Università degli Studi di Firenze

Night spots, winter = Maracana on via Faenza, summer = Central park. Mexican food = Ebys Bar in Santa Croche Pizza = Pizzeria Nerone in via Faenza. General hanging = Wine Bar on via Faenza, great salads and sandwiches, and good atmosphere...and amazing wine!

Florence Uni offers NO HELP for foreign (or Italian) students in their search for housing. We came with a pretty below average level of Italian and things were really difficult, it's possible to find a house via street-ads, but as with most things in Italy, it's complicated and quite soul destroying at times.

Most Italians who you can socialise with, are really interested in meeting a native English speaker who wants to learn their language, and will make an effort to socialise with you and help you. But the initial 'getting to know them' is hard, we found the men are really forward in wanting to know the girls, the Italian women generally don't wanna know anyone but Italian men. And foreign guys are pretty much at a disadvantage, unless your female friends introduce you to their Italian male-friends!

cost saving tips for train travel, use www.trenok.it, for travelling to other countries use ryanair, booking enough in advance can mean amazing savings (I went to Sardinia for 20 euros from Pisa!). Go to restaurants and try their local foods, its a great way of learning new words and taking in a bit of culture too, eating out is not as pricey as the UK either, so, sometimes it's cheaper to eat out than go to the supermarket and cook yourself!

Come well prepared financially, try and save a little, it does end up being pricey (rent being the main source of drainage!), use the internet at Uni, it'll save you so much money from net cafes. Go out and socialise, it's the only way to meet Italians and improve your language, it worked for me, it'll work for you!