We left Venice via Italo Rail from Santa Lucia Station in Venice and headed to Santa Maria Novella station in Florence. The journey was a comfortable 2.5 hours, allowing us to relax and savor the experience. We enjoyed a selection of snacks and drinks while taking in the breathtaking views of the rolling hills and lush vineyards of the Italian countryside that stretched out before us. I highly recommend using the rail system in Europe; it is not only efficient and on time but also incredibly convenient, as staff members are readily available to assist you with any questions at the station. Additionally, the onboard service is exceptionally friendly and attentive, making the entire experience even more pleasant and enjoyable, ensuring that you arrive at your destination feeling refreshed and ready to explore.
Train to Florence: Italo Rail
Expedia Travel Store- Grand Hotel Minerva Firenze
Day #1
Upon arriving in Florence, we couldn’t wait to head to our hotel, which was only a 10-minute walk—totally doable with our luggage and the kiddos navigating the cobblestone streets. Our place, the Grand Hotel Minerva, was absolutely gorgeous and had all the modern perks we could ask for. We asked for connecting rooms with a king bed and two twins, and they nailed it. And guess what? Breakfast was included, plus the rooftop pool had an amazing view. We got to the hotel around 2 pm, wandered around Florence for a bit, and then jumped into our first tour, a Viator class for making pasta and tiramisu! Our homemade pasta and tiramisu were on the dinner menu, and we wrapped up the day with gelato. We used Google Maps to find a spot close to the hotel since we were pretty beat after a long day—definitely made good use of the WiFi Hot Spot to help us navigate and find the best places to check out!
Hotel in Florence: Grand Hotel Minerva
Viator Tour: Pasta Cooking Class with Tiramisu and Gift Apron
Day #2
We had an early afternoon tour today, so we had a slow start to the day and headed out to walk around the city around 11 am after a filling breakfast. We grabbed lunch for our tour to Pisa in the afternoon at La Boile Firenze a great place for sandwiches with the crunchy perfect Focaccia bread that Florence is known for, Schiacciata. We then headed to a beautiful marbled paper shop about a 10 minute walk away, Riccardo Luci Marbled Paper. If I went back to Florence, I would head here first, the marbled paper is beautiful and you can even make your own if you schedule ahead of time. I highly recommend it. This time we settled for grabbing some beautiful wallets and notebooks, but next time I’ll make my own marbled paper.
This afternoon we headed on an afternoon tour to Pisa to see The Leaning Tower of Pisa and walk up to the top. We took a bus from behind the train station and it took about an hour and 20 minutes to get to Pisa. We walked about 10 minutes to the entrance of the historic center and then finally sat to have our lunch. We did miss the guided tour of Piazza dei Miracoli/Church to sit and have lunch, but the kids were done with tours for abit. Through this tour we did get access to the Leaning Tower with an entrance time purchased by the tour operator. If you prefer to do this on your own without a tour, you just need to find transportation to Pisa (car or train) and the Bell Tower Tickets.
Viator Tour: From Florence: Pisa Afternoon Tour & Leaning Tower Access
Transportation on your own: Daytrip car company
We returned back to Florence by 7pm and headed to our delicious Florentine Steak dinner. Another item that Florence is famous for. We ate at Ristorante Matteoni, a few minutes walk from the hotel. The service was great and the food was even better. They also had a wine window that many people used during our visit.
Day #3
Today we had a walking tour of Florence and then we were headed to Milan on a 3 pm Italo train. Lucky for us that Florence was very walkable, so we had plenty of time for lunch before we checked out and walked to the train station. Tip: Location of your hotel can make or break your vacation. Our walking tour started at 9:30am in front of our hotel and ended around 11:30am. We saw the Ponte Vecchio, reproduction of David, the outside of the Uffizi Gallery, Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, and the real David housed in the Galleria dell’Accademi a di Firenze. Only building we did enter was the Academy Galleries, on this tour.
Viator tour: Florence Top-Sites Guided Tour with Skip-The-Line Access to Michelangelo David
For lunch, we headed to Il Mercato Centrale Firenze, the central food market which is a 10 minute walk to our hotel. We saw tourist and locals enjoying their lunch there and grabbed some souvenirs before we headed out. Perfect for a quick lunch/dessert and tons of choices so everyone could grab what they wanted.
We finally checked out and headed to the train station for our trip to Milan. Italo rail was a few minutes delayed but the train station had a great coffee shop and stores to wait it out. On to Milano…………
