🍷 Florence – Wine Windows and More 🍷

 

Have you ever heard of a wine window?  It’s exactly what it sounds like … and we visited one in Florence, Italy.

First, a few overall impressions of the cocktail scene in Florence:

• Florence is fairly compact and definitely walkable, which makes for a safe and easy cocktail tour
• Art is everywhere! No boring scenery here.
• Surprisingly, after a night of cocktails there aren’t many places to grab a late-night bite to sober up

No more suspense… let’s talk about wine windows – or “buchetta del vino” in Italian! These are small windows that were invented in the Middle Ages to allow people to pass wine and other items from inside establishments to people in the streets without direct contact (you know, that whole Black Plague thing) and as a way for thirsty patrons to avoid paying taxes to fill their personal bottles. Fast forward to 2020 and our own pandemic – some of these windows in Florence began operating again! We visited one at a bar called Babae in a neighborhood across the river from the tourist area. It was pretty simple – ring the bell, order the wine, wine gets passed and we drank in the street. Definitely one of the most unique experiences of our trip. The wine was excellent too!

Just like in Verona, Florence has a beautiful mountaintop park called Piazzale Michelangelo where you can enjoy wine or a cocktail and see the sunset. It’s a bit of a hike if you choose to walk (which we did) but totally worth it! Many people bring their own libations to the park and there are several vendors to grab some. But we chose the terrace at a lovely restaurant called La Loggia to enjoy our sunset cocktails. It’s hard to take a bad photo in Italy, but this evening was particularly spectacular. No matter how you choose to enjoy it, this view is definitely a #tipsypick.

One of the most unique cocktail bars we’ve maybe ever visited is here in Florence. The Arts Inn started as an art gallery, but the owner needed income to allow artists to have space at low or no cost – so The Arts Inn was born! The space is intimate and filled with little cozy spaces for some excellent cocktails and wine! The bartender took the time to talk to us about the concept and if you ask nicely you can climb the staircase to see the artist studio upstairs. We highly recommend this as a #tipsypick for Florence!

We enjoy tracking the World’s Top 50 Bars list and have been able to visit some in places like New York and Miami. We were pleasantly surprised to find a cocktail bar in Florence on the list this year! So you know we had to visit Locale Firenze! The décor is upscale modern and the cocktail menu was fairly extensive. They found out we were celebrating our wedding anniversary (well, we told them) and they offered us some complimentary nibbles – with a sparkler - and shots as well. The signature cocktails and wine were excellent!

We love a good speakeasy, and Rasputin did not disappoint us! As you might expect for a bar named for a mad Russian monk, the décor is moody and classic (right down to the animal skull and candles) … and we were led down a dark staircase to the underground space. They had jazz music playing softly (always a winner in our book) and we enjoyed the craft cocktails. This is definitely a date night place and a #tipsypick.

We think Florence is an excellent place for “home base” for further adventures into the Tuscan countryside, so we’ll definitely be back!  Up next, Venice!