Florence with flair

Experiences

“HIC ET NUNC”: right here, right now …the best Florence is Your Florence! Enjoy a perfect blend of curiosities, crafts, stunning views and breathtaking masterpieces discovered at your own pace. You are in good hands: 15 years of experience are at your disposal to share history, lifestyle, gardens and more. Come and discover the real Florence with 4k videos before your departure! Your specialized blue badge guide awaits for you LIVE for a PERSONAL EXPERIENCE online and on the spot on info@florencewithflair.com!

Your Florence

Florence’s highlights

Florence is a city simply bursting with art and history. It would take at least a week to explore it all, but for travelers with limited time the best idea is to enjoy the pleasure of a walk through the streets and quaint corners of Florence with a native guide. You will not miss the most important attractions and the best spots frequented only by locals. Maximize your time on a walk that makes everything more enjoyable, personal and interesting!

The top sites for a perfect glorious day in Florence are: Piazza Santa Croce artisan studios, Piazza della Repubblica & the best gelato in town, Santa Maria Novella and the oldest pharmacy in town, incomparable Renaissance artworks, Michelangelo’s David at the Accademia Gallery, Ponte Vecchio & off the beaten paths.

Brunelleschi’s Dome

Time to work out! Yes, Florence can be an amazing spot to exercise at dusk or dawn, the less crowded and less hot moments of the day. Our cultural fitness program combines aerobic exercise with the city’s beauties, through the paths that only locals know.

Main sites and content: highlights of Florence and special walk up to the most panoramic spot overlooking the valley, Piazzale Michelangelo. Uncomparable experience for photographers or early morning visitors. Zero crowds, 100% true Florentine atmosphere. Climb up all 463 steps of Brunelleschi’s Dome, the largest masonry dome ever built. You will discover the secret architectural structure and the stunning 16th century paintings by Giorgio Vasari from close up.

Museums and Palaces

Florence, the cradle of the Italian Renaissance, looks like an open air museum to most visitors. The squares and buildings themselves witness the history of the past eras. Florence’s cathedral, churches and many palaces were designed, built and decorated by illustrious artists of the past, from Brunelleschi to Michelangelo, and can be admired freely from the outside. Most of the masterpieces commissioned by merchants and bankers are now protected and displayed in churches and palaces which have been turned into museums. There you will find the paintings, sculptures and frescoes imagined and created by the greatest minds such as Botticelli, Leonardo, Giotto, Raffaello, Brunelleschi and Michelangelo. In the small city of Florence you will find 72 museums, considering Galleries, Museums, Private Collections, Last Suppers and Churches. Let me help you decide which ones are worth your precious time in this city.

Villas & Gardens

The symbol of Florence is a red lily, so you’d expect it to have plenty of lush gardens, though you have to know where to find them.

Renaissance villas and pleasure gardens are spread around the Florentine countryside. They bear testimony to the influence the Medici family exerted over modern European culture through its patronage of the arts. Built between the 15th and 17th centuries, they represent an innovative system of rural construction in harmony with nature and dedicated to leisure, the arts and knowledge. These villas embody innovative form and function, a new type of princely residence that differed from both the farms owned by rich Florentines of the period and from the military might of medieval castles.

Arts & Crafts: Oltrarno

Shopping in Florence is a step into history and traditions of artisanal laboratories. My favorite stores are not downtown designers but mostly family-run workshops in the Oltrarno, in the heart of Florence. Florence’s authentic artisanal crafts range from leather to ceramics, from linen to silk, paper and perfumes. The best district for finding Florentine artisans is, hands-down, the Oltrarno, still preserving a medieval atmosphere just off-the-beaten-path enough to be full of hidden treasures.

Here are four of my favourite Florentine artisans – if you want, we can go meet them together.

Florence for Families

This is a tailor-made itinerary for kids and an excellent introduction to the city for adults too! I am happy to offer a large number of child-friendly activities, tested by my “little assistant”, Livia, and lots of young explorers from all over the world. A guided tour that brings to life the daily court of the Medici family or a hunt for the footprints of exotic animals on fresco paintings in a Renaissance palace. For little explorers we may also propose the Museo Stibbert’s porcelain warriors, armors and antique daggers which will keep kids engaged for hours! Not to be missed, a special ride on the colorful antique carousel in Piazza della Repubblica with a refreshing gelato afterwards! Little chefs in training may even try to bake a tasty pizza in a traditional wood oven! Explore a home from the 1300s and its trap doors, tiny bathrooms and hidden safes.

My Sweet Florence

“Nice to sweet you!” Let’s explore Downtown Florence’s marvels and flavours through a fun and original walking tour for gluttons and curious visitors. Elegant “pasticcerie” (pastry shops), candy stores, an antique bakery and artisanal ice cream makers are nestled along the side streets of Dante’s district or Piazza Santa Croce. Every season offers gorgeous surprises: almond and raisin cakes in the fall, soft cakes with grapes in September and delicious artisan warm chocolate in the winter!

What’s the best gelato in Florence? Well, here you will have the last word after two tastings at the best gelaterie in town. You’ll try out superior sorbets and ice creams, creamy or refreshing, organic and traditional ones.

Wine Tour

In 1716, Cosimo III Medici said that the best ambassadors of Florence throughout Europe were Chianti wines, and he is still right today. Living in Italy is like living in a candy store for wine lovers! Every region of Italy produces wine. The best way to sample regional wines is to sit down at a local bar and have wine by the glass. For young or more important wines, try the differences between an enoteca and a vinaio (local wine bars). Both are fabulous learning and tasting experiences. In Florence there are plenty of styles: some are in the old traditional types of standing up at the bar (vinaini or fiaschetterie), others have even turned into dining establishments where you can sit down and actually order (cantina o cantinetta). We will explore them all together…SALUTE !!

Your Florence

I love travelling. I love the freedom to choose.

Your trip will be designed around your passions, according to the pace you prefer. You may spend quality time admiring for long the Renaissance paintings at the Uffizi Gallery, walking through the hipster neighborhood of Oltrano, standing in silence by Gregorian chants in San Miniato church or enjoying the local lifestyle at a local food market.

Let us know your targets and priorities and we’ll come up with a couple of detailed, customized proposals within 24 hours.
See you in Florence!

Flo’-Tuscany Live Talks with Elena

Ciao a tutti! “Together is a great place to be”

Welcome to Florence and to a series of LIVE online experiences! I look forward to showing and sharing my journey throughout Florence and Tuscany together. As native Florentine guide I had the fortune to live here and enjoy artworks in every museum, garden, villa and secret archives housing rare manuscripts. The network of people and the vivid emotions are exactly what I would love to share with you.

FWF online experiences will take you to museums, monasteries, art collections, forests, sunflower fields, wineries and quaint medieval villages in a short time, even to places that are not mentioned on guidebooks. The webinars are not art lectures but true “journeys” with immersive videos/pics.

High quality professional services in Florence and Tuscany with a personable approach

Ask for updated suggestions about great restaurants, events and exhibitions, scouting of memorable wineries, airport assistance from Florence airport. Special care and custom made itineraries are available for visitors with disabilities.

Florence with flair

Experiences

Florence’s highlights

Brunelleschi’s Dome

Museums and Palaces

Villas & Gardens

Arts & Crafts: Oltrarno

Florence for Families

My Sweet Florence

Wine Tour

Your Florence

Flo’-Tuscany Live Talks with Elena

High quality professional services in Florence and Tuscany with a personable approach

Licensed Guide to Florence

Photo Tours

Sommelier

Special Care

Personal Shopper

Airport assistance