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Florence, Italy is busy all year round, attracting around 15 million tourists annually, who come to gawp at spectacular Renaissance masterpieces, bake in (sometimes brutally) hot weather and feast on robust Tuscan food. During the summer months, the city can feel like it’s at capacity and of course, that’s a lot of people to feed: tourist traps abound.
If you’re planning to spend a short amount of time in the city, you’ll want to visit only the best restaurants and perhaps skip the crowds at some lesser-known attractions. Here’s the Fine Dining Lovers guide to 24 hours in Florence.
Coffee and cantucci
Start the day off right with coffee and a pastry at Ditta Artigianale, the speciality coffee chain that now has five locations in the city. Founded by Francesco Sanapo, a three-time Italian barista champion, the business works directly with producers to source ethically produced and sustainable coffees. The signature ‘Mamma Mia’ blend, a tribute to Sanapo’s at first sceptical mother (the one-euro coffee culture in Italy is entrenched and charging more is contentious), changes regularly and was at time of writing a mix of coffees from all-female producers in Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Honduras and Peru.
If you’re still in the mood for a sweet hit, head to one of the two locations of Leonardo, specialists in the Tuscan biscuits known as cantucci since 1960. They offer a huge array of flavours from the best-selling chocolate and orange to the crisper, traditional almond cantucci that are perfect for dipping in vin santo, the local sweet wine.
And for gelato lovers, we recommend Gelateria della Passera, artisan gelato makers who offer both traditional flavours (you can get your pistachio and fondente fixes) and more out there creations, like mojito sorbet.
Escape the heat at Villa San Michele, A Belmond Hotel
Head up into the hills of Fiesole, to the northeast of the city and you’ll be greeted by a stunning sight: a converted 15th-century monastery, Villa San Michele, that now serves as a luxury Belmond hotel. It’s worth going just for a nose around the property, with rotating modern art installations inside, and spectacular views of Florence enjoyed from most vantage points outside. It’ll also likely be a couple of degrees cooler than in the city.
There are three great restaurant options to choose from at the property: La Loggia for fine dining; the more brasserie-style Ristorante San Michele; and the San Michele Grill by the pool which serves some of the best Neapolitan pizza in the city and which Executive Chef Alessandro Cozzolino, a Campania-native, is rightly proud of. Please note that the pool is for the use of hotel guests only. You may also want to enjoy a sundowner in the hotel’s relaxed gardens come aperitivo time, again with spectacular views over the Renaissance city. In fact, just stay over.
Learn about the history of espresso
The Uffizi Gallery is great, but one can have one’s fill of Botticelli and Da Vinci, don't you think? If you’re after an off the beaten track, foodie attraction then we recommend heading a little further into Fiesole to the Accademia del Caffè Espresso. Housed in what was once the factory of espresso machine maker La Marzocco, it features a museum and archive, a great restaurant on site, offers coffee tastings and even has an indoor coffee plantation. Visits are strictly by appointment only but you’ll be buzzed to be there.
Dine fine or keep it local
Come dinner time there are a plethora of great restaurants to choose from, from inventive fine dining to wholesome farm-to-table cooking.
If it’s a tasting menu you’re after, we highly recommend Locale (above). You may know the bar from The World’s 50 Best Bars list and we encourage you to sample their highly inventive cocktails. The Concini Palace that houses Locale largely dates back to the 16th century (head to the cellar though and you’ll be at 13th-century street level), but the food here is anything but antiquated. Chef Simone Caponnetto travelled the world for a decade, including stints cooking at Narisawa in Tokyo and Mugaritz in the Basque Country, before returning to his home city. The cuisine is worldly yet rooted in Tuscan products, with dishes such as mackerel ceviche with lemon and pinenut pesto, and koji nigiri with local beef. As the evening advances, the music gets louder and the party atmosphere descends, so get ready to put your petit fours to the floor.
Of course, when in Florence, you may want to pay a visit to Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura (above). The first location of what is now a worldwide brand telling Italian food stories, Gucci Osteria, headed up by chefs Karime López and Takahiko Kondo, will take you on a playful journey around the world and back to Tuscany with nods to the husband-and-wife team’s Japanese and Mexican roots. Standout dishes include fried aubergine with mole, and warm spaghetti with pistachio and almond cream. It’s also a perfect spot for a long, leisurely lunch.
If you’re looking for something simpler, head to the Oltrarno (‘the other side of the Arno’) across the river to C-ucina, for deceptively simple farm-to-table fare. We say deceptively simple because although dishes like rabbit with friggitelli peppers, and shredded cabbage dressed with honey and paprika sound straightforward, real skill in the kitchen at this neighbourhood restaurant elevates these ingredients to a magical level. You’ll feel both nourished and exhilarated.
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