What should I avoid in Florence?

The restaurants along Piazza della Signoria and Via dei Calzaiuoli survive on foot traffic, not repeat customers. You'll spot them by the laminated picture menus in six languages and the host waving you inside from the sidewalk. A plate of pappardelle al cinghiale at one of these runs €18-22, often made with reheated sauce from a catering pack. Walk 10 minutes south to the San Niccolò neighborhood, across the Arno, where Beppa Fioraia serves the same dish for around €12, made that morning, and the tables smell of wood smoke from the grill instead of fryer oil. The coperto (cover charge) at tourist-facing restaurants tends to be €3-4 per person. At most local trattorias it's €1.50 or absent entirely. The gelato shops along Via dei Calzaiuoli with piled-high fluorescent mounds charge €4-6 for a small cup of stabilizer and artificial color. Vivoli near Santa Croce and La Sorbettiera in San Frediano keep theirs flat in covered metal tins and charge €2.50 for a small cup.

The leather market around San Lorenzo is Florence's most persistent trap. Sellers call out to you from stalls stacked with bags, belts, and jackets, and the opening price for a 'genuine Italian leather' bag sits around €150-200. Most of it is bonded leather or imported from Southeast Asia, and the chemical smell of the dye is a giveaway. Real vegetable-tanned leather from Florence's Santa Croce workshops has a warm, slightly sweet scent. If you want actual Florentine leather, the Scuola del Cuoio inside the Basilica of Santa Croce (founded 1294) sells direct from the artisans who make it. Prices start around €60 for a small wallet, but the stitching and hide quality are in a different league. Mind you, the petition scam is still active around the Duomo and Ponte Vecchio. Someone approaches with a clipboard near the Baptistery doors, asking you to sign for a 'deaf charity,' while a second person lifts your phone or wallet.

Florence's ZTL (Zona a Traffico Limitato) covers most of the historic center, and the enforcement cameras photograph every plate that enters. Rental car companies pass the fine directly to your credit card, typically €80-100 per infraction, and you can trigger multiple fines in a single drive if you cross several camera points. Drop your rental at the Fortezza da Basso garage before entering the center on foot. For the Uffizi Gallery (built from 1560), the line without a reservation reaches 3-4 hours on summer mornings. Pre-book a timed entry for €4 extra and arrive after 14:00, when tour groups clear out and the afternoon light through the Arno-side windows hits the Botticellis at a low angle. The same goes for the Galleria dell'Accademia, where you'll stand on Via Ricasoli in the heat for 2 hours without a reservation to see Michelangelo's David.

Florence in summer is hotter than most visitors expect. Right now, late June, the temperature is sitting at 34.8°C with a feels-like of 36.1°C. The stone streets and buildings trap heat, and by 14:00 the area around the Duomo feels like standing inside a kiln. The Piazzale Michelangelo viewpoint, an exposed hilltop with zero shade, is miserable between 11:00 and 16:00 from June through August. Go at 07:00 or after 19:00 instead. Carry at least 500ml. The public fountains scattered through the center dispense cold, drinkable water for free, but they're spaced about every 400 meters. If you're walking from the Palazzo Pitti (1458) up to San Miniato al Monte, you won't find one for 20 minutes on the climb. The path runs about a kilometer of exposed road uphill.