Florence discoveries

A suitably impressive facade adorns the Palazzo Strozzi, once the home of the wealthy Strozzi family of bankers. They were great rivals of the Medici, and when the Strozzi built their massive rusticated house in the 1490s, they basically copied the Medici's nearby palace. Considering how the Strozzi name gave Italian its words for loan shark ("strozzino") and strangle ("strozzare"), their loans must have come with some aggressive banking practices. Today the palace hosts genteel art exhibits.

While the city is stuffed with high-brow museums and monuments, I think one of the great "new" sights in Florence is the Mercato Centrale. This historic market still thrives with traditional Tuscan produce and food products. But now its second floor is a modern food court, bustling with competitive little eateries.

The food artisans at work here serve pizza and pasta, but they also dish up plenty of regional treats. Take a peek at what's on your neighbor's plate -- Florentines eat just about every bit of the cow. Stay away from the "trippa" and "lampredotto" sandwiches if you can't stomach stomach meat.

It's also getting more fun to eat on the "other" side of the Arno River, in the area called Oltrarno. The Piazza di Santo Spirito is a thriving square in the heart of the neighborhood. Every day, when the weather's nice, inexpensive and characteristic places grab a corner of the square to offer outdoor dining.

I don't build my itineraries around local festivals, but when checking into hotels, I always ask, "What's happening tonight?" I imagine half the tourists in Florence were sulking in their hotel rooms on the last night of April, when the fun was out on the streets, jammed for White Night Florence.

During this nightlong celebration of Florentine good living, venerable facades became just backdrops to free concerts, dancing, dining and street performances. Instead of staying in my room and complaining about the noise, I got out in the streets and made them even noisier. For me, it was yet another Florence discovery.

IF YOU GO. . .

SLEEPING: Hotel Pendini, with 44 plush rooms, fills the top floor of a grand building overlooking Piazza della Repubblica (splurge, Via degli Strozzi 2, www.hotelpendini.it). The sisters of Casa Santo Nome di Gesu rent 25 rooms of their 15th-century convent to tourists, offering tranquility and prayerful public spaces (budget, Piazza del Carmine 21, www.fmmfirenze.it).

EATING: Ristorante del Fagioli is an enthusiastically run eatery where you can sense the heritage, from the wood-paneled dining room to the Florentine classics on the menu (Corso dei Tintori 47, tel. 055-244-285). Gusta Pizza is your typical jam-packed, cheap, sloppy and fun neighborhood pizzeria (just off Piazza di Santo Spirito at Via Maggio 46r, tel. 055-285-068).

GETTING AROUND: Think of Florence as a Renaissance treadmill; it requires a lot of walking, but you can do all of it on foot.

TOURIST INFORMATION: www.firenzeturismo.it.

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(Rick Steves (www.ricksteves.com) writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio. Email him at rick@ricksteves.com and follow his blog on Facebook.)