Florence by night

Discover the magic of Florence as darkness falls. Restaurants, live music, theatre, opera and the floodlit monuments bring a whole new aspect to this Tuscan city.

Daytime Florence throngs with traffic, tourists, local people, noise and chaos.  Street sellers jostle side by side with tour guides trying to lead unwieldy groups through the narrow, crowded, winding streets and restaurant-filled piazzas. Yet when the sun goes down behind the Duomo, the chaos starts to recede as the streets give way to an altogether more pleasurable and relaxing experience.

Of course the city is still full of people. The many street sellers do not stop pedalling their wares at five o'clock.  Tourists and locals still wander the streets but now the pace is different.   A gentle stroll before a romantic dinner, or time to sip a drink in one of the many street bars and cafes in the main squares of the Piazza della Repubblica and the Pizza della Signoria. Everything is a little less frantic.

The smartly-dressed pass by on their way for an evening of theatre or opera.  The city holds the national record for theatre attendance, selling around six hundred thousand tickets annually, compared to a population of only four hundred thousand.  Local theatres such as the Comunale, Pergola, Goldoni and Verdi stage a wide variety of performances and it is worth checking the local guides to see what is playing.

For those who want to let their hair down, Florence has a thriving club scene.  Space Electronic, Meccanò, Central Park, Yab, Tenax and Costes are just a handful of the many nightclubs that welcome hundreds and hundreds of guests every evening, especially at the weekend.  Or visit the historic Jazz Club or the many Irish bars for some live music.  The young Florentines that crowd around the main city centre piazzas are in fact the best tourist guides as to the best places to go for music.

But amongst all this entertainment, take a moment to appreciate the new perspective that the fall of darkness brings to the ancient monuments and architecture.  Standing in front of the floodlit Duomo looking up at the cupola framed against the night sky, it is hard not to feel goose bumps at the sheer scale, decadence and splendour of this spiritual place.

Walk down through the Piazza della Signoria, towards the River Arno, and cross the Ponte Vecchio, finally climbing up the steps to the terrace of Piazza Michelangelo high above the rooftops to enjoy the city's panorama from this specially designed viewpoint.

Follow all this with a delicious dinner of Florentine steak and a glass of local Tuscan wine and you’ll appreciate what this magical city has to offer the night visitor.

by Andrea Bonfiglio

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