Explore Florence Beyond the Tourist Spots

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Mara is the best guide ever for food and wine in Florence! You can do no better. She’s kind, smart, attentive, funny; she’s the best.

Michele was an excellent guide. We were able to see everything we wanted in 4 hours. His recommendations for food were spot on. He was waiting on us in our hotel lobby prior to the start time. I would 100% use him again and I’ll be recommending him to my friends.

On October 22nd, Gerry from City Unscripted took my wife and I through the beautiful old town of Tivoli. We began with a walk through the city streets, and Gerry took the time to explain how life in the middle ages affected the architecture of the city. He showed a deep knowledge of the area, its history and explained it very well. For Lunch, we ate at a small local restaurant where fresh pasta and wine from the owners' vineyard were provided - we didn't have to wait long, and the food tasted great. We then went through the Villa d'Este UNESCO World heritage Site, where we were given in-depth explanations on the meanings of the frescoes found in the villa, and looked upon many beautifully crafted fountains and well-maintained gardens. As we were running a bit short on time, our last two stops - The Tivoli Duomo Cattedrale di San Lorenzo (where we were allowed to see the ancient structure of the church) and the outer area of the Villa Gregoriano (where we saw a Roman temple) - were quite short, but Gerry wanted to fulfill my request of seeing more ancient structures from the Roman period, which was appreciated. Overall, I think we may have bit off more than we could chew, but Gerry was an excellent guide through the whole day.

Martina was amazing! She met us at our hotel and gave us a tour of a bunch of different neighborhoods in Florence, sharing the history of the churches and landmarks we passed and pointing out details in the art and architecture that we wouldn't have noticed on our own. It was so nice to be able to go at our own pace - we're fast walkers and city people, but we had spent most of the week on group tours, slowly moving with a large crowd and not seeing as much as we'd like to see. Martina knew the city so well, and we really felt that she gave us some unique insight into what life is like for locals. She recommended some great places to visit and eat! Would definitely recommend a tour with her to friends and family.