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Travel Guides
The S&A travel guides are typically authored by one or more schools located at the destination in question. If you are interested in using the complete guide or parts thereof for your web site, brochure or similar please contact the individual school for permission.
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Florence
 Florence is the capital of the Tuscany and with no doubt one of the most beautiful cities of Italy and Europe. The town was founded in the first century before Christ and was developed to the cultural centre of Italy under the control of the princes’ family “De Medici”. Michelangelo, Donatello and Bruneleschi operated here just like Leonardo Da Vinci, Galileo Galilei and the famous author Dante.
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Italy - Tuscany, situated at the Arno River
Euro
circa 370.000 people
(Saint) John the Baptist
Piazzale Michelangelo, Piazza della Signoria, Piazza del Duomo, Piazza della Repubblica, Piazza Santa Croce
Cathedrale “Santa Maria del Fiore”, Campanile di Giotto, Babtistery, Palazzo Vecchio, Palazzo Pitti, Ponte Vecchio, Uffizi Gallery, Bargello Museum, Santa Croce, San Lorenzo Basilica & Medici Chapel, San Miniato al Monte, Galleria Dell’Accademia
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Climate
Florence is situated at the border of the temperate zone. In general the weather is very consistent. There are many days of sunshine and only a few rainy days. The highest temperature in the summer time is circa 30 °C, the lowest temperature is circa 16 °C. 10 sun hours per day are normally in this season. In the winter period the temperature can decrease up to 2 °C. Frost and snow are very seldom. The spring and the autumn are very mild and nice.
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Sports & Activities
Florence offers some of the most important museums in the world, fascinating cultural events, art, music, history, fashion and of course a great Italian cuisine. The city is situated one hour away from the Tyrrhaenean Sea. It’s a city with many faces, from the lively quarters and picturesque markets to the many universities and the elegant streets lined by some of the most famous shops in the world. The town offers ideal linguistic conditions for those who want to study Italian: the language spoken in the streets, the squares, the cafes and the markets is free of any dialect and its syntax is often cited as an example of linguistic correctness. It’s the ideal place to practise the language in a culturally exceptional environment.
 In the center are a lot of restaurants, bars, pubs, discos and a famous shopping mile with designer boutiques like Gucci, D&G, Prada and Versace. For Europass it’s very important to design language travels in Florence as well as possible. People will be surprised by the incredible number of recreational activities that both the school and the city can offer. We regularly organize gatherings, common dinners, wine and cheese sampling, movie viewings, outings to night clubs and movie theatres, concerts as well as weekend excursions into the Tuscan countryside. Moreover we organize sporting activities such as football matches and guided bike tours. Cooking and culture courses are offered. Discovering Florence’s hidden places are a substantial part of our rich cultural and extracurricular program. All activities are designed to bring students to closer contact with the Italian language and Tuscan culture! We will give our students the chance to meet other people and practice Italian outside of the classroom in real situations.
Trips
Siena, Pisa – The Leaning Tower
Rome – The Eternal City
Cinque Terre at the Italian Riviera
The famous Assisi,
Elba and Giglio Island,
The Barberino Outlet |
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Public Transport
Buses
 Orange ATAF buses run from roughly 6am to 1am. Be sure to purchase your ticket before getting on the bus. Tickets can be bought at newsstand, kiosk, Tabacchi (signed by a T) or bar displaying the orange ATAF sign. When you board the bus validate the ticket by inserting it in the machine. Single tickets are valid for 70 minutes. There are heavy fines for passengers without valid tickets. Free route maps can be picked up at the ATAF info and ticket office at the main train station Santa Maria Novella. There also exist daily, monthly or student bus passes.
Trains
Trains (treni) in Italy are reliable and generally less expensive than other European countries. There are three railway stations in Florence. The main station in Florence is Santa Maria Novella (SMN). The other stations in Florence are Firenze Rifredi and Campo di Marte. Tickets (biglietti) must be purchased before boarding the train at the ticket office (bigl i etteria ) or the numerous automatic machines. We suggest using these ones just to avoid long waiting in never ending queues. The automatic machines give information in many languages and you can pay cash and with credit card. |
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Practical Information
Working hours
9.00 am – 1.00 pm and 4.00 pm – 8.00 pm in summer
9.00 am – 1.00 pm and 3.30 pm – 7.30 pm in winter
With exception of shops in the city centre and supermarkets, these are continuously open, from morning to night and also on Sunday.
Money Exchange
You can change your money in a lot of banks and change offices. In the centre of Florence you will find a lot of them. The exchange rate fluctuates.
Telephone Calls
The cheapest way to place an international calls is to use an international phone card (for example Tim-Card, prepaid), which can be bought from numerous bars, Tabacchi or newspaper kiosks. |
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Published: 26th May 2008
Last updated: 26th May 2008
Presented together with:
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