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