What are the benefits of being a student in Florence?
Location:
Florence is located at the center of Italy which means it's very easy to visit all of the major Italian cities (Siena, Rome, Bologna, Perugia, Milan, Venice) by train or bus. Florence is also surrounded by mountains where you can go trekking and natural free baths to go for a relaxing day.
Museums:
Florence had the first Museum in the world; the Medici family created the Uffizi Gallery to share the art masterpieces created by the masters they never ceased to subsidise. Florence hosts unique pieces of art by the Renaissance geniuses (Giotto, Brunelleschi, Masaccio, Leonardo, Della Robbia, Donatello, Michelangelo, just to name the big stars). Very close to Florence, you can also find numerous theatres and museums as Pecci, one of the oldest the contemporary museums located in Prato, 25 minutes by train from Florence. You should also know that every Sunday of each month museums are free.
Workshops and Art Events:
Florence is full of private studios and academies that offer excellent art workshops and exhibitions that you can attend in your free time. TIAC Association also offers a rich variety of cultural and artistic events, master workshops and exhibitions.
Food:
Food in Florence is simple, abundant, local and seasonal. If you like to buy fresh products you can go to Sant’Ambrogio or Santo Spirito market during the week (from 8am to 2pm) if you can not go during the week you have the first Sunday of each month a local and artisanal market in Santo Spitiro (from 8am to 4pm). If you like going out for lunch or dinner, eating in the centre may be quite expensive, however, you can find trattorias/osterias with delicious local food for a better price if you go the a less tourist neighbourhood. Il Mercato centrale is also a good option if you want to try typical Italian food. If you are looking for vegetarian or vegan options, you may not have an extensive list of places were to chose from, however, there are a few places worth visiting as for example Brac-Libreria di Arte Contemporanea and #RAW.
Sports:
Gyms in Florence are not necessarily cheap (around 80€ per month). However, if you go out of the city centre you may be able to find something cheaper. If you are into yoga you can find yoga studios with unlimited classes for 60€ per month. If you enjoy more outdoors sports like jogging, canoeing, trekking, slacklining, climbing etc., Florence is a good place to be.
Entertainment:
Florence is a vivid city that offers many options of entertainment, you can find many cinemas with original language screening (Cinema Odeon). There are also yearly film festivals in Cinema la Compagnia like for example River to River film Festival (Indi films), Dragon Film Festival (Chinese films), Florence Queer festival (GLBT films), Animation Film Festival, etc. If you are into music, the temple of Florentine music today is the Teatro Comunale, home of the Maggio Musicale, which holds the oldest and most important Festival in Europe, with concert and opera seasons of the highest quality.
Party:
You’ll find great bars in Piazza Sant’Ambrogio and Piazza Santo Spirito. Both are fun areas to hang out and have a glass of wine, as the locals do.