Re: uber / lyft, there are no cars at all in Venice.
Re: David: there’s a big (free!) replica outside , but I second the “go in the morning” advice: it’s difficult to explain what difference it makes seeing the original, but it does.
Which it is absolutely fantastic, although it makes going to some places dangerous, e.g. the Lido, where there are cars. It’s amazing how quickly you lose the habit of looking left and right.
Everything is walking or the water taxi up and down the Grand Canal.
I don’t think we used a taxi, bus or anything like that when we were there. Almost all the big sights are within a half-mile or so of the Duomo, so we just walked everywhere. I’m not even sure that a lot of central Florence is even car-accessible.
Very true, and something to think about when packing. The vaparetti (water buses) can only take you so far - walking to your hotel is the order of the day.
I think Uber and Lyft are in Florence, although I don’t know how comprehensive the service is. There are loads of white taxis to hail on the street and most will speak enough english to get you where you’re going.
Embarrasingly, it took me 20 years of visiting Florence before I saw the real David, because I felt that I’d seen it via the replicas (there’s two, including one on the hill which bears the iconic view of the Florence skyline)). But the original far far surpasses them. Well worth seeing.
A Little googling shows me that you can get a water bus (vaparetto) direct to Chioggia from Venice in 70 minutes:
Our son studied in Florence in the Fall of 2018, then my parents rented a large apartment for 3 weeks the following June, so we got to spend about 10 days total in Florence over two trips visiting them. We only saw a fraction, so 2 days will not be much. However…
If you want a break and a spectacular view of the Duomo and the rest of the city, go to the cafe on the top floor of L’Ospedale degli Innocenti.
If you want really typical, local food, find the lampredotto stand at the central market. My son got addicted to it, and talked me into tasting it when we visited. It’s a form of stewed tripe (specifically, the lining of the fourth stomach of local cattle) served on good Italian bread, with optional hot sauce. This is not the type of thing I usually eat, but it was pretty good, and about €4.5 per sandwich, so a very, very cheap lunch (mostly because tourists largely avoid it). If you’re feeling less adventurous, the roasted chicken place on the top floor of the market is also great. Half chicken, rosemary roasted potatoes and salad is about €12. That’s enough for my wife and I to share for a light meal. If you get out of the spectacularly crowded area around the Duomo and museums, there are a lot of neighborhood bakeries with fabulous stuff, but they also may not speak English, or at least not very much. I’ll see if I can get the name of my son’s local–they had onion focaccia to die for.
There is a very specific flavor of gelato to be found in Florence that is not common elsewhere in Italy, as far as I know–gelato di riso (rice gelato). Made with medium grain rice, like risotto. I am a fan of rice pudding, so I love it.
Florentine steak is an experience, but only if you really like rare-to-medium-rare steak and are very, very hungry. They are usually about 1kg steaks (with bone), priced by the 100g. My son and I shared one priced about €4/100g, and it cost €44. You can order them “bloody” or “medium”. They are far too thick to be made well-done.
Have a great trip. We love Italy.
If you’re on the other side of the river, you’re on the right side for the Piazzalle Michelangelo
A great view over Florence, with a full size copy of Michelangelo’s Divid (in Bronze). A lovely walk up the hill as well. The most common route starts from the Ponte Vecchio.
If you go in the evening for the sunset, it’s packed. If you go in the morning for sunrise (hey, you’ll be jet-lagged), it’s empty and wonderful.
Don’t do what I did while in Italy. I lost my glasses while in Rome, the day before we went to Florence. The first order of the day was to find an optician: I stupidly didn’t have a second pair nor a copy of my prescription. Our hotel was close to the Duomo and the concierge gave us a few recommendations. It was fun doing a vision test in another language! Fortunately they only used images (a hot air balloon) and could try lenses and see wheen they have a clear image on my retina; I don’t think I really said anything, since neither I nor the optician spoke each other’s language. At least I got a nice pair of Italian designer glasses as a souvenir.
My wife and I were just talking about buying a spare pair for her because she likes her new pair so much. And we commented about how unfortunate it would be to lose or break your glasses while traveling.
That’s why I always take a spare pair!