From January 17th until April 27th you can visit the Vasarian Corridor on 4 days a week! This attraction is located at about 15 minutes walk from our Bed&Brekfast into the historic center, and it was the “corridor” used by the Medici Family between Palazzo Vecchio and the Pitti Palace on the other side of the river, crossing the Ponte Vecchio Old Bridge. The corridor is usually keep closed because it is a very important treasure too fragile to be exposed continuosly to visitors.

Here is the schedule:

2 guided tours on Tuesday and Thursday at 9.00am and at 11.30am and two guided tours on Wednesday and Friday at 2pm and 4.30pm

Book your room at the Relais Grand Tour, we’ll do your reservation without additional costs!

Ticket price is Euros 6.50 (standard ticket price with no reservation) + Euros 4.00 (pre-booking service).

** Please note: the Vasarian Corridor will be closed april 5-10 (included 5 and 10) and april 24 and 25. 

We’re waiting for you here at the Relais Grand Tour in Florence, check for our Special Offers available only on our official website!

Most of our guests come to Florence to enjoy the Renaissance art, the beauty of its Cathedrals and the world-famous masterwoks in the museums: Venus by Botticelly, the David…  But: are Flroence museums open during Christmas Holidays?

YES!!!  most of the museums will be OPEN and you can enjoy the Uffizi, Academy Gallery, Pitti Palace…

12/24: all day open – 12/25 all day closed – 12/26 all day open

12/31: all day open until 5.30PM

1/01: all day closed

2/01: PROBABLY there is a special opening, since this is a Monday, and traditionally, mosto of the State museums (Uffizi, Academy etc.) are closed. We will get in touch!

And about restaurants in Florence: are they open during Christmas vacations? … follow us, the next post is coming soon……

If you want to celebrate the New Year’s Eve in a very special athmosphere, far from the city center and its enterteinments, then this is the right choice: a dinner in a Farmhouse where the ancient Windmill hosts a restaurant. You will eat most of the farm products and you can also buy some of them at the shop. So genuine!

 You can book this Special only on our official web site. So, check the availability now and reserve your Winter Holiday in Florence at the Relais Grand Tour!

Relais Grand Tour New Year’s Eve Special Offer

* New Year Welcome Basket in your room: French sparkling wine and mini “panettone” cake
* Three nights stay in one of our suites Mirrors, Actor, Diva with private Jacuzzi or Sauna checking in Dec. 29, 30, 31
* A glorious Tuscan New Year’s Eve Dinner at the Windmill’s Restaurant in the Farmhouse near the city (transportation provided on request, extra-price).
* We offer VAT and tourism tax free of charge!

*** The offer is available only for bookings through our official web site and also includes: breakfast, taxes, internet use.

*** The offer can be based also on the Foyer Suite and the double rooms, please send us an email!

Firenze is a city where winter is not too cold. Sunny days are not a dream, you can see all that gorgeus panorama from the Duomo top-floor (after 463 steps!) or enjoy the fantastic city view from the Ponte Vecchio Old Bridge… Rain is perfect when you’re into the Uffizi Gallery, admiring the Botticelli’s Venus.

The romantic, narrow streets of the historic center have that aroma of roasted chestnuts you can’t resist, and there are lots of small wine markets in the squares where small producers offer tastings of the Vino Novello (the new wine made in september, very young and ideal only with roasted chestnuts), and other execellent wines coming from the Chianti Region here in Tuscany. There is also the new Olive Oil: here in Tuscany you can buy the best Olive oil in Italy (always ask for olio extra-vergine di oliva) and get a perfect snack : pane e olio (fresh home made bread and new olive oil, sometimes with a light taste of garlic on the bread if you toast the slice).

Not to tell about the Florentine winter food menù at the restaurants: our best “ribollita” is a seasonal winter dish (that’s why you can’t find it in May – if restaurant is good and honest), and the “pappa al pomodoro“, too. You will taste the “bollito misto” which is ideal during cold days (boiled meat with its sauce together with vegetables and special sauces like “salsa verde” ), and you can’t miss your T-bone steak, of course… In addiction: porcini and truffle lovers, this is your time!

For those who think that Florence does not offer events during the winter, well this is not the truth! The main theatres are open for operas and classic concerts, and there are temporary exhibition in the city center, like Palazzo Strozzi which offers contemporary art events and a rich calendar of exhibitions on Florentine Renaissance masterworks during all year. And, most important, no lines at the museums Uffizi, Academy, Bargello, Pitti Palace… Great!

What are you waiting for? The warm athmosfere of your charming rooms will be perfect for a romantic getaway in Florence!

 Choose our winter special offer for and check the online availability now! The offer is valid only on our official web site!

You can buy your Firenze Card in Palazzo Vecchio (Signoria square), at the entrance. The price of the Firenze Card is euros 50.00 and it includes 33 museums to visit for a total of 72 hours. With this special ticket you can also use the public transport in the city for free.

The Firenze Card can’t be pre-booked, but the great new is that you won’t have to stay in the lines for hours and hours under the sun or in the rain… Just go to the museums, show your Firenze CArd and start the visit!

What are you waiting for? Let’s come to visit the city of the Renaissance and stay at the Relais Grand Tour B&B, we’re looking forward to meet you!

The Week of Culture 2011 promotes  free entrance in all the State Museums of Italy . Here in Florence you can visit: the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens, Uffizi Gallery, Bargello Museum, Academy Gallery, Medici Chapels, and many other attractions. All of them free of charge

It is possible to get your museum tickets in advance using the online booking service available on the Official Firenze museums web site or if you’re a guest at the Relais Grand Tour B&B we’ll do that for you (no credit card needed). If you pre-book your tickets yopu’ll skip the long lines, and pay just for the pre-booking service, which is about 4,00 euros each person.

Florence is so romantic in April and you will have a very good time here at the Relais Grand Tour. Walking on the Old Bridge the Ponte Vecchio, stay in front of the Venus by Botticelli, dine in a fine tuscan restaurant… You can also think about the possibility to take a daily trip to Pisa or Siena and visit their museums, since this event is valid for all the State Museums in Italy.

Book your charming room at Relais Grand Tour B&B, and we’ll do your Culture Week 2011 special!

Week of Culture, April 9-17, 2011. Valid for all State Museums in Florence

1. There are 2 airports in Tuscany: the one in Florence is “Firenze Peretola Airport – A. Vespucci” http://www.aeroporto.firenze.it/IT/index.php (english version available), and the one in Pisa is the “Pisa Airport – G. Galilei” http://www.pisa-airport.com/ (english version availabile)

2. From Pisa airport to Florence: it takes between 1 h – 2 hours and half, depending on the transport you choose. By bus: http://www.terravision.eu/florence_pisa.html , by train http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/homepage_en.html just put “Pisa ae” for Pisa airport and Firenze for the main Florence train station. Actually there is a special 1 hour high speed connection, available during the day until 8PM (from 8pm there are some connections taking 1h and half to get into the Firenze stazione), tickets around 5,00-6,00 euros per person. Last choice is the taxi at a fixed price of euros 150,00 (it takes about 40 minutes to get into the historic center of Florence from Pisa airport).

What about to rent a car in Pisa and get in Florence center? This is not the best solution. If you intend to spend a part of your vacation in Florence, then your car will stay in a garage or a parking because you can’t drive into the historic center and you can take it just to go outside the city center. Probably, the best choice is to rent a car while you’re leaving Florence to get in the countryside like Chianti area, Siena, etc. Or you can rent a car in the ,morning to go outside Florence for a daily trip and then drop it off in the evening, avoiding parking tariffs.

3. From Florence airport to Florence center: taxi is the best way. The tariff is between 18-22 euros including your luggages, and you will arrive at the B&B in about 15-20 minutes depending on the traffic you will find on boulevards around the historic center.

Let’s start to arrange your stay in Florence, we’re waiting for you at the Relais Grand Tour B&B!

Today I want to talk about two things: first the Exhibtion Picasso, Mirò, Dalì. Angry Young Men: the birth of Modernity in Palazzo Strozzi from March 12th to July 17, 2011 and second on March 8th free entrance for all women in all museums. These are very great news!

The exposition of Picasso is dedicated to his pre-cubist period and Mirò and Dalì are shown in their masterworks before the surrealism period. There are about 25 masterpieces each artist, showing their earliest period when they get the Modern Art Revolution started. In addiction, most of their paintings rarely take part in exhibitions, so this is a very good chance for you!

How to book: if you want to pre-book your Picasso tickets go to http://www.vivaticket.it/ or visit the Palazzo Strozzi official web site http://www.palazzostrozzi.org/

March 8, 2011 (Tuesday): Women Women Women! This is your day: if you’re in Florence you can go in all the main museums free of charge! Hey girls, what are you waiting for? Florence is an excellent place where to spend some days in a small group of girl friends or take a break from your family routine. Just stay at the Relais Grand Tour, relax, and explore our beautiful (and safe!) city enjoying the Uffizi, the Michelangelo’s David in the Academy Gallery, the portratis at the Pitti Palace and the magic of the Ponte Vecchio Old Bridge…

Check rooms availability and our special tariffs on our official web site www.florencegrandtour.com AND don’t miss our Special Offers and Packages valid in March!

What about Easter traditions in Florence? Let’s start to say that this year Easter starts on Thursday April 21 and it ends on Tuesday April 25th. That Thursday is called Holy Thursday and here in Florence a Procession occour at the main Cathedral the Duomo, where the “lavanda dei piedi” Washing of the Feet is made by priests.

The Holy Thursday tradition says that you must eat the “pan di ramerino” or “pan di rosmarino” (rosemary bread) that you can find in all bakeries. It is a sweet and savoury bread with rosemary and candied raisin that you can find during Easter week only.

On Friday night there is the famous Processione del Venerdi Santo, and one of the most suggestive procession is in Grassina, not far from Florence (by bus or by car).

But the very special event in Florence is the world-famous “scoppio del carro” (explosion of the cart) in the Duomo square on Sunday morning April 24th. All locals and tourists go in the square to get the best places to see the event: a cart with cows is positioned in the square on the opposite side of the main entrance of the cathedral. Then, a rope is tied between the cart and the main altar inside the Duomo and they lit a fuse that triggers a white dove (fake, of course!) going to burn the cart and return to the main altar in the Church. If the dove never stops and the wagon turns in fireworks, this means it will be a wonderful year for the city of Florence.

The Monday April 25th after Easter day all families are used to spend the day outside the city, mostly in the countryside pic-nic areas. Most important: food, of course! The typical Torta Pasqualina (Easter cake) is a savoury home-made cake with spinach, cheese and eggs that is a must for the “Pasquetta” family lunch.

Note that April 25th is also an Italian National Holiday: we celebrate the Liberation after the World War II.

About museums and Shops in Florence during Easter Week: except on Monday April 25th, all the main museums will be open regulary, and all the shops, boutiques and markets will be open daily as usual. Restaurants, bars, etc. are open and ready to wellcome you!

We’re waiting for you in Florence, check rooms availability and stay at the Relais Grand Tour

And: we want to say a big THANK YOU to all our guests. You made our Bed and Breakfast as it is today, with your comments, your suggestions, the reviews you left on the internet. You gave us your time, you shared with us your experience in Florence, and that make us happy and proud.

It was a pleasure to share our home a bit of our lives with each one of you. And it will be great to meet you again here in Florence, and to meet new people from other Countries sharing their emotions with us.

Cristina, Giuseppe, Camilla, Lorenzo