Florence (Livorno)
see the Special Report on Livorno
Florence (Livorno) Italy
Shore Excursion and Port Review
Livorno, On Your Own
Livorno Harbor
Livorno, On Your Own
Tom Ogg
On my last visit to
Livorno, one of our group members decided to simply spend the day
exploring Livorno, as she had been to Florence on many occasions and had
never really seen Livorno other than commuting to the train station from
the port. Having made that trip on many occasions myself, I was a little
surprised that anyone would make that decision, as there is clearly not
much to see and little (if any) shopping. When she reported that she
found excellent sights and shopping and felt that Livorno rivaled Lucca
as a viable alternative to Florence, I decided to check it out. Here is
what I found.
Livorno is a Hidden Treasure
While Livorno lacks the
tourist infrastructure that Florence offers and does not have the same
quality of sights, it is a very wonderful city well worth your
investigation.
The Livorno Harbor Front
Livorno is built on the
harbor and is very much an active port. It features a large fishing
fleet and an abundance of commercial activity. The ocean has been tapped
for the canals that reach inland and penetrate much of the city of
Livorno giving it Venice Like flavor.
Livorno Fish Market
One sees fish markets
along the harbor and also on the side streets that abutt the harbor. The
fishing fleet is huge and I suspect that fishing is one of the larger
industries Livorno enjoys.
One of the Harbor Bars
One of the first things
that I noticed was the colorful nature of Livorno's businesses and
people. The fisherman all looked like something out of a movie and the
businesses (like this bar) were completely unique. This particular bar
was overgrown by some vine. It looked like someplace Earnest Hemingway
would hang out.
Another Livorno Canal
The canals seemed to pop
up everywhere and there were tons of private boats inhabiting them. It
was a very peaceful morning without a lot of activity, even though it
was a Friday morning. I decided to head into the downtown area just off
of the harbor and was treated to an incredible surprise.
Livorno Shopping Street
One of the main roads in
Livorno turned out to be a fabulous shopping street with covered stores
on both sides of the street for several blocks. It was reminiscent of
shopping in a fine mall in Southern California, as many of the same
stores were located here. Anyone would certainly find enough shopping
here to satisfy their wants and needs. There were many jewelry stores,
clothing shops and boutiques, name brand chains from all product
categories and simply an abundance of quality merchandise. The tiled
sidewalk and wonderful sidewalk enclosures gave it that much more of a
classy feeling. When folks say there is no shopping in Livorno, I wonder
what they were thinking?
Typical Livorno Side Street
Once out of the main
shopping area, Livorno opened up many side streets with specialty shops
offering unique products and goods. I came across a wine store that I
entered and was blown away.
Wine Anyone?
This seems to sum it up
for Livorno; underestimated and unappreciated. I have been in wine
stores all over Europe, just about the last place I would have expected
a wine store of this quality would have been in Livorno, what a huge
surprise. Excellent prices and a wonderful selection was the rule in
this store.
Livorno Flea Market
The woman that had been
giving Livorno such high marks kept referring to the "outdoor market" as
having excellent prices, but she was disappointed that she had spent all
of her euro and that they wouldn't take any dollars. Folks, she is
absolutely right. Just about everything under the sun was available in
this market that stretched for blocks.
Livorno's Flea Market
Between the outdoor
market and the shopping streets, one could easily spend a full day
shopping here and never find all of the stores. I suspect there are some
real interesting shops to boot. I saw one men's shoe store that I was
going to visit in the afternoon because they had the color shoes that I
really liked. Unfortunately, I couldn't find it again.
Another Livorno Canal by the Central
Market
I was having a ball
following the canals when I stumbled upon a real treasure
Livorno's Central Market
Housed in a huge building
that stretched an entire block was the central market place in Livorno.
I am not sure how many stalls it contained, but it was huge. I saw,
meats, fish, poultry, wines, oils, fruit, produce, plants and flowers.
It reminded me of Pikes Market in Seattle only obviously much older. The
central market alone was well worth the visit to Livorno and everything
else is simply a bonus.
Follow a Canal and Enjoy Livorno
So my suggestion to you
would be to explore Livorno if you have already done Florence and want
something a little less touristy. I think you will like what you find.
Tom
Livorno Harbor
Livorno, On Your Own
Tom Ogg
On my last visit to
Livorno, one of our group members decided to simply spend the day
exploring Livorno, as she had been to Florence on many occasions and had
never really seen Livorno other than commuting to the train station from
the port. Having made that trip on many occasions myself, I was a little
surprised that anyone would make that decision, as there is clearly not
much to see and little (if any) shopping. When she reported that she
found excellent sights and shopping and felt that Livorno rivaled Lucca
as a viable alternative to Florence, I decided to check it out. Here is
what I found.
Livorno is a Hidden Treasure
While Livorno lacks the
tourist infrastructure that Florence offers and does not have the same
quality of sights, it is a very wonderful city well worth your
investigation.
The Livorno Harbor Front
Livorno is built on the
harbor and is very much an active port. It features a large fishing
fleet and an abundance of commercial activity. The ocean has been tapped
for the canals that reach inland and penetrate much of the city of
Livorno giving it Venice Like flavor.
Livorno Fish Market
One sees fish markets
along the harbor and also on the side streets that abutt the harbor. The
fishing fleet is huge and I suspect that fishing is one of the larger
industries Livorno enjoys.
One of the Harbor Bars
One of the first things
that I noticed was the colorful nature of Livorno's businesses and
people. The fisherman all looked like something out of a movie and the
businesses (like this bar) were completely unique. This particular bar
was overgrown by some vine. It looked like someplace Earnest Hemingway
would hang out.
Another Livorno Canal
The canals seemed to pop
up everywhere and there were tons of private boats inhabiting them. It
was a very peaceful morning without a lot of activity, even though it
was a Friday morning. I decided to head into the downtown area just off
of the harbor and was treated to an incredible surprise.
Livorno Shopping Street
One of the main roads in
Livorno turned out to be a fabulous shopping street with covered stores
on both sides of the street for several blocks. It was reminiscent of
shopping in a fine mall in Southern California, as many of the same
stores were located here. Anyone would certainly find enough shopping
here to satisfy their wants and needs. There were many jewelry stores,
clothing shops and boutiques, name brand chains from all product
categories and simply an abundance of quality merchandise. The tiled
sidewalk and wonderful sidewalk enclosures gave it that much more of a
classy feeling. When folks say there is no shopping in Livorno, I wonder
what they were thinking?
Typical Livorno Side Street
Once out of the main
shopping area, Livorno opened up many side streets with specialty shops
offering unique products and goods. I came across a wine store that I
entered and was blown away.
Wine Anyone?
This seems to sum it up
for Livorno; underestimated and unappreciated. I have been in wine
stores all over Europe, just about the last place I would have expected
a wine store of this quality would have been in Livorno, what a huge
surprise. Excellent prices and a wonderful selection was the rule in
this store.
Livorno Flea Market
The woman that had been
giving Livorno such high marks kept referring to the "outdoor market" as
having excellent prices, but she was disappointed that she had spent all
of her euro and that they wouldn't take any dollars. Folks, she is
absolutely right. Just about everything under the sun was available in
this market that stretched for blocks.
Livorno's Flea Market
Between the outdoor
market and the shopping streets, one could easily spend a full day
shopping here and never find all of the stores. I suspect there are some
real interesting shops to boot. I saw one men's shoe store that I was
going to visit in the afternoon because they had the color shoes that I
really liked. Unfortunately, I couldn't find it again.
Another Livorno Canal by the Central
Market
I was having a ball
following the canals when I stumbled upon a real treasure
Livorno's Central Market
Housed in a huge building
that stretched an entire block was the central market place in Livorno.
I am not sure how many stalls it contained, but it was huge. I saw,
meats, fish, poultry, wines, oils, fruit, produce, plants and flowers.
It reminded me of Pikes Market in Seattle only obviously much older. The
central market alone was well worth the visit to Livorno and everything
else is simply a bonus.
Follow a Canal and Enjoy Livorno
So my suggestion to you
would be to explore Livorno if you have already done Florence and want
something a little less touristy. I think you will like what you find.
Tom