Walking up those stone stairs a reminder goes through your head of the number of people, over the…read morecenturies, that have done the same thing. Entering the first room you are hit by the ceiling, wonderfully carved wood. Under your feet, don't walk on it, a beautifully tiled floor. The wooden benches that, again over the centuries, have seated many learned people. The central circular library room with its wonderful furnishings and paintings. Finally, a room filled with illuminated books written by those monks. No modern day computers to 'help' them and, jokingly, no spell check or tipex for those mistakes LOL. Finally, the cloisters where those hard working monks had their Spartan rooms. A fantastic few hours spent. Well worth hunting this bibliotheque out.

Patrons' Tour was a most treasured life experience. Fabulous group of attendees…read morecame together from all ports adding to the experience. Encourage all to attend. LAB

I had read about tea at the British Institute of Florence's Harold Acton Library and contacted them…read morebefore we left the U.S. to see if we could attend and were told "Of course." They offer their version of High Tea on Thursdays at 4:30 PM. For a requested donation of € 1.50 each, we had cups of tea with proper sandwiches, biscuits, homemade cake, and cookies. The tea is served in the one of the libraries. The British Institute sits right on the Arno River and we were treated to some wonderful views. It was a lovely way to spend a rainy afternoon.

The Basilica di San Lorenzo is one of the biggest and oldest churches in Florence. The current…read morebuilding has been around a mere 600 years, but the church was consecrated in 393 AD. It was the parish church of the Medici family, who agreed to finance the new building in 1419. Many of the Medici are buried in the basilica. The outer facade was designed by Michelangelo, but for whatever reason, no one ever got around to constructing it. There's an ongoing debate about whether to complete the facade according to Michelangelo's designs, but for now the unfinished look is pretty interesting and distinctive. When we went, there was a temporary installation of contemporary sculptures by Florentine artist Andrea Roggi. Very cool. We visited on a quiet Thursday afternoon and took a quick, self-guided tour. Tickets were €9 apiece and we only spent 10 to 15 minutes in the church, but it was definitely worth checking out. The basilica was, of course, beautiful and opulent, extravagant in its details and full of vibrant artwork. Tons of gray and white marble and an elaborately painted dome. If you're pressed for time in Florence, Basilica di San Lorenzo isn't as mandatory as some of the other attractions. if you have a free half hour, though, you might as well spend it here. It's a great church, where you can get another strong dose of art and history.

I know!! There are sooo many churches in Italy and in Florence and it's incredibly boring if…read moreyou're a kid or unmoved by art and history. But, if you have the good luck to love art and the smarts to love history, then this is definitely one of the three churches you should see in Florence. Although, I don't like to should on people. The was the Medici family church which is nothing to look at from the outside, but the story of the Medicis and how Michaelanglo, one of the teenage mutant ninja turtle and apparently an artist as well, abandoned the project. Cosimo di Medici asked to be buried at the feet of another ninja turtle and artist Donatello. It's shows how much Cosimo adored the artist. He didn't ask to be buried with his wife or mother or children, but with one of the greatest artists of all time.

Stopped in for lunch after reading good reviews about this vegetarian cafe/shop. We both ordered…read morefrom the lunch special which allowed you to get a pasta, a side and a special. The food was good but a little on the salty side. Still nice to have a vegetarian restaurant option!

Brac is strong in concept but middling in execution. The idea of building your own plate (a 3 item…read morebespoke sampler) is appealing but doesn't overcome the lacking flavor of the individual dishes. The green lasagna and chickpea tempeh were both surprisingly bland despite enticing descriptions. The big winner was the beet salad which I could have eaten three times that night. The service was friendly but the approach to the meal is overly theatric when they should just double down on great food. Right now they're style over substance. But major props for all vegetarian food in Italy!

From the owner: vendita (nuovo e usato) di CD, VINILE, DVD, LIBRI. Specializzato in rarità e reperimento di titoli…read moredifficili.

My wife and children have attended twice during the summer. It is a fabulous place to learn about…read moreRenaissance art, the Medicis, Florence, Italian culture and the language. It does this all at an extremely reasonable price. My kids love the main lecturer Jeremy. The tours to different beautiful sites such as the Uffizi, the Pitti Palace etc etc is truly memorable. Highly recommended program.

From the owner: The British Institute of Florence, established in 1917 promotes the cultural exchange between Italy…read moreand the United Kingdom. We offer a comprehensive English language programme, courses in Italian language, history of art, life drawing, and support various university study abroad programmes. We are the principal centre for Cambridge ESOL(English for Speakers of other Languages) exams in Tuscany. More information can be found on our website. Il British Institute of Florence, fondato nel 1917 per promuovere gli scambi culturali tra l'Italia e il mondo anglofono, organizza e offre un vasto programma di corsi di lingua inglese, lingua italiana e storia dell'arte in lingua inglese e organizza numerosi eventi culturali dì varia natura. Uno dei punti di forza di questo storico istituto fiorentino è la Biblioteca Harold Acton, visitabile liberamente in Lungarno Guicciardini, 9.