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Best time to visit Florence, Italy: Florence is the capital city of Tuscany, in central Italy. Located 230 kilometers from the north side of Rome, the city is surrounded by green, rolling hills that are home to beautiful villas, farms, orchards and vineyards.
Apart from that, the city is home to magnificent European architecture and great masterpieces of renaissance art. It also has numerous museums and art galleries that attract millions of tourists each year. Being an architecturally beautiful city covered in artistic work, UNESCO declared the historical Center a world Heritage Site in 1982.
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Seasons in Florence
Florence’s climate is generally mild. However, since it is located in central Italy, Tyrrhenian side and also in a valley closest to the sea, the climate in Florence is more continental than in other coastal areas in Italy. Therefore, the city usually experiences mild winters and hot sunny summers.
Summer
Florence’s summer consists of June, July, and August. June is usually hot with high temperature ranging from 28-30C / 82-86F and low temperature at 17C / 62F. However, July and August are the hottest months with most afternoons reaching the maximum temperature of 31C / 88F. Nonetheless, August temperature can sometimes go higher up to 40C / 104F.
Fall
Fall in Florence is experienced from September, October, and November. The weather is basically warm and pleasant in September, but in October and November weather changes bringing rainier days. With the city experiencing rain most of the days in these two months, fall is considered the wettest season in Florence.
September has the highest temperature of 27C / 80F with November having the lowest at 7C / 45F, making the nights pretty chilly.
Winter
December, January, and February make the winter season in Florence. From the first week of December, the temperature continues to drop and reaches 11C / 52F in the daytime and 4C / 39F at night. However, January is the chilliest month in the city with average temperatures of a high of 12C / 55F and low of 3C / 36F.
In February, the high temperature is the similar to January although the low temperature slightly rises to 4C / 39F. Afterward, the weather starts to change and the city gradually begins to warm up. Note that, the three months do not experience snow.
Spring
Florence experiences its spring season from March, April and May. Although the months experiences mild and gradual sunny days, it is also quite rainy on most days. With March starting to warm up, the temperature is 15C / 59F in the daytime and 6c / 42F at night.
However, April is an unpredictable month when it comes to the weather but the average temperature is usually 19C / 66F. May is a pleasant month for the city, with an average temperature of 24C / 75F there are more sunny days and less rain than in the other two months.
Best Month(s) to Visit Florence
The best months to visit Florence are from mid-April to mid-June. The weather is warm and sunny in April while June highest temperature is ideal for a day out and nights are not too chilly. September is also a good month to visit the city since it has pleasantly warm days and cool evenings.
If you prefer hot days and humid nights, July and August will be the best months to visit Florence. These are also the busiest months.
How to Get to Florence
With Florence being a metropolitan city, there are many transportation options to and within the city. One of the options is the train – brings people from all over Italy and Europe. With almost 50 trains making the trip per day, the journey from Rome to Florence will take you 1 hour and 26 minutes.
If you are coming from Milan to Florence, a high-speed train will take 2 hours same time as Venice to Florence. However, the regional trains take longer from the three cities, with Rome taking 5 hours to reach Florence, Milan also taking 5 hours and Venice taking 4 hours.
However, for other European countries, from Munich, Germany, the journey by train will be 10 hours and 4 minutes. From Switzerland to Florence the journey will take 6 hours and 44 minutes. A flight from Zurich, Switzerland, will take 3 hours and 45 minutes; while Munich to Florence on a non-stop flight will take 1 hour and 20 minutes.
If you are flying from Milan, you will take 49 minutes to reach Florence, while driving will take 3 hours and 10 minutes. From Venice, by flight, it is 19 minutes and driving is 3 hours and 14 minutes.
Finally, if you are traveling by bus, the time from Milan to Florence will be between 3 hours 15 minutes to 4 hours 40 minutes. The time will depend on where the bus departs and also the time of day. From Tronchetto Venice, the journey will take 4 hours and 24 minutes.
Furthermore, from Venezia and Liberta’ Santa Chiara bus stations, the journey will take 5 hours and 22 minutes.
How to Get Around Florence
Getting around Florence is very easy, that’s because there several options to choose from. For instance, since the city main historical center is pretty small, you can decide to take a walk. The other options include taking a bus, taxi or renting a car. However, hiring a car is not really recommended because most of the roads are one-way streets.
Walking
Florence’s streets are ideal for walking. Taking only 30 minutes from one end of the city to the other; you will get a chance to pass many historical sites. Furthermore, if you are interested in shopping, there are various quint shoe shops and clothes stores that sell affordable clothing and shoes. To enjoy some delicious food, you can visit the Tuscan restaurants situated along the streets.
Buses
If you prefer to move around using public transport, Florence has efficient ATAF buses. The buses mostly charge one-way tickets at 1.50 euros ($1.70) which are available at local Italian convenience stores. You can buy an ordinary ticket which is a single 90-minute ticket or the multiple-ride tickets which cover four 90 minute rides on a single ticket.
Taxis
Taxis are expensive in Florence. The meter starts at about 3 euros ($3.40) on weekdays and Saturday with Sunday prices rising between the hours of 10 pm to 6 am. If you decide to use the taxi, note that it is illegal to hail one on the streets. You can either call for one, or find them on the official taxi stands.
Hired Cars
As I mentioned above, driving a car in Florence is not ideal. Apart from the narrow one-way streets, there is no parking available in the city forcing you to park on the city’s outskirts. To top it all, as a tourist you will need a special ZTL permit to drive within the city.
Where to Stay in Florence
Being a popular tourist destination, Florence has many hotels within the city. For a low budget hotel, you can go for Plus Hotel which is a 14-minute walk from Firenze Statuto train station. The hotel has mixed-gender dorms with en suite bathrooms as well as bunk beds. Moreover, private rooms are also available as well as outdoor and indoor pools.
For a mid-range hotel, Hotel Gioia is the place to stay. It is located in one of the historical streets in the city, and offers several room options from a single room to superior triple rooms. Apart from satellite TV, it also offers free Wi-Fi connection.
Lastly, if you want to stay in a more luxurious place, choose Hotel Brunelleschi. It has elegant rooms with 42-inch LCD TV, as well as air-conditioned contemporary rooms. It also has a private museum, fitness center and a Tower bar.