The Best Wine Bars

Right opposite the main entrance to the Palazzo Pitti on the south side of the river is the enoteca called Pitti Gola e Cantina. There is a good choice of wines by the glass, including exquisite dessert wines, and a daunting list of wines by the bottle, displayed on shelves from floor to vaulted ceiling. You can see by the attention they give to decanting the wine that the expert owners care that you enjoy your visit here, so whether you have a glass of wine on a high stool at the bar or share a bottle at one of the marble topped tables, you know you are in good hands.

Still on the south side of the river there is the ever popular Le Volpi e l'Uva, just a few metres from the Ponte Vecchio. The wide range of wines by the glass are chalked up on boards above the bar and the book length wine list is available for you to peruse if you want to make more serious selections. If you discover a wine that you can't get at home, just ask about shipping and they will be glad to help. There are stools at the bar so you can take in the atmosphere and enjoy watching the staff prepare delicious snacks or in the summer months you can sit outside on the terrace in the peaceful piazza.

When you are near the central market in the San Lorenzo area, stop off at the Casa del Vino for a glass of wine and a snack. Several wines are available by the glass in this tiny bottega at reasonable prices, but if you are looking for something more special to take home, they have many prestigious wines in the original nineteenth century display cabinets. Some exquisite snacks are available here to go with your glass of wine, for example a sandwich of schiacciata bread with sweet cherry tomatoes, fresh anchovies and burrata, the creamier, fresher version of mozzarella. Look out for the tiny buttered bread rolls filled with tartufo or truffle paste, a traditional Florentine treat.