What cultural etiquette should I know for Florence?

Florence runs on coffee rituals that visitors trip over daily. You order a cappuccino at the bar in Caffè Gilli on Via Roma before 11am, standing, and you pay about €1.50 for a hot, foamy cup. Sit down at a table and the same drink costs €6-7. After 11am, it's caffè, a bitter concentrated shot no bigger than your thumb, or caffè macchiato. Nothing milky. At the trattoria, bread appears without asking. That's the coperto, €2-3 per person, and it's on your bill whether you eat it or not. Don't ask for olive oil to dip bread in. Florentines eat bread plain or use it for la scarpetta, mopping sauce off the plate at the end. If you're at Trattoria Mario near the Mercato Centrale, the clatter of shared tables and the smell of ribollita simmering from the kitchen is part of the deal. You'll share a table with strangers. The lunch queue at Mario starts forming by 11:45am.

The biggest first-day mistake in Florence is showing up at the Duomo in a tank top when it's 34°C outside. Guards at the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore will turn you away. Knees covered, shoulders covered, no exceptions. This goes for Santa Croce (founded 1294), San Lorenzo, and Santa Maria Novella (founded 1278) too. Street vendors outside sell thin scarves for €5 that work as emergency shawls. Worth noting, the Duomo is free to enter but you need a timed reservation for Brunelleschi's dome climb. The Baptistery across the piazza, built from 1059, enforces the same dress standard. Inside, the 13th-century gold mosaic ceiling catches late-afternoon light while the cool air smells of old stone and candle wax. Keep your voice down. Daily mass at the Duomo runs at 10am and 5pm.

Florentines are more reserved than Romans or Neapolitans. You greet a shop owner with 'buongiorno' the moment you walk in. Not greeting is considered rude, even at a newsstand on Via dei Calzaiuoli. 'Buonasera' takes over around 5pm, though locals tend to switch closer to 4pm in winter. In restaurants, wait to be seated. The host will place you, and moving tables without asking is bad form. The over-60s get informal priority at bakeries and alimentari across the city. If someone older edges in front of you at Forno Pugi on Viale de Amicis, let it go. One thing that might surprise visitors is how direct Florentines can be. If your Italian is rough, they'll likely switch to English mid-sentence. That's not rudeness. English proficiency in the centro storico tends to be higher in the Oltrarno artisan shops than around the San Lorenzo market stalls.

Tipping in Florence is minimal compared to North America. The coperto covers the bread-and-table charge, and most trattorias in the centro storico add it automatically at €2-3 per person. Leaving an extra €1-2 for good service is the ceiling. Nobody rounds up to the nearest €10. At a bar, you might leave 10-20 cents on the counter after a caffè, but even that's optional. Taxi drivers from Peretola airport don't expect tips. The flat fare to the centro storico is €22, fixed by the Comune di Firenze and posted on a sticker inside the cab. If a driver asks for more, that's a scam. One social point about money. Always greet before transacting. Walking into a leather shop on Via Por Santa Maria and asking 'quanto costa' without a 'buongiorno' first will get you shorter, cooler treatment. The Ponte Vecchio jewelers, whose stalls date to the 1590s when the Medici expelled the bridge's original butchers, still expect a 'buongiorno' before discussing anything.