CHOCOLATE! If you…read morelove chocolate or anything sweet, the annual chocolate festival in Firenze is almost a dream come true! Every year for a week - typically Valentine's Day week - Firenze will host an open market that features chocolate artisans that sell delicious and tempting sweets. Hot chocolate, chocolate fruits, chocolate of every sort - Every booth has an eye-popping amount of different kind of chocolate that you may not even know existed! This is also where I discover this heavenly chocolate called "cremino veneziano" (Venetian cream) which is a multi-layer chocolate that quickly melts in your hand if you don't pop it in your mouth soon and literally melts instantly in your mouth. Oh why don't they make this in the US... In case you can't get enough sweets though, the festival also includes a chocolate cooking show and the booths also sell other non-chocolate sweets like €1 macaron! Sadly (and maybe fortunately), many chocolate items here are extremely pricey, although that's to be expected as artisan goods. For example, my new love "cremino veneziano" is a costly €4.5 for a mere 100 grams... Nonetheless, even if you don't intend to splurge on sweets, definitely swing by here to at least feast your eyes upon the sweets! You can even get a sample or two like how I met my cremino veneziano. While I would not intentionally fly into Firenze for this festival, I would recommend making a detour to witness sweetness if you are in Italy during this time! --- DOVE? WHERE? Typically, this festival is held in Piazza Santa Maria Novella, the church piazza in front of the train station. However, check the website or ask your hotel staff. We nearly missed the festival because it was moved in the last minute to Piazza della Santissima Annunziata, the northern piazza that is a bit out of the way from the typical tourist route. --- tl;dr version 1) CHOCOLATE! 2) Various sorts of chocolate and sweets to feast your eyes (and even sample) 3) Pricey so don't expect to going home in bags without splurging 4) Recommended detour if you're already in Italy

Yummmm. We were just walking around, got a craving for gelato / ice cream and noticed this place…read morewas packed. The line still moves quite quick though. Their cappuccino flavor was sooo good. I also tried their tiramisu which was good, but not great.

A chain that's available in the US as well but still cool to checkout a spot in Italy itself. The…read morechocolate wall was awesome. Flavor options are slightly different from the US spots but quality is pretty consistent.

Amazing! Must try of the town. So many delicious things that can't be listed all in here. Anyway,…read moregood place for chilling a bit before continuing exploring the beautiful Florence.

What a lovely hidden gem...I loved the Easter sweet bread...Columba di Panettone...I had the…read morechocolate one...such pretty wrapping and of course delicious!

This chocolate shop is beyond fabulous. The chocolate makers are true artists. You will find all…read morethings chocolate here and all beautifully created. Everything we tried was so beautiful to behold you almost didn't want to eat it. But once you bite into anything here, you swoon. There is candy, pastries, cake, cookies all made with exquisite care and the best ingredients. This is a wonderful place to pick up a few gifts to bring back home. I don't know too many people who wouldn't feel like they've died and gone to heaven after sampling some of the chocolates made here. I was so taken with the chocolate in the shape of attrezzi (tools) and nuts and bolts....so cool! Even the coloration of the chocolate was made on some pieces, to suggest a hint of rust. The owners of the shop are helpful and kind. This is a beautiful, old-world chocolate shop with delicious and gorgeous products. The shop itself is in an ancient building within the walled city of Lucca. Everything about it, like all of the walled city of Lucca is just dreamy. Go!

Some very good chocolate. There were these circle chocolate topped with nuts that I saw the…read moreprevious customers bought, so I decided to give them a try as well. They were quite good. Might have been peanuts...not sure. Chocolate with raisins were well balanced. Would definitely stop by again when we're in town!

Chocolate gelato was good! Vanilla didn't taste like vanilla. Their gelato wasn't displayed like…read moreevery other gelateria, but definitely tastes made by hand. Chocolate spread was tasty too. The owner seemed a little short when we asked for samples, but we discovered Italians don't like to give samples in general.

Staffed by the most friendly people you can imagine. They were so generous with their time and…read moreportions! The mango gelato had the most exquisite taste and the dark chocolate was to die for. Doesn't even begin to talk about rhe chocolates they had to offer. A 100% place to return to whenever I visit Firenze!!

This place sure is dangerous! All the chocolate you can imagine and you can purchase as many as you…read morewant since it's all based on weight. They offer a huge selection of Perugina, my favorite is baci of course. Come here but be cautious ;)

What an absolute treat! From cookies to gelato, and featuring a variety of coffee options,…read morePasticceria Giovannini is worth the stop. The cookies are all crumble in your mouth fresh, with an attention to quality that is immediately apparent. Each offering has a unique style and flavor, and everything is very reasonably priced. The staff is super friendly, especially if you're making an effort to communicate in Italian. And as you'd expect, this cafe has a neighborhood, local feel. It's stylish and lively, but not overwhelming. One of our favorite spots in Montecatini.

Words don't do this place justice! Amazing pasticceria!!! Friendly staff, super affordable, amazing…read moreespresso and the desserts are out of this world. My mother and I were on vacation in Montecatini at a hotel that was a 1 minute walk away (dangerous). Our morning routine was to get a cappuccino and un caffe. The espresso was strong and full of flavor. Most days we came back later in the day and tried other varieties - all great. Now about the desserts....nothing like I've ever tasted in America! Everything was so clean, had unique tastes with a perfect amount of sweetness - just mouthwatering. The prices were super low too. One visit we got 5 pastries for 8 euros. Giovannini makes me want to vacation there again ASAP!!

A beautiful little shop! A great place for gifts to take home. And I'm not talking about cheesy,…read moreairport like gifts. You can take the Chocolate Home in a box of finest Florentine paper. The Italians haven't always had chocolate, but thank the South American gods, they do now!! And you know once Italian's get their hands on some thing, they perfect it. Also a nice place to stop, look around and have just one chocolate to give you the energy to walk another 10,000 steps.

You'll feel like you've stepped into a sweet shop made by Mr. Willy Wonka himself. This place is…read morejust too cute for words. Capitalising on old world designs, this place will make you feel like a child again. Migone Confetti is decorated with bags of lollies wrapped with ribbons and tall glass jars standing to attention filled to the brim with sweets. You'll be tempted to buy everything that your eyes land on. You'll find lollies, chocolate, mazapan fruits, gummies, and decorated plates, teapots and porcelain animal figurines worthy only of grandma's house. I must admit when there were a few other customers in the store things began to get a little claustrophobic. The staff don't really speak English here, at least the ones we met, so brush up on your Italian.

Cute little store for a chocolatier that was founded in Bologna. I was visiting Bologna for the…read morefirst time and wanted to bring home some chocolate. This store only has their brand, but they have a very large selection!! They have a great variety of chocolates (dark, milk, white, with nuts, etc) in different packaging (chocolate bars, gift sets, etc). I chatted a bit with the cashier, and she was so sweet and kind. She shared some of their history and provided recommendations. I bought a couple chocolate bars (milk chocolate with pistachios and dark chocolate with hazelnuts) and a gift set that has some of their signature pieces. Everything was delicious! But definitely pricier than I am used to. Especially compared to the very little bit that comes in the box.

Majani is a chocolatier that is founded in Bologna, Italy, in 1796! The dark chocolate comes in…read morevarious percentages as well as flavors using cocoa butter. When I need some strong dark chocolate (which provides my brain with a jump start) I'll go for 70% dark. At the same time I enjoy the caffe and pistachio flavors! Thank goodness when I leave Italy from Malpensa airport in the Milano area, they have a Majani chocolate shop in Milano Centrale (train station)! I load up on their thimble-sized squares filling up a bag with assorted flavors. Never leave Italy without Majani chocolato! Ci vediamo Majani!

Nino and friends is my happy place. I purposely came back to Florence only to purchase candy and…read morecellos from the store. It is such a joy to shop there. The store had wall to wall goodies. Goodies that you get to taste. As soon as you enter there are staff members offering all kinds delicious treats filled with tasty goodness. They have coconut balls with lemon cream inside, green covered chocolates with limoncello inside, they have salted caramel with chocolate, Cappuccino cookies with coffee flavor cream inside, they have limoncello, melon cello, and my favorite peach cello to drink. I bought a lot to take back home, but also I just enjoyed the samples they kept offering me...MY HAPPY PLACE, especially after many Dixie cups of cello sampling. They are still trying to get there online ordering up and working. I tried for the past year to order on line. One great service they offer is mailing your purchase back to your home. The cost is really reasonable too. I mailed a large order back home for 55 Euros. I have mailed a box from California to Boston and it costed me more.

I'm a chocoholic. When a chocoholic sees a chocolate wheel in the window, what happens? I stopped…read morein the store. I was immediately offered hazelnut chocolate by a very friendly lady. Followed by a delicious, soft, crumbly cookie by a friendly young man. The sweets were amazing in and of themselves, but I also sampled varying forms of pesto. I ended up getting pesto with truffle oil for my sister and pistachio pesto for myself after having sampled them with gnocchi. The samples, staff, and shop itself are amazing.