Florence in two days

💡The coperto isn't a tip, and it won't be taken off

Nearly every restaurant charges two or three euros per person just for sitting down. It's on the menu in small print, and it's legal. A tip on top of that is not expected.

💡You can cross Florence on foot in twenty minutes

The centre is tiny and nearly all pedestrian: no metro, no bus, no taxi needed. What you do need is decent shoes, because the paving is uneven stone and it punishes.

💡In July and August the city is an oven with no shade

It sits in a valley with no breeze; at three in the afternoon nobody can be out on the street. Start early, get inside a museum at midday and leave the walking for seven.

💡Book the two big museums before you book the flight

The Uffizi and the Accademia sell timed slots online and they run out weeks ahead. You can still get in without one, but the queue is two hours standing in the sun, and there goes a day.

💡Siena, Pisa and Lucca are an hour away by train

You need no car and no organised tour: regional trains run constantly and the ticket costs what a set lunch does. Buy at the machine in the station and stamp the ticket before you board.