The Florentine is all about you, which is why we asked you to send in your suggestions on how and where to while away those hot and humid summer days. Chilling out in Florence and Tuscany has never been easier! Here are your tips for Florence & Tuscany!
FLORENCE SUMMER TIPS
Kate Whalen
My favorite restaurant in summer is Las Palmas in piazza Ghiberti. The restaurant is set up in the piazza, and they offer an aperitivo (6.30-9.30pm) and for dinner a great range of seafood and pizzas. They often have local music groups playing on the stage and show bigger sports events on the widescreen TV. It has a great vibe.
www.laspalmasfirenze.it
Every evening until September
Birgitte Brøndsted
I was completely overwhelmed, when I first discovered Giardino dell’Orticoltura. This park is so beautiful and so quiet, and there are lots of benches and trees, which makes it possible to find some shade, when the Florentine sun and heat become too much.
The best part, however, is the outdoor café located in the corner of the park. Here you can have light dishes, smoothies, ice cream, beer or whatever you prefer to cool yourself down during the hot Florentine summer months. Tables and chairs are in abundance and they are located under the trees in the shade. During summer there are several events here in the night.
The park also has a great playground, which makes it perfect if you have children, and finally you must not forget to have a look at the beautiful, big tepidarium (greenhouse).
Via Bolognese 17
Michelle Tarnopolsky
Siesta! Stay indoors (and if possible nap!) from 2-6pm with the shutters closed. Go outdoors in the extended evenings.
Kenneth Karl Nielsen
Sitting on Piazza Santa Croce for a few hours in the evening with a glass of chilled Italian white wine, just relaxing and watching different people go by and all this just beneath the magnificent church.
Brandi Scarpelli
http://engagedtobengaged.blogspot.it
One of the easiest and most delicious ways I survive the heat in Florence is by eating the best gelato in town. I mean the BEST! Let me reassure you this place is special and most of Florence would agree. Gelateria La Carraia 2 on Via de Benci is where you will find the best gelato and at cheap prices. I highly recommend the yogurt & nutella flavor, but you can’t go wrong with any of them. The chocolate, after eight (mint and chip), amarenata (black cherry) are all amazing! Two flavors in a decent size cup or cone is 2 euro. The smallest cup is 1.50 euro. When the sun is out and it’s hard to breathe from the heat you will most likely find me here. I frequent this heavenly spot when the heat rises to cool down and taste a piece of heaven.
via dei Benci 24r
055/280695
Emilia Mugnai
Home to poets and sculptors, Settignano is a small village overlooking Florence. I love the fact that it’s very close to the city, and yet, as you drive up on the curvy hillside road, you feel your worries evaporate in the warm breeze. Start from the panoramic piazza Desiderio. Enjoy the stunning views over Florence and the surrounding villas. Then take the recently restored walk of the ‘Scalpellini’ (the stone workers) into the woods and out at the other end near the local cemetery. From here you can decide to walk further in the woods or walk back along the road to the village centre and the beautiful Villa Gamberaia. In the evenings, a meal at the local enoteca would be a wonderful treat. Otherwise a gelato or a coffee in the main square might be just the ticket. (Full disclosure: I live here and love it!)
Rose Mackworth-Young
Off Bar, a great open-air bar in the gardens of the Fortezza da Basso, is the perfect place to relax on balmy summer evenings. Sip a cocktail by the lakeside or drop by for one of the many events: open-air dance evenings, DJ sets, screenings of sports matches and Italian films, brass bands and rockabilly music, photo and painting exhibits, or even the odd ping-pong tournament! www.facebook.com/off.bar.
Lago dei Cigni, Gardens of the Fortezza da Basso, Florence
Until September 30, 7pm–1.30am
Marisa Garreffa
Sundays in the park are a tradition that can’t be beaten, no matter where you are. But Le Cascine has some hidden treats for even the most seasoned park visitor. Just past the Le Pavoniere swimming pool is a large section of tree-framed grass. You’ll hear the overlapping strains of Latino music before you see it. Follow your ears and you’ll find a multicultural feast awaiting you: you’ll swear you just landed in Mexico or South America. Families from all over are gathered, playing volleyball, at least three different kinds of music, dancing under the trees and stretching out in the shade. The best part? The food stalls. My favourite is a stand run by some sensational Peruvian women. Ceviche in the park is my zesty Sunday treat and the roasted pork ribs will have you drooling. Depending how good your Spanish is, look out for the tarot reader… Your next romance could be just around the corner.
Birgitte Brøndsted
Three great places for ice cream in Florence
When the heat hits town, all I can think about is ice cream. Here are my favorite places in Florence:
Mordilatte
Newly opened gelateria with the most fabulous homemade ice cream. Try the creamy coconut.
Via dei Servi 10 | Via d’Annunzio 105
La Bottega del Gelato
I’m a mum, and eating ice cream from a cup while handling a stroller is practically impossible. You need two hands for the ice cream and at least one for the stroller. That’s why I love the homemade popsicles from La Bottega del Gelato. You only need one hand to eat them, and they taste great.
Via Por Santa Maria 33r
055/2396550
Gelateria dei Neri
My all-time favorite gelateria in Florence. I am addicted to the creamy mousse-like semifreddo millefoglie and semifreddo cioccolato. Don’t forget to also try their sorbettos.
Via dei Neri 20-22r
055/210034
Margaux Asteghene
Tucked away in a shaded corner at the top of piazzale Michelangelo, Luci is a new ultra-cool aperitivo spot. This lounge will make you want to recline in the white sofas scattered around the main bar in the large, open-air space while the house DJ spins. The biggest attraction is the fabulous cocktails whipped up by the talented bartenders who use the freshest and most exotic fruits. Even the lavish buffet boasts the best baked schiacciata in Florence. If you’re hungry for more, book a table at the restaurant where the exceptional team of chefs serves a perfect mix of innovative and traditional dishes. It’s not all about the food and drink though; Luci’s clay tennis courts are among the finest in the city. Trendy and chic, this is the ultimate summer hangout.
Viale Michelangiolo 61
TUSCANY SUMMER TIPS
Sheila Corwin
1) Vallombrosa is a cool place during hot weather. I can attest to the chocolate (and interesting things) they sell in the small shop next to the abbey. Take a SITA bus.
2) Check out restaurant La Colombaia in Marradi. This is honestly some of the best Italian food I’ve eaten in Italy ever! One can surely taste the love in this food here! It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but the food at this place is the best!
Via Colombaia 35, Marradi
055/8045290
3) Consuma for schiacciata and eating outside in cool weather during hot summer heat waves at Chalet il Valico.
Alessia Mitidieri
The isolated and beautiful Cala Violina beach, with its white sand and transparent sea, is a little-known treasure in the Maremma. Located in the Bandite di Scarlino nature reserve, surrounded by woodland, its name comes from the violinesque sound that the sand makes when walked upon. From Pian d’Alma, take the 158 provincial road and park in the car park before continuing for around 30 minutes on foot.
Alternatively, take the shuttle bus from Follonica to Castiglione della Pescaia, which stops 2.5km from the beach.
Brandi Scarpelli
Summer in Florence can be pretty intense if you are an American like me! I grew up under the Californian sun, but I always had the AC on. Always! Italians don’t use the AC like Americans do. When the sun is out and the humidity strikes I am all about the seaside. I suggest you hop on a train at Santa Maria Novella station and head to Viareggio for 9 euro each way. It takes about an hour and a half, plus a 10 minute walk from the station to the beautiful beach. You can enjoy affordable cocktails and food while sitting on the sand. A favorite spot of mine is Bagno Amedea for a nice pizza and drinks. Enjoy the boardwalk full of shops and bars to socialize and people watch. Grab your volleyball and enjoy the sun! The water is also not as cold as California so hop on in!
Bagno Amedea
via Barellai 5, Viareggio
058/4944080
Simone Ulivieri
Since the dawn of time one problem has threatened friendships, ruined relationships and created strong internal conflict: which beach to choose on a hot summer’s day! Sand or rocks? Culture or good food? Sunbathing or a shady spot? The gulf of Baratti, near Piombino, fulfils all possible wishes, with clear sea, rocks, sand, Etruscan remains, great restaurants, long beaches and shady picnic spots. If the ‘summer wars’ continue in this oasis of tranquillity, there’s nothing to do but change your friends! You might make some new ones in the water – 20 years ago a great white was spotted in the bay…
Georgette Jupe
One of my favorite new beach discoveries in Tuscany happens to be the incredibly beautiful Baratti beach in the gulf of Baratti between the Tyrrhenian and Ligurian seas. Just imagine pristine nature, clean water and even a fair amount of waves. Its proximity to Piombino makes hopping over to Elba Island for a day an easy feat. Don’t forget to check out the Etruscan necropolis, part of the archeological park of Baratti and Populonia. What about a mojito in the middle of the woods? Discover Nano Verde—a beach bar with a cool vibe hidden in the bosco della Sterpaia. Baratti is approximately an hour and 45 minutes from Florence along the Etruscan coastline.
Kate Whalen
My boyfriend and I love going to piazza Mercatale in Prato. The garden in the centre of the piazza is home to ‘Il Tondo‘, a free outdoor music venue with bars and a pop-up restaurant. Every night until September, from 10pm and 4pm on Sundays, there are local bands and cabaret. Just 20 minutes from Florence, and a short walk along the river from the station, it’s a nice way to spend a summer serata without hoards of tourists.
Festina Lente
My summer tip is Marina di Vecchiano. Drive north from Pisa in the direction of Migliarino, between Parco di San Rossore and nearby Torre del Lago, and you’ll come across a stretch of untamed beach. Among the many wooden buildings, try Jam for lunch, with its fish-based specialties. The tiramisù alle fragole (strawberry tiramisù) is something special, a boon to the senses before hitting the beach in the afternoon.
piazzale Montioni 1, Marina di Vecchiano (PI)
050/804333
Bruce Edelstein
Professor, NYU Florence
A special place in Tuscany to escape the heat is the friary at La Verna. La Verna is an important spiritual site for the Catholic faithful, as the place where St. Francis received the stigmata, but its hilltop setting and the surrounding Casentino forests are equally inspiring. Plus you get to see some of the greatest works ever made by the Della Robbia to boot! A small museum on the property is open for a few hours on Sundays and holidays.
www.santuariolaverna.org (in Italian)
Giovanni Morandi
Bagno Vignoni is one of the most unusual places I’ve ever visited in Tuscany. A hilltop town in the Val d’Orcia, its central square is not a square at all, but a water tank (although you can’t actually swim in it). As you gaze down the hill and at the unspeakably stunning scenery all around, a strange sight comes into view: white rocks give way to a piercingly blue pool, where locals bathe in the free warm springs and soak up some rays. As you head down from the town of Bagno Vignoni, take a right down a track, park up and follow the footpath up to the springs, known as Parco dei Mulini. I can honestly say that, after a couple of hours there, I’d never felt more relaxed!
Marco Badiani
Apriti Borgo, held in Campiglia Marittima, from August 11–15, is all about opening this medieval town in the Maremma to the public. Enjoy the street artists, marching bands, actors and musicians, street food and all the kids’ activities. Team up a visit with a day on the beach at San Vincenzo, followed by a quick change in the car and a night-out in the old town of Campiglia Marittima. www.apritiborgo.it (in Italian)
English info on http://tinyurl.com/qhmr4sk
@theflorentine #summer #tip: riding on a vespa at night with a wet tshirt – best way to keep cool in #florence!
— Alexandra M. Korey (@arttrav) June 19, 2013
#summer @TheFlorentine: Lago di Galliano in Mugello, ideal place for a pic-nic or for fishing immerge in the country pic.twitter.com/Jp0yyuPRFS
— giovanni giusti (@giustig) June 19, 2013
