Guide to Florence

Eating out

Tuscan cuisine is hardly elaborate - but that needn't mean boring. Simplicity, when it's teemed with good quality ingredients, makes for fine eating. Think fresh herbs, wild boar and handmade ravioli. Chunky bread, thick soups and spicy sausages. Fat, ripe tomatoes and subtle porcini mushrooms. Thick, juicy steaks washed down with a classic Chianti. Not forgetting those Italian staples – pasta and pizza. Oh, and then there's the legendary the ice cream. You get the drift? A visit to Florence promises as many culinary as cultural delights. Nowadays, the world's gourmets are going ga-ga over so-called peasant food, which pretty much sums up much of what you'll find in Florence. Meat grilled Florentine-style. Ribollita – a bean and vegetable soup with bread and olive oil. Pappardelle al cinghiale – pasta with wild boar sauce. You'll even find food carts laden with the local delicacy – 'lampredotto' or tripe sandwiches – dotted around the city centre. Though it's likely most visitors will decide to give that one a miss and settle for a slice of melt-in-your-mouth pizza as their on-the-hoof snack of choice. Hosting such a vast range of tourists, Florence caters for everyone from the rich American traveller to the cash-strapped backpacker. Which means everything from upmarket, sophisticated restaurants in the Santa Croce area and around the Duomo, to cheap-and-cheerful eateries near the railway station, around the student area in San Marco, or across the river in Oltrarno. Tempting though it might be to dive into somewhere close to the main sights, you'd do far better to explore the side streets away from the tourist hot-spots where you'll find authentic trattorie serving local specialities at more modest prices. That's where you'll rub elbows with the locals – a surefire way to spot a winner. If you're a wine drinker, you're in heaven. Florence is in the heart of the Tuscan vineyards, and a full-bodied Chianti has to be the number one choice. Regular breaks for ice-cream are a must-do. Florence reckons its gelaterie are among the best in a country famed for the stuff. Vivoli, at Via Isola delle Stinche, is the big name locally. Don't be put off by its unexciting exterior – inside are unimagined delights.

• Angiolino, Via san Spirito, 36 For a good mainstream menu, this old-fashioned trattoria hits the spot. Its signature dish of 'Penne all'Angiolino' is simply pasta with tomato, meat and red-wine sauce. But it's good. You can also get a mean 'Bistecca alla Fiorentina', Florence's typical thick grilled T-bone steak. Very friendly staff complete the picture.
• Il Latini, Via dei Palchetti, 6 With its lively atmosphere, this is as popular with locals as it is with visitors – always a good sign. Once a grocery and wine shop, it's kept some of its old features. Simple, traditional Tuscan food is the order of the day, with reliable steaks and pastas.
• Trattoria Garga, Via del Moro, 48 This tiny eatery is run by Canadian-born Sharon Oddson and her flamboyant Florentine husband Giuliano Gargani – known as Garga. Eating here is an assault on all the senses – in the nicest possible way. Great food, a bright, surrealist interior – the walls are all painted by different contemporary artists – and Garga charging about, singing along to operatic arias.
• La Tavola di Pier Capponi, via Pier Capponi, 3a/r A luxurious restaurant just outside the town centre. Refined and elegant, filled with antiques, silver and crystal, you'll feel you're dining with Florentine nobility. Enjoy a classy traditional menu while a pianist plays discreetly in the background.
• Cibreo, via Andrea del Verrocchio You can choose to eat in this smart, expensive restaurant, or in its informal – and much cheaper – baby brother, Cibrea Trattoria, next door, where the menu is similar but less extensive. Dishes are imaginative and change constantly and there's always a huge choice. Wickedly scrummy desserts.

Nightlife

The city's night scene is something of a laid-back affair. After all, this is Italy – the capital of cool. No-one wants to look as if they're trying too hard. The perfect host, Florence ensures its visitors are well looked after. From organ recitals in stunning Baroque settings for the refined types, down to funky bars and clubs for the student set. But you can just as easily while away an evening eating or drinking al fresco and watching glamorous Florentines doing exactly the same. Why not start off with a famous Negroni cocktail – equal parts Campari, sweet Martini and gin – in the bar where it was originally created – Giacosa on Via Tornabuoni? For cocktails and smooth settings, wannabe cool Florentines should head to the fashionable Lungarno Corsini on the banks of the Arno. Plenty of chic bars here, perfect for posing. Fancy something a little more upbeat? All around the Duomo and the town centre is the place to be. Bars are lively, sometimes kitsch and get so busy people spill out onto the pavements. Santa Croce's for more laid-back lounging in dimly-lit jazz clubs, and during the summer there are often open-air jazz concerts in some of the main piazzas. Florence also does glam – cabarets and dancing girls – you'll find them on the Viale Generale Dalla Chiesa. For serious clubbing with top DJs, you'll have to leave town and get out to the suburbs. Florence hosts plenty of classy classical programmes, too. Teatro Comunale is the main venue for opera, ballet and classical concerts, and Teatro della Pergola holds smaller scale concerts and recitals.

• La Capocaccia, Lugarno Corsini, 12-14 Dust off your designer duds, slip on your shades, and get down to this trendy wine bar on the smartest stretch of the riverbank to mingle with the beautiful people. DJs liven things up later in the evening.
• Fuori Porta, via del Monte alle Croci, 10 Tucked away in Oltrarno, where it's more about locals than visitors, you can enjoy your very own wine sampling tour of Italy, as they stock wine from every wine-producing region of the country. If you discover some you absolutely love, they'll arrange to ship them home for you. A tasty crostini or pasta will help soak it all up.
• The Jazz Club, Via Nuova dei Caccini 3 You'll hear live performances most nights at this popular, crowded club, though the best tend to be saved up for Fridays. Tuesday night jam sessions are always well attended, too.
• Teatro Comunale, Corso Italia, 16 The city's main venue for classical music concerts has a proud history. Maria Callas made her debut here, and famous composers who have visited include Mascagni, Stravinsky and Richard Strauss.
• Tenax, via Pratese, 46 For serious clubbers, this huge warehouse-style venue is where you'll find the best house DJs. It has live performances, too. But remember this is Italy and they don't want you coming along unless you've glammed up big-time.

Shopping

You'll soon be yearning to look a little more like a flashy Florentine than a hot, sweaty tourist. And with a city that brims with designer boutiques, it's no wonder they're so darned elegant. Fashions, shoes and leather goods are to die-for. So if it's designer names like Prada and Gucci you're hankering after – and have weighty wads of cash to splash – make swish Via Tornabuoni your first port of call. This is home, too, to Ferragamo's flagship store. But if these gorgeous shoes are beyond your budget, simply drool over the wares in their museum which is on the same site. If you're more about vintage trends, Elio Ferraro on Via del Parione is your best bet. Stuffed with the likes of Dior and Chanel from the 1930s, it's a high-class dressing-up box. For more affordable high street fashions, try Via Roma and Piazza della Repubblica. But take a tip – there are some fancy designer shopping outlets outside the city, where prices are slashed on the top names, if you're prepared to make the trip. The Mall at Leccio Regello is the most popular and you can get bus and train details locally from tourist information offices. But don't ignore the city's many other shopping experiences. Leather bags, belts, gloves and jackets are great buys, but before you rush into the likes of Il Bisonte on Via del Parione, with its unbelievably soft and sumptuous goodies, you owe it to yourself to have a rummage through the market stalls at San Lorenzo where you can find some amazing bargains – but take time to examine the quality before you buy. The city's markets are an experience not to be missed – teeming, lively, and filled with those heavenly Italian aromas of tomatoes, cheeses and spicy salamis. The indoor Mercato Centrale and Sant'Ambrogio are the best for food, while Nuovo market – under Loggia del Porcellino – is more about cheaper bric a brac and souvenirs. Jewellery is another big attraction and the Ponte Vecchio is packed with jewellery shops that are hard to ignore. Be cautious, though – you may find better value in little shops further from the centre.