Eating, drinking and embracing la dolce vita in Florence has honestly never been so tantalizing or diverse.
Sheng Jian Bao (steam-fried bao buns) bursting with Tuscan truffles. Cocktail pairings mixing urban spirits distilled with olive leaves and artichokes. Plant-based tasting menus… Sure, decades-old trattorie (trattorias) continue to faithfully cook up cockle-warming trippa all Fiorentina (tripe stew), pappa al pomodoro (bread and tomato soup) and other time-honored classics that established the Tuscan capital’s gourmet reputation. And si, dining is still as stylish and gluttonous as this Renaissance city’s masterpiece-on-steroids surrounds.
But amid the breathtaking kaleidoscope of street tripe carts, wine bars, historical cafes and old-school eateries strung with cured ham legs, spectacular openings – from market stall to Michelin-starred – with a new generation of bold women chefs at the helm are reinterpreting culinary traditions. Watch this space.
One of those rare, uber-fashionable addresses that hasn’t lost an ounce of its epicurean sass since opening in 2002, Oltrarno’s The Holy Drinker consistently delivers brilliantly creative Tuscan cuisine in a vaulted candlelit space. Pasta is handmade, specialty breads and sublime focaccia come fresh from its own artisanal bakery, and the wine list celebrates boutique Tuscan vintages. Reservations essential.
Tuscan home cooking rules the roost at Laura and Lucia’s cheap-as-chips osteria in the historical center. Grab a pew – table-sharing mode on – and watch cooks in hair caps whip up Real McCoy spaghetti alla carbonara (with egg, no cream!), coccoli (hot fried bread to die for with different toppings) and other traditional dishes at lightning speed. Mood and hearing depending, the minuscule jam-packed dining room can be thrillingly atmospheric or a dreadful din.
Spurn touristy restaurants touting bistecca alla Fiorentina in the crowded streets around the Duomo for the real deal at this family-run trattoria, an icon among San Lorenzo market workers since 1953. Florence’s feisty T-bone steak for two is chargrilled just one way: seared outside and pink inside, with a sacrosanct strip of bloody blue. In the finest trattoria tradition, Monday cooks up Florentine tripe, Thursday is rabbit and Friday, salted cod.
Florence’s Gen Z crowd raves about this Scandi-style bakery and brunch-lunch bistro, which pairs avocado toasts and gooey cinnamon buns, still warm from the pan, with specialist coffees by local artisan roaster D612. Veggies, vegans and the gluten-free won’t be disappointed. Look for the queue outside, across from the Arno in Santa Croce.
Chinese-born Xin Ge Liu swapped a career in fashion for a pocket-sized dim sum kitchen and market stall in Florence.
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Social media is a great way to plan for and dream up future vacations; the aesthetically pleasing images and trip inspiration on platforms like Instagram allow us to get an inside look at other travelers’ holidays while sorting out exactly what we want our own trips to look like.
Move over, Myers-Briggs. Human design has become one of the most popular frameworks for assessing our personalities. But it’s more than a way to understand yourself better—human design can also help travelers find the best places to visit that align with their innate nature and energy.
La dolce vita awaits in one of the most visited countries of the world: Italy. But when it comes to the best places to visit in Italy, travelers should know there is a lot more than just the typical tourist hot spots of Rome, Venice and the Amalfi Coast. Going beyond the traditional city limits can reveal plenty of exciting places to visit in Italy in 2024. Here are some top favorites of the best places to visit in Italy and add to your travel bucket list.
The Wall Street Journal published its annual list of the best and worst carriers in the US for 2023, and Delta Air Lines once again took the crown for the top airline.
An explosion of colorful, engaging painting shows provide a welcome antidote to the short days and general lack of sunshine that can make winter in London a tad dreary. Here are six essential art exhibitions to visit over the next month.
Scores of travelers trek to Italy each year in order to experience the country’s majestic landscapes, fascinating culture, artistic treasures and renowned cuisine. Visitors flock to Rome, Venice, Milan and Florence for a true taste of Italian flare.
To hold Dolce Vita—the new silk-swathed hardcover released by luxury publisher Assouline—in my hands feels as though I am embracing the essence and sensuousness of Italy itself. Sweet Life! Written by Italy connoisseur Cesare Cunaccia, this hefty (10-by-13-inch, 6.4-pound, 320-page) coffee-table tome showcases almost 200 expressive and evocative photographs that invite lovely lingering perusal. If you’re seeking an armchair traveler’s page-turner for yourself to kick off 2024 or a Valentine’s Day gift for a dreamer of things bellissimo, thispleases aplenty. Dolce Vita is a visual joy ride, chic and engaging. Indeed, gazing at its images fuels my fantasies of sliding onto a Vespa or into an Alfa Romeo, breezily wheeling from Venice to Milan to Genoa to Florence to Rome to Naples to Sorrento and beyond, through undulating verdant landscapes and glistening seaside ports, savoring fantastic cuisine, then sailing to Sicily for more. Prego!
If you're ever wondering aloud where the hottest mid-winter celebrations take place, those in-the-know might quietly respond, “St. Barts.” The island's luxe air of mystery and remoteness are part of what makes it a seasonal staple for jet setters and superyachts as they follow the sun to the Caribbean in winter. The festivities rage on until the St. Barths Bucket Regatta in mid-March, but what most visitors don’t realize is that the island is practically a year-round one, since the only time hotels typically shut is at the height of hurricane season (late summer).
It’s a new year, but when it comes to world-class food and drink, it’s still the same ol’ London. Meaning there's no Shoreditch—err...shortage of options across this perennially dynamic cityscape. With literally thousands of restaurants and bars worth exploring, there’s obviously no way we can include everything on one measly list. So the task here is to highlight some places that are doing something especially awesome this winter season. Whether you’re in town for a short stay, or a longtime local, check out what’s on below and you’re certain to be satisfied.
Hawaii is one of the most beautiful destinations in the world. With fantastic weather and several islands to explore, it is also a dream destination for many people. There is plenty of breathtaking scenery when visiting the Aloha State.
Vialattea, the leading Italian-French international ski region, and one of Europe’s largest ski resorts, has announced a new commercial and promotional partnership agreement with Trenitalia, the primary train operator in Italy. Trenitalia has been named as the as the ‘Official Green Carrier’ of Vialattea, entering into a new partnership strategy with the international ski area, with a collaboration aimed at carrying out joint commercial activities in order to promote the services of both organisations.