Travel

Travel Note

Accommodations

Florence is a tourist hub with accommodations for every style and budget so there are many options for booking. We ourselves will be staying at Palazzo Ridolfi on the south side of the River Arno, and our activities are all within 15 minutes walking distance. While we chose mid-week to better fit into schedules and to reduce the likelihood for crowds, Florence will still be crowded, particularly in the city center between the Ponte Vecchio and the Duomo. If you want to be a bit further afield, we'd recommend staying somewhere that is still within comfortable walking distance for your party. If you choose to stay in the Tuscan countryside and want to drive in, there are a few garages available -- be aware that there are ZTL (driving restrictions) in the historic center, so make sure to choose a garage outside the ZTL or ensure that the garage you work with will grant you access to the ZTL so that you don't end up with a hefty fine later. We encourage you to browse booking.com, trivago, Airbnb, Vrbo, or your search engine of choice to review the multitude of options available. Book as early as possible as we’ve been warned there is no true low season anymore for this city!

Hotel

Palazzo Ridolfi Residenza D’Epoca

Hotel

Grand Hotel Baglioni

This hotel houses our reception venue, B-Roof, and is very close to Santa Maria Novella station. If you are motivated by convenience, this hotel and the surrounding area is a great option.

Hotel

Hotel La Scaletta Florence

They are on the south side of the River Arno, a few min from the Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge") and have a pleasant rooftop restaurant. We found their hotel manager to be very accommodating.

Discount Code - ELIZABETH&CHRISTOPHER2024

Flight

Nearby Airports

REGIONAL AIRPORTS (connect in European gateways like London or Paris) Florence - FLR (~30 min) Bologna - BLQ (~1 hour) Pisa - PSA (~1.5 hours) MAJOR AIRPORTS (direct flights from various gateways in the USA) Rome - FCO (~3 hours) Venice - VCE (~3 hours) Milan - MXP (~3.5 hours)

Flight

Google Flights

This is where we start any flight searches. We've pre-populated the link with the six airports mentioned above, just change your home airport and dates and you'll be set. If you aren't quite ready to book, be sure to click the "Track prices" toggle just below your home airport and google will send you notifications on price changes - up or down. Also, when you choose a single destination airport (eg FCO), you'll be able to "View price history" on Google Flights that gives you a sense as to how stable or erratic prices have been over the past two months.

Travel Note

Getting Around

WALKING This will be the primary way of getting from place to place in Florence. The historic center is a ZTL area, meaning that there are driving restrictions that limit the number of cars allowed into the area. Driving within the ZTL, even if allowed, would likely be a frustrating and unpleasant experience. Walking, on the other hand, is easy, albeit you may need to contend with throngs of people along the main drag and around the Duomo. TRAM Feel free to ride the tram, there are ticket vending machines at each stop along with next train arrival times that are reasonably accurate. When you get on the tram, you'll need to validate your tickets in a machine on board that stamps the time and date and from that point on you'll have a valid ticket for 90 min. Line T2 goes between the airport (FLR) and the main rail station (Santa Maria Novella) and connects to Piazza San Marco via Piazza della Liberta to the north. BUS It hurts me to say this, but do NOT attempt to ride the bus, the time/energy is not really worth the process of navigating the system. You need to pre-purchase tickets at bars or tobacconists; then find the correct bus stop, which may not be in the location as shown on Google Maps or elsewhere, then wait for the bus which will likely not come at/near its scheduled time, then validate your ticket on board by the front door, and if the validators are not working, you'll need to tell the bus driver and write the time/date on your ticket or risk fines, then track where you are on Google Maps and pull the cord at the appropriate time to tell the driver where you want to be dropped off and get off thru the middle doors. As people who ride transit most places where we go -- this is an atypically bad system for tourists. INTER-CITY RAIL Santa Maria Novella station is the hub for rail services into and out of Florence. Here you can catch regular trains to wherever you need to go in Italy. The other station, Firenze Campo Marte, is further away.

Train

Trenitalia

If you're planning to travel outside of Tuscany, the state rail company will likely be the easiest/best way to get from point A to point B. Ticket prices are reasonable and travel times are comparable to, or often faster than, bus or car.

Train

Flixbus

Flixbus is the largest bus company in Europe. They go to pretty much every large city at reasonable rates. While their buses are not quite as comfortable as trains, they represent a strong value proposition and sometimes have faster travel times than comparable train itineraries.

Rental Car

Autoslash

We use Autoslash to find the best deals on rental cars wherever we go. With Autoslash, they link you to Priceline to make a booking there using coupons that they track; however, after you book on Priceline, go back to Autoslash to "Track a Rental" and enter your details. The extra steps are worth it, they'll send you emails as prices drop -- so if you book in advance, they will tell you when to re-book as prices drop so you don't miss the lowest price. Just as a reminder, we don't recommend having car while spending time in Florence, but if you want to explore Tuscany including smaller towns like Siena, San Gimignano, and Volterra, a car is helpful.

Travel Note

General Tips for Going Abroad

ITALIAN LANGUAGE - Download Italian on the Google Translate app - Consider Duolingo or Pimsleur for learning - or do like Christopher, smile and say “per favore” and “grazie” - English is common. MOBILE PHONE / DATA SERVICES - Check with your provider on options for temporary roaming coverage -- we use Google Fi, which offers data at the same cost as in the US, so we don't have to do anything other than connect to the cell network when we land. - If your phone has an e-sim option, a provider like Airalo can provide data-only coverage (use whatsapp for phone calls, texts) -- data is super cheap this way (eg 5GB for ~$15) -- we have a referral code for Airalo: CHRIST6854 which gives you $3 for free when you sign up. Just make sure your phone is unlocked from your carrier before attempting this option (if you get your phone thru a carrier, they often lock your phone for a period of time). MAPS Download "Offline Maps" on your Google Maps app for the areas you plan to travel in case your mobile data doesn't work as expected. If you don't want to use Google Maps, we recommend the MAPS.ME app as an alternative. CASH / CREDIT CARDS Visa and Mastercard are accepted most places. You should not need much cash, except maybe to pay at informal establishments like a food stand. If you want to get cash, it's generally a better deal to take money out of an ATM than to exchange USD for EUR, even when your bank charges you fees for the withdrawal. - Check if your credit card issuer requires a travel notification before international travel - If you don't have one already, consider applying for a Visa / Mastercard credit card with no foreign transaction fees -- otherwise, you'll pay usually 2-3% more for each purchase. THINGS TO REMEMBER - Bring an outlet adapter (Italy uses Type C, but Type F is sometimes available) - if you travel with high voltage items (eg hair dryer), bring a voltage adapter as well.

Travel Note

Credit Card Referral - Capital One Venture X

If you want to test the waters of bougie travel, this is a great card to start with. As you know, Christopher is the one who is savvy with miles and points and this is his primary card. Christopher's details: It costs $395 per year, but you get $300 in travel credits to use thru their travel portal to immediately defray most of the fee and 10K miles on your anniversary, which are worth a minimum of 1 cent/mile - defraying the remainder of the cost. In addition, you get airport lounge access and solid travel protections/insurance, access to points that transfer to some valuable airline frequent mile programs, as well as some ancillary benefits. The current sign-up bonus is 75K points (worth at least $750) for $4000 in spend over 3 months. It usually vacillates between 75K and 90K, though it was 100K late last year.