Service fees (coperto) above €3
If the coperto is above €3 per person, you're in a tourist trap. Real trattorias keep it €1.50–€2.50.
→ Check the menu before you sit. If it's missing, leave.
Google Maps32 entries · 6 categories
The Florence Guide
A curated local guide to restaurants, rooftops, wine tastings, hidden beaches and tourist traps to avoid.
Your membership includes
- ✓The Florence Guide
- ✓One personal question to a Florence local
- ✓Future guide updates at no extra cost
This guide is continuously updated as we discover new places across Florence and Tuscany. Every time you return, you'll have access to the latest recommendations.
01 · 6 entries
Open category →Tourist Traps
Where not to eat, what not to buy, who not to pay. The places and pitches Florentines warn each other about.
Restaurants on the Duomo
The most-tagged restaurants near the Duomo trade on view, not value. The food is fine, the bill is not.
→ Eat in Oltrarno or Sant'Ambrogio instead.
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Unmarked taxis at the station
Only take white taxis with the Taxi sign on the roof and a meter. Anyone offering a ride at SMN is overcharging.
→ Call 055 4242 or use itTaxi / FreeNow.
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San Lorenzo leather market
Most stalls sell mass-produced imports stamped 'Made in Italy'. Real Florentine leather lives in tiny Oltrarno workshops.
→ Ask to see the workshop in the back. If there isn't one, walk.
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Souvenirs near the Duomo
Same magnets, same aprons, same David boxers — marked up 4×. Walk five minutes in any direction.
→ Try the artisan workshops in Santo Spirito.
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Gelato piled into mountains
If it's neon, fluffy and Instagrammed — it's pumped with stabilizers. Real gelato sits flat in metal trays, often covered.
→ Try Gelateria della Passera or Vivoli.
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03 · 6 entries
Open category →Restaurants
From €11 trattorias to addresses worth dressing for. Order the dish the locals come back for.
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Santa Maria Novella
Ostaria dei Centopoveri
Honest plates and a workers' menu that hasn't changed in decades. Always packed at 1pm.
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Santa Maria Novella
Trattoria Il Contadino
Family-run since forever. The €11 menu del giorno includes pasta, mains, water and coffee.
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Duomo
Zio Gigi
Best quick lunch near the Duomo, away from the tourists. Order the ribollita and disappear.
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Oltrarno
Trattoria Sabatino
Cult Oltrarno address. Wood beams, paper menus, prices from another century.
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€€€
Lungarno
Trattoria 13 Gobbi
Theatrical service in a candle-lit cellar steps from the river. A Florentine institution.
→ Order the Florentine steak and the Rigatoni 13 Gobbi.
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€€€
Santa Maria Novella
Osteria Pastella
Modern Tuscan, sharp service, an open kitchen that knows exactly what it's doing.
→ Order the Parmesan Wheel Pasta with Truffle.
Google Maps04 · 6 entries
Open category →Rooftops
Six terraces — from grand hotel glamour to insider haunts. The view changes the wine.
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05 · 6 entries
Open category →Wine
Tiny standing-only enotecas in the city, and two estates worth the drive south.
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Florence
La Buchetta dello Strozzino
Order wine through a literal hole in a Renaissance palazzo wall.
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€€
Greve in Chianti
Fattoria Viticcio
Family estate above Greve in Chianti — generous tastings, no theater.
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€€€
Greti
Castello di Verrazzano
A 12th-century castle, vineyards on every side, a tour worth blocking a half-day for.
Google Maps06 · 4 entries
Open category →Shopping
Artisan leather, hand-marbled paper, perfumeries that predate the United States.
€€€
Santa Maria Novella
Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella
Europe's oldest perfumery, making scent since 1612. The shop alone is worth the visit.
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Centro
Il Papiro
Hand-marbled paper, journals and stationery — a Florentine craft in continuous practice.
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Santa Croce
Scuola del Cuoio
The leather school behind Santa Croce — watch the craftsmen, buy direct.
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Oltrarno
Mercato di Santo Spirito
Oltrarno's open-air market — vintage, ceramics and the second Sunday antique fair.
Google MapsEnd of edition · Kept by alexgori.tech · Florence