A 15-minute walk from the train station could easily turn into a 30-minute walk – if you’re dragging your luggage across what seems like miles and miles of cobblestone. But hey – “A penny saved, is a penny earned.” That money that you saved on cab fare could be spent in a better way. Like on a cup of gelato. Or a glass of wine. Just think of it that way. Besides, no one will ever say, “Hey! Remember that time we took that cab ride to the hotel?” Instead, it’ll be, “Hey! Remember that time we got that excellent workout and lugged our 50-pound suitcases around the impossibly rocky roads of Florence?” You can look at it as taking the scenic route. You’ll appreciate it more because you’ll see the little things that you would never have noticed from looking out a car window.

Santa Maria Novella Station looks older than the other cities’ main train stations. But I guess it fits in with the rest of the city. As for the train ride, much like the train from the Malpensa airport, there is luggage storage on each cart. And you also want to make sure you’re one of the first ones to board to ensure that your luggage gets a spot. if you’re catching a train before the sun is even up (like I did) and you need coffee, or some kind of caffeine (like I do) to keep you from flipping out on the world, then you’re in luck. Someone goes around with a cart of coffee (which is really just espresso, in American terms), and some breakfast pastries for sale.