Florence – a familiar yet secret city
A unique add-on to your watermill visit: three days of exploration and wonder tailored to your special interests, with the services of professional guide, Freya Middleton
Many guests on our painting holidays and creative writing courses have expressed an interest in adding on a few days to visit the beautiful city of Florence and have asked us for our advice.
Well, we've gone one better than that! We know Florence quite well ourselves, now that we've lived there for more than a year. But no one knows the city better -- its art, architecture, its famous sights and hidden corners -- than Freya Middleton, a licensed private tour guide.
We've been working with Freya to create a unique three-day 'Florence add-on' for our watermill guests. We'll fix it for you to see the familiar and the secret Florence just before you come on sun-filled, fun-filled, relaxing and inspirational seven-days in Posara. And because Freya will give you fresh insights into familiar venues, as well showing you others less familiar, we think this three-day trip will appeal to those who've already visited Florence and well as those who have never been before.
Here's what we'll do for you:
- Book you in and pay for three night's room and breakfast at a centrally located, three-star hotel (see below for details)
- Send you train or coach tickets from Pisa airport to Florence Santa Maria Novella (SMN) train station
- Personally meet you at Florence SMN station take you by taxi to your hotel
- Provide Freya's services for two four-hour intimate sightseeing walking tours during you stay
- Tell you about great places to eat, enjoy aperitifs and watch the passing scene
- Provide an insider's guide to lesser-known things to see and do
- Give you a free copy of the wonderful Jonglez guidebook 'Secret Florence'
- Personally pick you up at your hotel and take you by taxi to Florence SMN station
- Give you train or coach tickets from Florence to Pisa, where you'll be met and transported by car or minibus to the watermill for your painting holiday or creative writing course.
You can rely on the famous Watermill at Posara organisational skills, so you don't have to worry about anything, except soaking up the atmosphere of Florence, ancient and modern.
And we'll do all this at a special price for watermill guests of just £585! (See details below)
Your personal guide: Freya Middleton
Freya was born in Australia, but is convinced she has an Italian soul! She came to Florence 10 years ago on a post-graduate research fellowship after her degree in Art History – and never left.
Freya is an expert on art history, which she studied in Australia, England, the Sorbonne in Paris, as well as in Florence. But it was Italy that captured her heart:
She says: "I was completely seduced by the country, the art, the architecture, the fashion, the food, the pace of life, the countryside and, of course, the magnificent cities. And of course, there are the people: crazy, generous, ingenious and unpredictable! Their creativity and their arrogance, their magnanimity and devotion to life make the country what it was and what it is today.
"I want to bring Florence alive for you: it is attractive in so many ways and appeals to all the senses and to the soul: you'll be transported to the Golden Age when the city was the undisputed leader in wealth, splendour and power , reflected in its art and architecture. Modern Florentine life co-exists with the past and my aim is to expose you to both the romantic ideal and the raw Italian 'bella vita' that draws us to the country time and time again."
She adds: "I became a licensed private tour guide of Florence for numerous reasons, predominately because I like people and I like to be surrounded by beauty. Working as a private tour guide, conducting walking tours of Florence, combines both of these. The city is a museum, both historical and contemporary, of the Italian people. The buildings, the churches, the streets and the works in the museums tell the story of humankind and this helps us to understand who we are today."
Video: A personal greeting from Freya
We've asked Freya to put together a unique package for guests at The Watermill: eight hours of an intimate tour of the city, both familiar and less well known, spread over two days
For more information about your time with Freya and your daily itinerary, See 'Your detailed itinerary' below
When to come to Florence and why
We reckon it'll be best if you come to Florence before your watermill week, for two reasons:
First, you'll enjoy the bustle of a city and walking through the historic streets to see the cathedral with its famous dome, Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella, the Piazza della Signoria with the Palazzo Vecchio, the Ponte Vecchio – all the famous sights – to say nothing of the stunning exhibits in museums like the Uffizi, the Accademia and San Marco. And then you can change pace and enjoy the tranquil, yet inspiring, surroundings of the watermill, where we'll look after your every need.
Secondly, many of the famous Florence museums are closed on Mondays, so we'll fix for your Florence visit to start on a Wednesday. You'll enjoy three days there -- and then come to us at the mill on the Saturday morning to begin your painting holiday or writing course.
Where you'll stay
We've identified some charming three-star hotels for your visit. We'll book you in to one of them. Of course, exactly where you'll stay is subject to availability; if the hotels below are not available, we will book you into accommodation of a similar, if not higher, standard. These are among our choices:
Hotel Logiato dei Serviti |
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Hotel Annalena |
Your detailed itinerary
Wednesday
- Late morning/lunchtime: You arrive at Pisa airport and take the train from Pisa Aeroporto station to Firenze Santa Maria Novella station (we'll have sent you tickets in advance).
Bill or Lois will meet you at Florence SMN station and take you by taxi to your hotel, a specially selected, centrally located, three-star hotel. - Late afternoon/early evening: Settling in. We'll have given you a map of Florence, made suggestions for interesting places you may want to see that afternoon, such as San Miniato al Monte (Gregorian chants at 5.30pm) and the view over the city. See also a few of our recommendations below for other fascinating places not on Freya's Thursday and Friday tours. Also enjoy reading your free copy of the Jonglez Secret Florence guide.
- Evening: at leisure in Florence. Choose your own restaurant/trattoria/pizzeria for supper. We'll make suggestions.
There are also often free musical concerts in the city in the evenings: we'll tell you about them.
Thursday
Breakfast at the hotel- Morning: Freya will meet you at your hotel and take you on an outdoor guided tour of the City centre including the Duomo complex: Giotto's bell tower; the Baptistry with its famous bronze doors and the interior of the cathedral* with Brunelleschi's magnificent cupola. Walk to the Galleria Accademia* (to see Michelangelo's David) where pre-booked entrance tickets enable you to avoid the longer queues.
Other options that morning include San Marco* with its famous Fra Angelico frescoes. - Lunchtime, afternoon and evening: free for your own sightseeing/relaxation (See a few of our recommendations below) (We do recommend you follow the Florentine tradition of an apperitivo at around 6pm, where you will get little snacks with your drinks.)
Choose your own restaurant/oratorio/pizzeria for supper. We'll make suggestions.
There are also often free musical concerts in the city in the evenings: we'll tell you about them.
Friday
Breakfast at the hotel- Morning: at leisure. See below for some suggestions of other interesting places to see.
- Afternoon: Freya will come to your hotel just after lunch for a short walk in the old City centre to visit the Franciscan church of Santa Croce and then a coffee/gelato break and a short walk through historic Florence to the Piazza della Signoria with the Palazzo Vecchio exterior and the Loggia dei Lanzi. Followed by a guided tour of the Galleria degli Uffizi* to admire the paintings by Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Giotto. We will pre-book the tickets and time our tour for late afternoon to avoid – as far as possible – the worst of the crowds
- Evening: at leisure
Choose your own restaurant/trattoria/pizzeria for supper. We'll make suggestions.
There are also often free musical concerts in the city in the evenings: we'll tell you about them.
Saturday
Breakfast at the hotel- Morning: Bill or Lois will meet you at your hotel and take you to Florence Santa Maria Novella station
1100 direct train from Florence SMN to Pisa Aeroporto
1200 arrive Pisa Aeroporto
1230ish minibus/car to watermill
* These venues are usually open but may occasionally be closed for national holidays or for reasons beyond our control. An alternative venue will be arranged if necessary.
Recommendations
Other sights/museums
Among the other sights/museums we highly recommend are:
- The Bargello with some magnificent sculptures, including works by Donatello and Michelangelo;
- The Museo dell'Opera del Duomo which includes one of the last works by Michelangelo and famous masterpieces by Donatello;
- San Miniato al Monte church, a masterpiece of Romanesque architecture. There are Gregorian chants by some of the six Benedictine monks every evening at around 5.30pm
- Orsanmichele, church of the powerful Florence guilds,wonderful statues outside San Ambrogio market, marvellous food stalls inside and outside, much more genuine than San Lorenzo market, with a very local Trattoria da Rocco, located inside
- Palazzo Davanzati (Museo della casa antica fiorentina), a wealthy merchant home from the 1300s.
- Palazzo Pitti – the granducal palace of the Medici. Visit the Palatina gallery, and its Medici rooms with frescoed ceilings by the Baroque master Pietro da Cortona, and the wonderful painting collection.
Freya's favourite restaurants and cafes
There are lots of them and we'll talk to you more about them. But to whet your appetite:
- Accademia Gallery in Piazza San Marco: wood-fired pizza served at lunch time only
- Vini e Vecchi Sapore in via dei Magazzini: traditional osteria with unusual food
- Pepò in via Rosina: warm and welcoming with a bistro atmosphere
- Zeb in the San Niccolo area: (lunch only) a stylish 50s-style diner and food shop
- Hostaria del Bricco in San Niccolo area: a welcoming family-run restuarant
- Hostaria il Desco in via delle Terme: family-run, great atmosphere, romantic.
Secret Florence, the Jonglez guide
We'll also give you your own FREE copy of the unique Jonglez Secret Florence guidebook by Niccolò Rinaldi, to enable you to see things other visitors pass by.
For example:
- visit superb private gardens that even the Florentines don't know about
- discover the last wine distributors of the Renaissance
- see a church in a prison
- watch cars fill up with petrol at a vintage service station
- hunt for the 34 plaques displaying quotes from the "Divine Comedy"
- count the number of bees sculpted on the monument to Ferdinand I
- notice the minuscule windows designed to let children look out quietly onto the street
- learn how the purple colour of the Fiorentina football team is connected to the pee of a Florentine crusader in Palestine...
The 'Florence add-on package'
The price
The price of £585 per person is based on four people taking the 'Florence add-on' tour. If there are less than four people, the cost will increase slightly (to allow for the taxis and the tour guide.)
What's included and what is not
What's included:
- Return train/coach fares Pisa Aeroporto/ Florence
- Taxis to and from Florence train station to hotel
- Three nights' standard single room in Florence in 3-star hotel, with continental breakfast
- Tourist tax
- Eight hours' services of professional tour guide Freya Middleton
- Advice on other places to visit/free evening concerts etc.
What's not included:
- Flights to Pisa
- Lunches and dinners in Florence
- Entrance fees to museums and other venues
'Add-on' Booking enquiry
This three day visit to Florence 'Add-on' can be booked by including it with your painting or writing course bookings
- For booking one of our Painting holidays and 'Add-on', please use our Painting holiday enquiry form
- For booking one of our Creative Writing courses and 'Add-on', please use our Writing course enquiry form
Getting there
You make your own arrangements to fly into Pisa airport on Wednesday morning.
Or you can use the services of our Personal Travel Adviser, Peter Millard of The Co-operative Personal Travel Advisers, who will fix everything for you at very competitive prices.
There is absolutely no obligation to use him, but if you would like his help, his phone number is 0844 209 4039 (local call charge) and his email address is peter.millard@co-operativepta.co.uk. We have found that many travel agents these days are not very helpful and are often tied to big tour operators. Peter will give you personal service.
You might also like to fly in to Pisa on the Tuesday and see the Leaning Tower and other Pisa sights before leaving for Florence. Peter can also help book a Pisa hotel.
On the Wednesday you take the train from Pisa Aeroporto station. (We'll have sent you the rail tickets in advance.)
Bill or Lois will meet the train which leaves Pisa Aeroporto train station at 1303 and arrives at Firenze SMN station at 1400 and take guests to their hotel by taxi.
There are earlier and later trains:
The 1103 from Pisa airport, which arrives in Florence SMN at 1200.
The 1503 from Pisa airport, which arrives in Florence SMN at 1600.
We can also meet these trains by arrangement.
Cancellations
A handling charge of £50 per person will be levied on all cancellations. In addition, if you have to cancel four to eight weeks before departure, a charge of 40% of the total price is payable; at two to four weeks, 60%; at one to two weeks, 80%; at less than one week, 90%. We highly recommend that you take out travel insurance that includes provision for you.
The small print
While every effort will be made to make you booking at the hotels indicated above, they may not be available and we will book you into accommodation of a similar, if not higher, standard.
We will book the hotel in your name and the responsibility for your comfort and care during your stay rests with the hotel itself
The venues we mention for your tours are usually open but may occasionally be closed for national holidays or for reasons beyond our control. An alternative venue will be arranged if necessary.
If you book for the Florence add-on for a time when Freya is booked already, she will organise a guide she knows personally and is experienced and knowledgeable, and with a lovely personality. She will, of course, always try to do both tours with you.
Watermill Info