Florence Tours
Florence can, on occasion, seem like a tourist nightmare--or at least an oddly artistic version of Peoria--what with all the people clogging the streets in front of ornate, Renaissance monuments, chattering in English and wondering where they can find a Starbucks so they can get some chemical flavorings in their 36 ounce coffees.
Yes, you can get herded through Florence like all the others, tethered invisibly to a guide wielding a brightly colored umbrella despite the unrelenting summer sun. The guide will tell you what guides tell everyone, so at least your visit will be full of the details your friends might quiz you upon.
But Florence has some interesting nooks and cranies. The art and the Fiorentine attitude toward artists and visionaries, however kooky, make it a magnet for folks who do work the old fashioned way, the way it was meant to be done, by hand and by inspiration that no company could ever harvest or duplicate. So why not see these interesting places, or actually participate in something like a fresco workshop to see how its done?
Thus we present some select ideas that have, over the years, turned into tours produced by passionate artisans in the touring biz.
Florence Arts Tours
Daily Life of Renaissance Florentines - This is what you non-shoppers have come to see, the Renaissance excesses found in Florentine art and architecture. But how did the people live at the time this stuff was "modern" to them? Context Travel is run by scholars who know their stuff, and that's who you want when you go on a short tour that's likely to load you up with fabulous information to help you understand the city of Florence and its development.
I've already mentioned the Florence Fresco Workshop. Sure, I know, three hours isn't going to make you into a Michelangelo. But you'll at least get a deeper understanding of what artists had to go through when they produced those huge works in difficult-to-work-in areas of a duomo or palazzo.
Getting Around Florence Oddly
Segway Tour: Historic Florence with a Modern Twist. Ok, unless you're way younger than me, you'll feel self-concious on the self-balancing two-wheeled, sissy-roller called a Segway. Buy hey, they cost a lot, take little human energy to run and thus represent modern technology at its finest. Thread your way through gawking tourists and see the sites faster than you would have on foot. Enjoy the contrast between the modern and the ancient. Wear a hat.
Renaissance Tea Partier?
Sure, all that art is nice, but, you know, it incites people to do nasty things, so if you like your art and books best when they are consumed in flames in places like the Piazza della Signoria (bonfire of the vanities) so that nobody can ever be incited or excited again, then you'd be a fan of the "Sword of the Lord" Friar Girolamo Savonarola and should learn all about his firey sermons and the deeds that eventually got him burned at the stake in Florence in 1498. The Sword of the Lord: Savonarola and Florence Tour
After Hours Florence Art
You know what's wrong with visiting art galleries and such? It's the throngs. Yes, it's a pain pushing your way through people in shorts who cluster in front of a popular piece of art already blocked by the burdensome bodies of a pleasantly plump couple standing 6 inches away from the painting, nodding off while their danged audio guide thingey is explaining the whole history of Florence to them as it relates to the picture in front of their noses that everybody wants to see but can't. So why not get attached to a small group that visits the museum after hours? Ever think of that? Museo Bardini After Hours Visit
The Curmudgeon's Guide to Florence Tours is perhaps what this page should be called. Still, there are some great ideas here for your vacation in the Renaissance town along the Arno.
Travel Planning
