Husband and I took the nonstop high speed train from Florence to La Spezia in August for a day trip…read moreto Cinque Terre. Our hotel was situated a few blocks from the main train station in Florence...the Santa Maria Novella train station. However, the only trains available from SMN to CT were all regional trains, which means it would take twice as long and stop at all the smaller towns. Plus the regional train would require a change of trains at Pisa with only 5 minutes to do so. To me, that just sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. So naturally, booking train tickets from Campo di Marte was a no brainer. We asked our hotel to assist us in getting a taxi to the train station since it's situated a few miles from the center of Florence. No problem in getting transported there. The train station is small and once you locate your platform, you will need to climb stairs to the upper level. Boarding was smooth and we were served snacks and coffee on the train. We also booked the nonstop high speed train back to Campo di Marte, which arrived at 10:00 pm. Unlike busier train stations, there are no taxis waiting at arrivals. It was dark, quiet and outside of the city center. I tried getting an Uber, but after 30 minutes of waiting, I gave up. Luckily I saved the taxi service's business card. I gave them a call and within 10 minutes, we had a cab pick us up. Whew! Keep that in mind if you decide to book this train station. What can I say? It's a train station. A plain one. No fluff, no restaurants, just good ole train service. I would do it again just to avoid a lengthy, uncomfortable, jam packed regional train any day. Our train ride was comfortable, clean, and fast!

6/5 food 5/5 hospitality…read more5/5 cleaniness 5/5 facilities All that complimented with a nice view and a low price. P.S. Pie tasted amazing. Even if you're full, say yes to the pie. Truly a gem to stay in while hiking in the mountains and hills of Italy. I don't have a single bad thing to say. Which is pretty rare (to be fair).

We spent hours in this walkable walled city. There were a lot of restaurants, shops, churches, and…read morea tower you can climb up to. You can get a bird's eye view of the city below. The streets are all cobblestones and it's fun to spend the day exploring the area.

The medieval walled city on the Serchio River in Italy's Tuscany region. It's known for the…read morewell-preserved Renaissance walls encircling its historic city center & cobblestone streets. Broad, tree-lined pathways along the tops of these massive 16th- and 17th-century ramparts. The popular walls were busy with dog walkers, cyclists & rickshaws. Casa di Puccini, where the great opera composer was born, is now a house museum. We wandered down narrow streets into the main church, squares, amphitheater, cafes, & shops.

There are so many restruants in Siena, very much spoilt for choice. So one day when roaming through…read morehe narrow streets in Siena, we came across at the top of a hill the stereotypical Italian chef, standing at the doorway in his whites, waiting to welcome us into his restruant. Was this a sign of no customers and poor cuisine or were we being shown the way to something special. We climbed that hill and cautiously examined the menu. It was not the usual selection we had seen in the many other restruants, and it hard to imagine the tastes of some of the dishes. The chef must have seen our hesitancy and came over and explained the menu and also some other specials. We were convinced and took our seats just outside in the small dining area. The service was quick and attentive. The chef made some special starters and was keen we sampled his selection. You could see he took great pleasure in our appreciating how tasty they were. Our main courses were not huge but WHAT taste, I rarely have had better. The entire evening was special from the food to the wine and service. This is a Restruant which stands out from most others. I hope others enjoy it as much as we did

Of course I recommend the Domo. It is the highlight of Florence. It's a gorgeous building and the…read morebells ring every hour. Yours are not expensive and a must to go down to the tombs.

A beautiful building with so much to see. It dominates the centre of Florence and is a must-see…read morewhen you're in the city. The Duomo climb is worth it if you're able to climb that many stairs (over 400 I believe). Incredible views of the city from the top and well worth the climb up. You can also visit the cathedral entrance but the lines do get long, even before they open, so be prepared to wait.

We couldn't decide if we wanted to do Boboli or Bardini (no time to do both) but we ended up at the…read moreentrance to Bardini first so we decided to check it out. Fair warning, the entrance isn't very clearly marked. It looks just like a business front and I was confused as to how entering the park would actually work. I didn't do much research (which is a shock I know) into this garden before coming and was a bit daunted by the uphill climb. From the entrance, I assumed there would be a funicular or something. I was wrong. Not only am I not in shape, but I've been having some medical issues, and I was terrified I just paid an entrance fee to a park that I cannot check out. Luckily, the switchbacks are super gentle. We could hardly "feel" walking up this hill. There was also a lot to look at as we walked up so it was really a beautiful "hike." We were confused a bit by the signs and how far the garden went up. We weren't the only ones either because two couples past us while we rested on a bench, wondering if they were going the "right way" as well. I was expecting a bit more "garden" but got more "trees and shrubs" but I think this place is worth the hike just for the views of Florence alone.

This beautiful park is under the radar, which isn't exactly a bad thing…read more You can enjoy peaceful walks with incredible views from every part of this park. During my visit, it wasn't crowded at all and it made the experience that much better. Highly recommend!