Your Ticket to Travel. Discover Florence, Tuscany, Italy & Europe

Company history

     

FlorenceForFun was established in 1999 by Federico Rossi as a company that promoted local nightlife to international students. Back in the day, when Florence bars and clubs were still filled with young Italians from the University of Florence, and study abroad students were a minority in the center, this was the best way for American students to meet the locals and practice their Italian.

“Ten years ago students came from all round the world to study Italian art, history and language and the concept was to create a melting pot of cultures in an environment where young people could meet and have a good time.”  Federico

Federico is largely responsible for the fact that international students, for the most part, have been receiving free entrance into Florentine nightclubs for the last decade.

In 2002, native Australian Anna McNiel, joined FlorenceForFun, bringing an international perspective to the team and creating local events such as American Sunday Brunch at Angels. The idea behind brunch was that although students wish to explore Florence and its authentic culture and food, the occasional flavors and comforts from home are always welcome. Brunch at Angels has been successfully running for 8 years now and is a popular destination not only for American students, but also Italians who have become increasingly curious about international food.

As the years progressed, FlorenceForFun started utilizing nightlife venues to host student art and fashion events, from catwalks to live art nights. ‘Live Art’ was an innovative idea by students, to utlize a nightlife space to create a group mural that evolved in front of the public, that was painted live. In addition to student events, FlorenceForFun began offering authentic Italian cooking classes, pizza making classes and typical Tuscan dinners.

In 2005, Fabio Paolini joined the team and FlorenceForFun officially moved into student travel.

“It was an obvious move for us. As nightlife was changing and we were already organizing student events and offering cultural activities in Florence it seemed logical that we would start taking students to destinations around Italy. Cinque Terre was one of our first destinations and remains our signature day trip.” Anna

Operating as a Cultural Association called Experience Italy, FlorenceForFun offered day trips to Cinque Terre, Chianti, the Verona Opera, Venice, the Palio di Siena and other special events. After several years of successful day trips, FlorenceForFun made the exciting decision to register as an Italian Travel Agent and Tour Operator on March 21st 2008, opening up the door to weekend and European Travel.

One of the first weekend trips FlorenceForFun organized was Oktoberfest 2008.  The company has since expanded their travel destinations to a wide range of European cities including: Interlaken, Prague, Munich, Greece, the Amalfi Coast, Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, the French Riviera and more.
Thousands of students have traveled together through FlorenceForFun and will forever be connected by the memories they made in Florence, Italy and throughout Europe.

Travel is not just about the destination but the journey that we take and the experiences we share with both old and new friends. We look back with nostalgia over the semesters past and we look forward to many more adventures in the future!