Florence - cool places to go

A trip in the countryside

All of the countryside around Florence is extremely beautiful, apart from a couple of industrial districts. The famous "rolling hills" and marvellous landscapes of Tuscany have been honed and perfected in terms of landscape gardening by generations of rulers and owners. Every street has been created, since the times of the Medici, not to traverse the hills with the fastest possible route, but to enjoy the best sights of the surrounding land. Trees have been planted in precise rows to punctuate the rising and falling of the land, the houses are located in the most panoramic spots. No wonder Sting has a house there: this is Feng Shui applied to a whole land... The best places to go are probably Fiesole, Bagno a Ripoli, and the Val D’Arno (the valley of the river Arno), but all of the hills around Florence have great hiking and gastronomic itineraries which can be enjoyed on foot, by car or by bike. So grab your bottle of Chianti and get on your way!

Oltrarno

The Oltrarno is, as the name says, the area on the other side of the river Arno: it is sort of a companion to Rome’s Trastevere, with its air of tradition and a number of small shops and artisan’s ateliers that are a very interesting alternative to visiting museums. Another good option for a sunny afternoon is a stroll in the Giardino dei Boboli, created in the Renaissance as an appendix to the Pitti Palace, and then enlarged and enriched by a series of famous architects and artists. It is extremely beautiful and has a perfect atmosphere.

The Tenax

Open since the beginning of the new wave years (1981), this venue has a great tradition for being one of the best of Florence and always being cutting-edge in terms of musical choices. It has hosted concerts of bands from Spandau Ballet to Bauhaus, from Human League to Iggy Pop, and more recently Asian Dub Foundation, Radiohead and Suede. It has a big concert stage, a big disco room with a trendy selection of DJ’s, and is openly gay-friendly. One defect: being one of the biggest concert venues in Florence it hosts concerts by some terrible Italian pop artists... For more information, check their site at www.tenax.org.

Auditorium Flog

This place has got and incredible tradition: the Flog is a multi-purpose area including swimming pool, tennis fields and similar services which was founded just after World War II; the Auditorium opened in 1972 and has been organizing concerts and events since then. It is a great place for live concerts, and has hosted a number of important bands.

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