La Dolce Pizza: Florence's Best Pies

While it’s easy to fall for the tourist traps strategically placed around the Duomo, check out the recommendations below for Florentine pizza sure to provide an authentic taste of Tuscany.

The Neapolitan-style pizza at Il Pizzauolo will transport you to southern Italy with its fresh toppings and thick, chewy dough. This S. Ambrogio pizzeria is my favorite in Florence, and I think about its burrata whenever my family orders takeout from a pizza chain. Thanks to mirrors along the far dining room wall, guests can watch the cook carefully shape the dough, and the osteria's dim lighting and wooden tables turn the restaurant into a homey dining room. With reasonable prices for large pies, Il Pizzuolo is also the perfect restaurant for travelers on a budget. 

Experience pizza in a piazza from Gusta Pizza in Oltrarno. Just on the edge of Piazza Santo Spirito, Gusta Pizza is quick and easy, and you'll feel just like a local when you take your pizza box to the basilica steps. Grab a peroni at the convenience store across from the piazza and sit back and enjoy  the ambiance of one of Florence's best local hangouts.

Not exactly pizza, the focaccia at Osteria Delle Brache have all the best parts of pizza. Choose one with your favorite toppings that range everywhere from prosciutto crudo to ostrich, and instead of crust, enjoy your sauce and cheese on a crispy piece of focaccia.

Despite its Americanized name, Pizzaman offers the kind of pizza you can only find in Italy. This was the first pizza I tried in Florence, and it took me at least a month to find an equal Tuscan pizzeria. A Florentine chain with resturants throughout the city, Pizzaman is a reliable source of the Italian staple and nearly impossible to miss with its saturated red and yellow branding. Its menu also includes gluten free options.