06-17-2011, 01:58 AM
Train stations in the popular tourist attractions (Rome, Florence, Venice) have tourist offices where you can get a hotel room at a quoted rate. In Florence, you basically just get off the train and when you get to the end of the tracks, just look over to your left. They will have a chart or tell you what the range of rates is for one star, two star, three star etc. Two star might be a room with a sink, and for a little more money, a private bath. I am told that it is possible to do better on room rates, but the fact that the hotel is known to the tourist office and does business with them everyday is probably an advantage.
In Florence (Firenze to the Italians), zillions of things. Make sure to see the new palace of the Medicis (only goes back to the 1500s). The Uffizi Gallery is one of the top art galleries in the known universe -- you can make a reservation for a couple of Euro and come back at a convenient time instead of waiting in line. The Academia Gallery in Florence has the David statue, but there are others there also worth seeing. The tourist guides that everybody uses are generally fine.
In Italy, the old historic part of a city is called the centro storico (pronounced chentro) and in Florence is actually the area around the train station and a little beyond towards the cathedral. The word for cathedral is duomo (pronounced dwomo) and they are generally centers of activity, particularly in Florence and Milan.
Venice can be a difficult place to get a hotel room, particularly at a reasonable rate. This is worth planning ahead. If you do the tourist office thing, get there in the morning. I don't know whether travel agencies are useful, but almost anybody should be able to do better than I did.
There is another gallery called Academia, but this one in Venice. It is also one of the top museums in the world. I recommend taking the English language tour, and then taking your time.
Of course, if you dislike Renaissance art, ignore these suggestions.
One other thing -- if you can possibly get access to a class in Italian, even at the rudimentary level, this will make your life easier and enhance your experience. It's useful to know how to order a roll and coffee, and to be able to tell the clerk your room number in his own language. You don't have to be great at it, but I think it helps to have some ability to pronounce words in at least a barely comprehensible manner. One of the things I did long ago was to buy some childrens' books (Italian ones) that have pictures of different kinds of food and other things, and give the Italian words for them. The words for different kinds of foods are not taught early on in the standard language class, but they are words that will help you enormously -- unless you want to live on nothing but coffee and gelato.
Here's your first word in Italian: Pizza. Try the 4 seasons (quatro stagione) or bianca (white) or just plain pizza. You can get it in lots of places, including McDonalds.
Hidden secret: McDonalds generally have restrooms you can use.
In Florence (Firenze to the Italians), zillions of things. Make sure to see the new palace of the Medicis (only goes back to the 1500s). The Uffizi Gallery is one of the top art galleries in the known universe -- you can make a reservation for a couple of Euro and come back at a convenient time instead of waiting in line. The Academia Gallery in Florence has the David statue, but there are others there also worth seeing. The tourist guides that everybody uses are generally fine.
In Italy, the old historic part of a city is called the centro storico (pronounced chentro) and in Florence is actually the area around the train station and a little beyond towards the cathedral. The word for cathedral is duomo (pronounced dwomo) and they are generally centers of activity, particularly in Florence and Milan.
Venice can be a difficult place to get a hotel room, particularly at a reasonable rate. This is worth planning ahead. If you do the tourist office thing, get there in the morning. I don't know whether travel agencies are useful, but almost anybody should be able to do better than I did.
There is another gallery called Academia, but this one in Venice. It is also one of the top museums in the world. I recommend taking the English language tour, and then taking your time.
Of course, if you dislike Renaissance art, ignore these suggestions.
One other thing -- if you can possibly get access to a class in Italian, even at the rudimentary level, this will make your life easier and enhance your experience. It's useful to know how to order a roll and coffee, and to be able to tell the clerk your room number in his own language. You don't have to be great at it, but I think it helps to have some ability to pronounce words in at least a barely comprehensible manner. One of the things I did long ago was to buy some childrens' books (Italian ones) that have pictures of different kinds of food and other things, and give the Italian words for them. The words for different kinds of foods are not taught early on in the standard language class, but they are words that will help you enormously -- unless you want to live on nothing but coffee and gelato.
Here's your first word in Italian: Pizza. Try the 4 seasons (quatro stagione) or bianca (white) or just plain pizza. You can get it in lots of places, including McDonalds.
Hidden secret: McDonalds generally have restrooms you can use.