Florence Survival Guide

Museums in Italy often have irregular opening times, so it may be worth your while to plan ahead and visit the local tourist office once you arrive. Most museums open in the morning and close all day Monday. Privately owned museums have various opening hours and often open later in the afternoon. There is usually an admission charge but some museums offer concessions. Churches sometimes charge admission to view particularly precious works of art. For a small fee, Firenze-musei offers an advanced booking service for entry to some museums. This could save you hours of queuing for popular sites and can be done by phone or at booking desks in the Uffizi and Palazzo Pitti. Note that many ticket offices often close half an hour before the museum closes. The booklet City Guide, available at most tourist offices, lists the different museums.

Florence, Pisa and Siena have several Uffici Informazioni Turistiche (tourist offices) offering information about tourist sites in the entire province. Tourist offices in small towns tend to give details only on their particular town. Travel agents, such as CIT Viaggi and American Express, have information on local tours and offer guidance on rail and coach travel in Italy. If you want to plan ahead, contact ENIT (the Italian Tourist Board) in your country before you leave for Italy. There is a complaint desk at the tourist office in via Cavour.

The best guide for entertainment is the monthly magazine Firenze Spettacolo, which has restaurants and café guides, as well as details of concerts, exhibitions, museums and sporting events. Another useful booklet is Concierge Information, written in Italian and English and available from most hotels. The Florentine, a free English newspaper, has listings and other useful information. Tourist offices have leaflets on local entertainment and events. During the summer evenings, fêtes with local bands are held throughout Tuscany. Most of the nightspots are found in the cities and beach resorts, although you will find a bar just about anywhere.

Tours around Florence can be arranged through American Express. For guided walks around the city, contact Walking Tours of Florence. Guides for private groups can be hired from CAF. Citysightseeing Firenze offers a hop-on-hop-off bus service (complete with audioguide) to all the major sites in the city. Information on these services is available in the tourist office.

Efforts to speak a few words of Italian will be appreciated, although most of the big hotels have multilingual staff. Italian drink in moderation, and in spite of a law banning smoking in public spaces it is common almost everywhere.

Italians are strict on dress code in churches and you may be refused entry if you are wearing shorts, vests or singlets. Some churches charge an entrance fee, and several close during mass. Most are dark, so make sure you carry plenty of small change for the automatic metered lighting.

Service in restaurants is included in the price, unless otherwise stated. However foreigners are expected to tip. Keep a few euros handy for taxi drivers, porters, doormen and sacristans.

Facilities for the disabled traveller in Tuscany are limited. If you book a package tour, representatives can assist in organising help at airports and ensure the most convenient hotel room.
Some intercity trains have special facilities for wheelchair users. There is a lift at some stations, such as Santa Maria Novella, to help those with wheelchairs on and off trains, but it must be booked 24 hours in advance.

There are few public toilets in Tuscany. Many galleries and museums have toilets, otherwise most bar and café owners will let you use their. For some toilets, especially those out of town, or at petrol stations, you will usually have to pay a small fee to use them.

European Union (EU) residents and visitors from the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand do not need visas for stays of up to three months. However, all visitors need to bring a valid passport. A visa is needed for stays longer than three months. However, it is advisable to check with the Italian consulate before departure. Vaccination certificates are not necessary. All visitors to Italy should by lay register with the police within three days of arrival. Most hotels will register visitors when they check in. If in doubt, contact a local police department or phone the Questura.

Duty-free allowances are as follows: non EU residents can bring in either 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars, 100 cigarillos or 250 grams of tobacco; 1 litre of spirits and 2 litres of wine; 50 grams of perfume. Goods such as watches and cameras may be imported as long as they are for personal or professional use. EU residents no longer have to declare goods, but random checks are often made to guard against any drug traffickers. The refund system for Valued Added Tax (IVA in Italy) for non-EU residents is complicated and slow and is only worth reclaiming if you have spent at least 160 in a single establishment.

If you are travelling with a family, self-catering accommodation is usually cheaper than hotels, but be prepared for the odd hiccup, such as a shortage of water.
Italy has retained the small shops culture, so you may have to go to several different shops to get your necessities. Fortunately, even the smallest village usually has a grocery store (alimentari). Shops may shut for a couple of hours at lunchtime. Laundrettes (lavanderie) will offer service washes.

Florence has a confusing dual address system. Each street has a double set of numbers: a red number indicates a shop, restaurant or business, while a blue or black number refers to a hotel of domestic residence. When writing to a business, insert an "r" after the number to distinguish it from a residential address.
Each set of numbers has its own sequence, so business premises at say, No.10r may well be next to a residential address at No.23.

An international student Identity Card (ISIC) or a YIEE (Youth International Educational Exchange Card) will usually get reductions on museum and other charges. For discount air and rail travel, go to the Centro Turistico Studentesco (CTS). Discount rail tickets, such as InterRail passes, can be bought at Santa Maria Novella station in Florence or at the CTS. Villa Europa Camerate youth hostel provides listings of hostels in Tuscany. Student Point provides information on housing.

There are many language and art schools in Florence and throughout Tuscany. The British Institute in Florence is one of the better known, as is the Centro di Cultura per Stranieri dell'Università di Firenze. The Instituto per l'Arte e il Restauro offers courses on art, restoration, upholstery, drawing, ceramics and painting.
The Centro Internazionale Dante Alighieri or the Università per Stranieri in Siena has courses on Italian culture, history and cooking. A list of schools in Tuscany is available from the Agenzia Promozione Turistica.

Most major newspapers, like La Repubblica and La Nazione, carry regional supplements. European and American newspapers and magazines are also available. USA Today, the International Herald Tribune and the Financial Times are available on the day of issue. The state TV channels are RAI Uno, RAI Due and RAI Tre. Satellite and cable TV transmit European channels in many languages, as well as CNN news in English. BBC World Service is broadcast on radio on 15.070 MHz (short wave) in the mornings and 648 KHz (medium wave) at night.

If you lose your passport or need other help, contact your national embassy or consulate.

Electrical current in Italy is 220V AC, with two-pin, round-pronged plugs. It is probably better to buy an adaptor before leaving for Italy. Most hotels with three stars and above have electrical points for shavers and hairdryers in all bedrooms.

Tuscany is one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). The time difference between Tuscany and other cities is as follow: London: -1 hr New York: -6 hrs Perth: +7 hrs Auckland: +11 hrs Tokyo: +8 hrs

The Florence Duomo has a mass in English at 5:30pm every Saturday. American Episcopal Via Bernardo Rucellai 9, Florence Tel. 055 29 44 17 Church of England Via Maggio 16, Florence Tel. 055 29 47 64 Chiesa Evangelica Valdese Study Centre, Via Mansoni 21, Florence Tel. 055 247 78 00 Methodist Via de' Benci 9, Florence Tel. 055 28 81 43 Jewish Tempio Israelitico, Via Luigi Farini 4, Florence Tel. 055 24 52 52