Italy is top ranked as one of the best places to move for your exchange experience and Florence, cradle of Renaissance, definitely is one of the most loved cities. Here’s our guide to study in Florence, that hopefully will help you to set your mind and get ready to live your incredible adventure abroad.

If you’re still doubting about it, get a look here, cause a study abroad program will be your best life decision for your career or studies (if you want to know more about the reasons behind our statements, check out this article). 

Moving abroad for a semester or a year is an incredible adventure that will open you to many new paths, opportunities and will make you live unique experiences, but don’t forget that adapting to a new lifestyle, culture, people and language won’t be that easy at first. 

Check out our guide to study in Florence, made up by few, yet fundamental, tips that we collected for you!

Yes, Florence is a good place to study abroad!

As you may wonder, as Florence is rich in art and history, it is quite touristy and crowded all year round. If this bothers you, our tip is to leave for the fall/winter semester, during the low season. But we can swear to you that Florence is truly great during hot seasons, even with some tourists more!

Why do people rank it as one of the best Italian cities where to study abroad? Well, first, its educational offer is great. Florence is home to many great universities, business schools and art academies. 

Second point is: you’ll find yourself immersed in the real Dolce Vita vibes: amazing architecture, narrow streets, museums, fancy restaurants, many many ice creams and great food, Italian boutiques and much more. Oh, and do not forget that it is geographically located almost in the centre of Italy: this means you’ll have the chance to easily travel to the best cities, such as Rome and Naples (at its south) or Milan and Venice (at its north), for a cheap price. Aren’t these enough reasons to study in Florence?

7 Things you need to know before studying abroad in Florence

When young intenternationals are about to experience a study abroad semester/year, they need to change their mindset as soon as their plane takes off. When you step into a new country, you’ll meet a new kind of people, new cultural features a new language...everything is different. Therefore, here are some useful (and fun) tips that will help you understand better Italian culture in Florence.

First tip of our guide to study in Florence: learn basic Italian words and sentences

Even though English is widely spoken by young people, you will have to deal with any kind of Florentine folk. Not all the locals manage English pretty good, therefore our tip is to learn some basic Italian words or sentences: this will make you get closer to the other person, that will possibly be more open to help you (also trying to speak English!).  

Enjoy the art of dining out

In Italy, dining out is a real thing. Italians don’t like to grab a snack, a sandwich or have a meal in fast food restaurants. Here they enjoy the simple yet beautiful pleasures of eating out and relax while sipping a glass of wine. From lunch to aperitivo and dinner, Italian meals (especially on weekends) use to last something like 2-3 hours: it’s all about sharing quality time! Moreover, you should know that, as most of the Mediterranean countries, Italian meals start quite late; dinner, for example, won’t take place before 8pm.

Get used to slower lifestyle rhythms

To keep talking about the quality of time in Italy, as we introduced you, Italians have slower lifestyle rhythms. They fully enjoy everything: meals last for hours, parties go on till the morning...and so on!

Same thing when it comes to university and work issues. The working day in Italy is longer than, e.g, in the Northern Europe, since there are more breaks and chill moments included: it perfectly suits the Mediterranean culture!

Explore all the uncountable art masterpieces you can

No doubts that Florence is one of the best places to explore art and architecture masterpieces. This is the city of Renaissance, home to the most famous heritage sites and birthplace of the greatest artist, such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Donatello, Botticelli and many others. 

Living in Florence means experiencing a lifetime journey through history.

Prepare some extra cash

Italy definitely loves tradition and this applies to many things! When it comes to paying products, especially in small boutiques, shops and cafeterias, make sure to have some cash with you, since not all these little businesses are familiar with cards payments, or they require a minimum expense amount.

All about fashion: in Italy dressing appropriately is the key

Italian sense of fashion is well known all over the world and we don’t wonder why!

This country is cradle of the best fashion designers and people really love following the classiest trends. What you need to know about Italian fashion is that folks here dress appropriately for all occasions: a different style for a different kind of restaurant, to attend classes at university, to go to the office, to grab a drink with a friend or to go to shopping. 

They don’t like to mix and wear clothes that don’t fit the occasion.

Get lost through the enchanting alleys you’ll explore by walk

One important thing you need to know about this city is how walkable Florence is: you can explore the city by walk and it won’t take more than 45 minutes to cross it. The city centre is quite small and it counts so many narrow streets, alleys, enchanting squares where to appreciate the beauty of this incredible destination.

Well, we truly hope these few tips will be useful for you to enjoy your exchange study in Florence experience. Get ready to dip into the Italian culture and live the best adventure of your life!