Tuscany (Toscana) Hostels

Marina di Massa is really cool for the whole family, it's even a great place to surf!

There are swarms and swarms of tourists in Siena, taking many photographs of the beautiful buildings. I like it.

I spent last winter living in Florence and I never stop missing it. In fact, I'm returning in 2 weeks. I recommend just wandering aimlessly, living cheap but splurging on food & wine, and avoiding other tourists!

Living here now for 6 months -- if you want to visit, try November, December, or January (the latter two if you don't mind a bit of rain). As for the tourists, the fact is that the city has a population of 350,000 (approx), and there are just over 8 million (8,000,000) tourists a year. And they all pack into the centre of town as that is where all the great stuff is. So, yes it is noisy, crowded, expensive, and all that, but the cultural treasures here with respect to the Renaissance are unparalleld in terms of density. However, remember that most of the artists who started in Florence wound up going to Rome to seal their fame, and there are a number of really, really important museums (equally important to the Uffizi museum, for example) in Rome. To each his own!

I recommend visiting Fiesole for a brilliant view of Florence.

Florence is one of the best cities in the world. I visited in summer 2005 and had the time of my life. My advice -- don't waste one second of your time there because no matter how much you see and do, you will leave wishing you would've went here or there, so go everywhere!

Marina di Massa is the place to be in the summer. Nice lounge bars, nice beach, nice people, nice food. What to you want more on your holiday!

Go to Florence only if you really love art, don't expect to find the greatness of Rome. It's a very small city with expensive museums.

I spent two weeks in Italy April 2005. I am sure Florence is a great city, but don't go during the tourist months like I did. It was so crowded. I wasn't expecting it to be the big shopping meca it was either. Worst of all, English was spoken everywhere. I had been doing so well speaking Italian all over Italy only to not use it in Florence! I saw the art at the museums and the trip was worth it for that but I would never come back again during the tourist season. It just wasn't fun.

I lived in Florence for six months in 2002 and again for four months in 2005. Best advice for people who think the centre is too crowded is to cross Arno and explore San Frediano and Santo Spirito, where you will meet Italians instead of tourists. Learn a few phrases in Italian and they will love you! Go to all the famous places anyway -- even though there might be a lot of tourists, it's worth it. Never do your grocery shopping in the centre -- it's too expensive! (Penny Market -- Via Aleardo Aleardi -- is a bit messy, but cheap!) To avoid bad experiences at restaurants, go to the places where you can see Italians eating -- if they eat there it means the food is good! And instead of going to Piazzale Michelangelo, try the view from Bellosguardo (not from the piazza, though -- you can't see the city from there). While you're there, have a look around. There are some beautiful old villas in the area. If you give it some time and try to explore the not so touristed areas, you might be…

I just spent a week traveling Europe. Siena was by far one of my favorite places. It truly is beautiful and traditional Italy. Quiet, safe, and free from traffic. At times, the brick streets were so quiet I could hear my own thoughts. The Italian people are charming, warm, and very passionate. If you attempt to speak Italian, their faces light up bright like the sun. I fell in love with Siena. And I made a new friend, Lucca, who was kind enough to show me how to get to the train station. I will be going back again very soon. I miss Siena. Ciao!

I can't believe that there are three Davids in Florence -- the two cloned ones are on the roads, but the original one is at the Galeria Acedemia. It's just superb -- no words to describe him.