Italy Guide (Rome, Florence, Bologna)

Travel Guide
Written By Sistersnacking

Madison went to Italy in 2023 for a wedding and was able to spend a few days in Rome and Florence. We also spent 10 days in spring 2024 visiting Julia abroad in Florence and went to Bologna and Tuscany. We have a full itinerary available for purchase with ALL you need to know if you are going to any of these cities, but if you don’t want to purchase the full guide, here are some of the best restaurants we ate at, tips for travel, and where to stay!

Tips:

Both times we went in April/May it sadly rained a bit. It doesn’t rain all day and sometimes there are pockets of sun, but be prepared for rain if you go in the Spring. Most nicer hotels will have umbrellas for you to use, but be prepared for some rain if the forecast looks gloomy. Florence is a lot of walking and some restaurants you have to wait outside for so just make sure you are dressed for that!

Hotels: Use points if you can, but nice hotels were around $300-400 a night, we budgeted with $200 hotels which were still 4 stars and booked one with our Chase points.

Travel: Trains are easy to book and how you will travel city to city. You can also book planes for further distances. Travel tips below:

  • There is not much space for baggage on trains

  • Do not book last minute, the pricing goes up and we ended up having to book the executive train which was $150 per person, however, it included free food and drink :)

  • Taxis - Rome uses Uber, but Florence does not have taxi’s linked in Uber, you can only book Black cars in Florence

    • You need to find taxi stations within Florence (they will not pick you up if you put up your hand) and since we were staying outside of the downtown area the rides cost around $30 each. We sadly think the drivers take longer routes to increase the cost of the meter

Restaurants/Reservations: Reservations are strongly advised. We didn’t plan much since we were here for a wedding, but many places we wanted to dine at were booked for the month. Additionally, Italy doesn’t have the same kind of urgency we have in the US so many restaurants will say they are full when they don’t want to take on more customers.

  • You can book reservations via the individual restaurant’s websites

Rome

We flew into Rome since they have direct, cheaper flights and spent a night here before traveling to Florence. For this post we are compiling all things Rome in one section.

Hotels we stayed at:

  • Hotel Genio - 4 star hotel, old school, but in a very prime area near many palazzos, the Trevi Fountain, and good restaurants

  • Hotel Mascagni - we really liked this hotel, the luxury rooms are on the fourth floor of a nearby building, but they were nice, spacious, and had a good complimentary breakfast

Restaurants we ate at:

  • La Carbonara (Monti) - We had to book ahead by DM’ing their Instagram, but this one takes late walk ins. We actually liked their food a lot and got the artichoke salad, eggplant parm, carbonara (of course), and cacio e pepe with 3 glasses of wine for 75 euros so it’s not too pricy

  • Osteria da Fortunata - This one is a bit touristy, but everyone recommends it because they don’t take reservations so you can easily go. However, there will be a line at prime dinner time. They make homemade pasta and the carbonara is solid, but not amazing. Go to the location linked above which is less busy

  • Forno Camp de’ Fiori - We LOVED their slab pizzas - this bakery is open early and has many options. We recommend the tomato slice and eggplant covered in parmesan

  • Giolitti - THE BEST GELATO IN ITALY!

 
 

La Carbonara (Monti)

Osteria da Fortunata

 

Additional Restaurant Recs:

Places to see:

  • Colosseum - book tickets before or just walk around it at night after it closes

  • Trevi Fountain - don’t go peak daytime, it’s busy and please beware of pickpockets

  • Pantheon

  • Vatican - book tickets

There is so much to see in Rome and you could spend weeks here (we had limited time), but try to see as much of the history as you can!

Florence

Hotel we stayed at -Hotel Villa Olmi Firenze is a bit outside the main downtown, but this was a lovely 5 star hotel. Rooms were around $200 a night and they have a shuttle that takes you downtown for 2.50 euros per person multiple times a day. There is also a very nice complimentary breakfast. This is where most of the wedding party stayed and there are insane suites with white marble, paintings, with gorgeous Italian flare, however, we stayed in the more basic rooms. If you want to splurge you can book their more extravagant rooms.

Grand Hotel Minerva is a 4-star hotel right in the center of downtown. We walked everywhere from the hotel, but rooms are around $600 a night. They don’t have big rooms so not great for larger groups; it’s maximum 2 people per room because they don’t do rooms with two queens.

Restaurants we ate at:

A swipe of some of our amazing eats in Firenze

Where we ate in Firenze

  • All’Antico Vinaio - This is one of of Florence’s most famous restaurants and panino shops (watch our video review here and tasting video here). They now have locations in NYC and are expanding around the world, but we truly loved their sandwiches. We tried the “La Favolosa” with salami, eggplant, artichoke cream, and truffle cream which comes on still warm fluffy focaccia bread. This is a must eat and don’t worry there are 4 shops right next to each other so lines aren’t that bad, maybe do not go at peak lunch hours

  • Trattoria 13 Gobbi - This place came highly recommended and is known for their red sauce rigatoni coated in mozzarella that comes in a glass bowl. This dish lived up to the hype! We didn’t really love any of the other dishes, but it’s worth it for just the rigatoni.

 

Trattoria 13 Gobbi - Famous Rigatoni

 

  • Pino’s Sandwiches - Everyone says Pino’s up there with All’Antico’s sandwiches and theirs were good, but not as good. We tried the XO Special with mortadella, burrata, pesto, and tomatoes

  • La Carraia in Santa Croce - This is a great option for gelato

  • Forno Becagli - The smell of this bakery drew us in and we loved everything we tried. Get a hot calzone or the focaccia with potatoes and rosemary

  • Osteria Belle Donne - One of the famous Florence wine windows! This is a little touristy, but it’s fun and the wine is only 5 euros

  • Ino: Sandwich shop, get their stracciatella balsamic sandwich and the Ale sandwich

  • 4 Leoni - known for their pear ravioli as a competitor of La Giostra (below) we liked La Giostra better, but we absolutely loved their lasagna, truffle runny egg, Florentine steak

  • Gustapizza - well-known pizzeria in Santo Sprito that makes heart shaped pies and a great off menu peso

  • La Giostra - Full review here. A MUST VISIT AND BOOK AHEAD BECAUSE IT’S HARD TO GET A TABLE. It understandably is a bit touristy, but absolutely holds up to the hype. Must get: pear ravioli, carbonara, Florentine steak, cheesy spinach, tiramisu

  • Il Giova - For a no-frills, casual lunch or dinner with really solid pasta. The pomodoro was literally a perfect pomodoro and one of the best bowls we had in Italy

  • Trattoria Cammillo - Another must visit! We went for lunch but easily could’ve done for dinner. Their tortellini in cream sauce brought tears to our eyes and get the butter, sage chicken.

  • Vivoli Gelato - The best gelato and affogato we had the whole trip. It’s very famous and the line gets long, but trust us and wait for the gelato with coffee.

Additional Restaurant Recs:

  • SandwiChic - another highly recommended panino shop

  • Gelateria dei Neri - supposedly the best gelato in town and there is always a long line

  • Regina Bistecca - famous for Florentine steak

  • Osteria Santo Spritio - cute osteria with creamy truffle gnocci

  • Central Market - we visited the market, but didn’t eat here, there is always a line for the pork sandwiches

  • Il Profeta - known for their “John Travolta” pasta, people say it’s totally overrated though

There are many restaurants in Florence we didn’t get to try, but be sure to plan ahead and book reservations.

Places to see:

  • Ponte Vecchio - famous bridge with many jewelry shops

  • David of Michelangelo

  • Piazza del Duomo

  • Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore

  • Palazzo Vecchio

  • Gucci Museum

 

Wear comfortable shoes

 

Bologna

We spent two days eating in Bologna and a half-day in Parma. For full Parma recs, check out our Italy Guide. Bologna is a cute little city with tons of shops and restaurants. You can definitely do a day trip here, but we wanted more time since it is the birthplace of bolognese and tortellini in brodo!

  • Noi - Located inside the Mercato delle Erbe and was the most underrated lunch. The lasagna verde and tortellini in cream!

  • Bottega Pappagallo - Felt like eating in Nonna’s kitchen, great meal for casual lunch and some great pastas. We loved the lemon ham tagliatelle

  • Cremeria Santo Stefino - The most decadent, rich gelato you have to get in Bologna

  • Casa Merlo - WAGON WHEELS, one of our favorite Bologna bites

  • Trattoria Da Me - Another great dinner option, the stewed onion pasta was like french onion soup. Also they have a great bolognese

  • Gelateria Gianni - Loved for a casual scoop on our walks around the city

Bonus: Naples

We sadly were unable to eat in Naples, but here are a few restaurants based on our research that we wish we could have tried.

 

Eat some pizza in Naples!

 
 
Sistersnacking
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