Rivoire in Florence has poured the city's benchmark hot chocolate at the Piazza della Signoria corner since 1872, with a chocolate-making lab in the back and the original wooden counter intact.
Must order: The dense hot chocolate (€7), the cioccolato fondente in winter, and any sfoglia pastry from the case.
Tip: Counter pricing is half of table; the piazza terrace is worth the €15 minimum for the Palazzo Vecchio view.
Address: Piazza della Signoria 5r, 50122 Firenze, Florence
Caffe Paszkowski in Florence's Piazza della Repubblica is the 1846 Polish-founded cafe that became the haunt of the early-20th-century literary set, with a piazza-side terrace and live piano nightly.
Signature drink: Espresso and panna cotta
Order: Espresso at the bar, panna cotta in the dining room, an aperitivo Negroni on the terrace.
Tip: Open daily 07:00 to midnight. The terrace seats 80; live piano from 19:30 nightly.
Caffe Le Giubbe Rosse in Florence's Piazza della Repubblica is the 1897 cafe that hosted Marinetti and the Futurists in the 1910s, with a daily literary salon program intact since reopening in 2024.
Signature drink: Espresso at the literary terrace
Order: Espresso at the marble counter, panforte di Siena, an aperitivo Americano.
Tip: Open daily 08:00 to midnight. Look for the Futurist plaques in the back salon.
Scudieri in Florence sits directly across from the Duomo's Baptistery, a 1939 cafe-pasticceria with a terrace looking onto the cathedral and a daily-rotating pastry case in the back.
Signature drink: Espresso facing the Duomo
Order: Espresso, schiacciata alla fiorentina with chocolate cream, the cantuccini.
Tip: Open daily 07:30 to midnight. Terrace pricing reflects the Duomo view; counter is half.
Ditta Artigianale in Florence's Via dei Neri is Francesco Sanapo's flagship roastery and cafe, with single-origin filter coffees, espresso and the country's first dedicated barista school since 2013.
Signature drink: Single-origin filter coffee
Order: A V60 filter from the rotating origins board, plus a brunch plate on weekends.
Tip: Open daily 08:00 to 22:00. The roasted-bean retail counter ships internationally.
La Menagere in Florence's San Lorenzo is the all-day concept inside a 19th-century housewares shop, with breakfast, brunch, lunch, aperitivo and live jazz nightly under one roof.
Signature drink: All-day espresso and aperitivo
Order: The morning brioche and cappuccino, then aperitivo from 18:30.
Tip: Open daily 07:00 to midnight. Live jazz Wed-Sun from 21:30.
Caffe Cibreo in Florence's Sant'Ambrogio quarter is the all-day cafe-and-bar of the Cibreo group, with a walnut counter, daily-baked Cibreo pastries and the lunchtime small-plates carte.
Signature drink: Espresso and Cibreo pastries
Order: Espresso at the counter, the daily Cibreo pastry, the lunchtime small-plates board.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. The walnut bar seats 12; arrive at 08:00 for a stool.
Caffe Paszkowski in Florence's Piazza della Repubblica is the 1846 Polish-founded cafe that became the haunt of the early-20th-century literary set, with a piazza-side terrace and live piano nightly.
Signature drink: Espresso and panna cotta
Order: Espresso at the bar, panna cotta in the dining room, an aperitivo Negroni on the terrace.
Tip: Open daily 07:00 to midnight. The terrace seats 80; live piano from 19:30 nightly.
Caffe Le Giubbe Rosse in Florence's Piazza della Repubblica is the 1897 cafe that hosted Marinetti and the Futurists in the 1910s, with a daily literary salon program intact since reopening in 2024.
Signature drink: Espresso at the literary terrace
Order: Espresso at the marble counter, panforte di Siena, an aperitivo Americano.
Tip: Open daily 08:00 to midnight. Look for the Futurist plaques in the back salon.
Scudieri in Florence sits directly across from the Duomo's Baptistery, a 1939 cafe-pasticceria with a terrace looking onto the cathedral and a daily-rotating pastry case in the back.
Signature drink: Espresso facing the Duomo
Order: Espresso, schiacciata alla fiorentina with chocolate cream, the cantuccini.
Tip: Open daily 07:30 to midnight. Terrace pricing reflects the Duomo view; counter is half.
