Villa Demidoff and The Parco Mediceo di Pratolino

Piazza Santo Spirito Artisans’ Market

Deserted Florence At Dawn

An Autumn Walk South Of The Arno

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.

Fiat 500 Touring Club – Chianti Wine Tour

Flip Florence took an outing with the 500 Touring club earlier in the Summer, taking all 6 of their classic cinquecento cars into the countryside of Tuscany. There was local Chianti wine with lunch by the poolside of a beautiful villa in the Tuscan countryside and time to chill out before setting off back to Florence. This has to be the best Florence Tour if you are looking for a day trip out of the city.

Fiat 500 Touring Club Blog

They have a selection of tours of Florence, from just a couple of hours to experience the vintage Fiat 500 in its natural habitat to a full day with wine tasting (local Chianti of course!) food and a stop off for photos in Piazzale Michelangelo. Check out their blog for more information on which tours of Florence or Tuscany you can choose from;

Fiat 500 Tours

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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