Florence is an old, old city that is young, artsy, vibrant and edgy, and definitely one of my favorite cities I’ve had the good fortune to visit? Art, architecture, culture, history and food come together to paint an irresistible canvas. Museums and monuments, souvenir stores and boutiques, pizza places and gelato parlors, Irish pubs and student bars; Florence is all this and much more.
Florence is a small city(they say you can walk from one end of the city to the other in 20min) and it started out being a 500m sq space that was home to the Medici family, a family that built the city. Florence is magical – you walk around the city (ditch Google maps!) and casually pass by Da Vinci’s house, Dante’s study, Michelangelo’s work, palaces that once hosted some of the most influential families of the Roman Empire…and this is also the place where the Renaissance started from! ? It’s nothing short of magical.
During our stay in this city, we visited the Uffizi Gallery and Academia, and came face to face with the works of the likes of Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Dante, Sandro Botticelli, Raphael and many more. This also included…the David.
When you’re in Florence, do not miss out on any of the art. Look out for the days where the museums allow free entry, it’ll help you save a lot.
Visit Florence for it’s art, architecture, history, pizza and gelato. And since this was the place where I tasted what I can easily call the best gelato in the world, I thought of doing this gelato guide.
It’s based on pure experience only, and includes 5 of my favorite places. If course there are many more that you can try, but if you’re short on time- BOOKMARK THIS RIGHT AWAY!
My Sugar
The ingredients are sourced directly from San Lorenzo (the famous market in Florence) and the creamy, award-winning gelatos are so good you’d want to go in for round 2. I stuck to the usual dark chocolate and then dreamt about the apple-cinnamon one, and I could have definitely done with some of that tiramisu.
Visit for the fun flavours, dairy-free options and totally affordable prices. I got a scoop for 2 euros.
Instagram – My Sugar
Gelateria dei Neri
Located right round the corner from the Uffizi Gallery, this gelateria is definitely one of my favorites. In fact I went back for round 2 on day 2, and honestly I could have take a scoop of all that was available if only sugar wasn’t so bad for the body (ugh) I had 4 flavours here, which included 2 different types of chocolate, salted caramel and even banana. One small (don’t be fooled- the servings are generous!) scoop costed 2.50 euros.
Grom
If unique flavours is what you’re looking for, pop in at GROM and choose from a wide range of fun flavours that include chocolate based as well as fruit based flavours. The soft, creamy gelatos all have natural ingredients, and their fruit based scoops have real fruits in them! The chocolate ice cream is made with cocoa beans from Columbia and Venezuela, pistachio ice cream with pistachios from Sicily or Syria, and so on. I had the banana one here, and it is by far THE BEST scoop I’ve had. I came back early the next day but the store was unfortunately the shut. The scoops are priced at 2.50 Euros.
Instagram- GROM
Cantina del Gelato
This one is on the ‘other side of the river’ upon crossing the Ponte Vecchio. A tiny hole in the wall that’s easy to miss if you’re rushing to Piazzale Michelangelo, Cantina del Gelato is a favorite amongst locals who swear by the super unique flavours – black rice, goat cheese with walnuts, vinsanto and cantuccini cookies, whiskey with cinnamon, mascarpone with nutella, etc. They also make smoothies. The scoops are priced at 2.50 Euros.
Instagram – Cantina del Gelato
Gelateria La Carraia
The super creamy, super soft gelato here is quite the favorite amongst both locals and tourists, and it should come as no surprise that this store is always buzzing with people. The tiramisu here is quite the rage, and their pistachio, cheesecake and biscuit flavours are quite popular too. They even have a salted peanut flavour!
Instagram – Gelateria La Carraia
Perché no! was another gelateria that I wanted to check out but unfortunately it was shut. I’ve heard great reviews, so thought of including this in the list too ?