria – where €20 for 2 cappuccini is not unheard of – and do some people watching.

The church can be entered from the north side of the Piazza and frequently there is a tiny queue here when the queue for the Duomo is very long indeed. Since the grass was added in 2010, the piazza is a much nicer place to sit out, especially in the evening. It now feels a more complete part of the city and demonstrates that although Florence was the central light of the Renaissance, the city continues to develop and adapt to the modern visitor.

Piazza Santo Spirito Artisans’ Market

Christmas Market in Santa Croce

It’s not well known that the Christmas Markets in Florence are a very popular attraction. At this time of year many of the visitors are from Italy, preferring to visit the city at a time when there are less tourists from abroad.

As a Christmas Market, Santa Croce has all you could want with an International group of vendors selling food, clothing and gifts. There’s the obligatory mulled wine and strudel from Austria, biscuits from Switzerland and, my favourite, a German trailer selling the type of hot dogs and burgers that dietitians warn you about.

Ristorante Pizzeria – Piazzale Michelangelo, Firenze

This restaurant is just off Piazzale Michelangelo on Via Galileo in Florence and has lovely views of the hills and large houses on the Southern outskirts of the city. It’s slightly more expensive than restaurants in town for the food (a standard pizza is €3 or €4 more than in town) but it’s worth it for the view and location. I’d avoid the soft drinks at €6 each though as that’s a bit steep even for Florence tourist-central.

You can exit the restaurant, turn left and then walk down the steps almost immediately on your left and they will take you down to the heart of San Niccolo. Keep going towards the gate and just before you reach it, there is the Bar “Fuori Porta” or Outside the Gate; perfect for an after lunch/dinner drink!

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Lantern Festival of Florence – Festa della Rificolona

The Lantern Festival (or Festa della Rificolona) of Florence is a true family event in the Florentine calendar. The colourful lanterns, lit by candles are carried from Piazza Santa Croce, past the Duomo to Piazza Santissima Annunziata. The centuries-old tradition to celebrate the Festa della Madonna which is tomorrow is continued with modern enthusiasm and the addition of vans selling sweets for young and old alike. Many of the lanterns are traditional with the purple colour of Florence, other less so. Unless “Hello Kitty” has a Florentine history I’m unaware of. Not only do the kids get to carry real fire, they also use blowpipes to try to puncture the lanterns, or take out their mother’s eye depending on how much candy floss/cotton candy they’ve eaten.

Piazza San Firenze

Whilst it may not be the largest or grandest Piazza in Florence, with the law courts and the Hotel Bernini, Piazza san Firenze is a focal point for many of the city’s visitors (voluntarily or otherwise).

The great facade of the Law Courts, designed in 1667 by Pier Francesco Silvani was (in the fine tradition of Italian construction) only finished five years later in 1772. Opposite is the Palazzo Gondi, a fine example of the Florentine architect Giuliano da San Gallo and expanded in the nineteenth century. On the southwest corner is the rear of the Palazzo Vecchio, in front of which is the Columbia Parliament building. This was a hotel when Florence was the capital of Italy and it hosted the Italian members of Parliament who met in the Palazzo Vecchio.

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Las Palmas Bar – Piazza Ghiberti

Las Palmas Bar is open in the summer and has been running in Piazza Ghiberti in the east of Florence since 2001. There’s music most evenings and unlike a lot of more touristy places the aperitivo is free if you buy a drink; hold on to your receipt though because they’ll ask for it before you get a plate!

On Tuesday night there was Jazz, which was an ideal soundtrack as the place started to fill up with locals. Like the other places in my “Undiscovered Florence” category, I only heard Italian spoken and that’s a good sign! You can find a full listing of what’s happening at the official site (in Italian)