By Diana Aslibekyan. Cover image by Diana Kolikova.
Florence has been romanticized on screen for decades — from The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965) to Letters to Juliet (2010) — and that cinematic image has shaped how the world sees the city. But directors tend to overlook the Florence that students actually inhabit: the rooftop library where you drink coffee with a view of the Duomo, the canteen that turns into an underground venue after dark, the former monastery where local artists still work. None of them are in the guidebooks. Most locals would prefer to keep it that way.
Spring makes it easier to find them.
The Library With a Rooftop View of the Duomo: Biblioteca delle Oblate
Biblioteca delle Oblate is an ideal spot for students who are tired of the noise of the city. The main draw is the rooftop terrace with a view of the Duomo, a place where you can drink coffee slowly, take pictures and enjoy one of the most iconic skylines in Florence. For those who prefer to study in silence, the library also offers spacious reading rooms, laptop areas and free Wi-Fi, making it easy to balance relaxation and productivity in a way that crowded cafés or noisy streets simply don’t allow.
In spring, the terrace becomes something else entirely. A gentle breeze, the smell of coffee, the sounds of the city muffled just enough: it’s the kind of place that makes studying feel almost bearable.
Go here if you want your study break to feel like a film still.
Cheap Lunch by Day, Underground Gigs by Night: Mensa Sant’Apollonia
From the outside, Mensa Sant’Apollonia looks like an abandoned building covered in graffiti. That’s part of the appeal. During the day it functions as an affordable student canteen, the kind of place where you can have lunch with classmates without spending money you don’t have. As the evening falls, the atmosphere shifts entirely. The space transforms into an underground venue where experimental music acts perform, and the crowd is exactly the kind of people you’d want to meet in Florence. It’s not trying to be cool. It just is.
Go here if you want to experience Florence like a local: cheap lunch by day, underground vibes by night.
Where to Go When You Need a Creative Reset: Il Conventino
Once a monastery, Il Conventino has been transformed into one of Florence’s most quietly interesting creative spaces — making it an excellent spot for students. Local art studios, a small café, and exhibition and event spaces are gathered around a courtyard that, in spring, becomes the best reason to visit. The cultural programme is genuinely diverse — fairs, exhibitions, jazz concerts, workshops — all rooted in Tuscan craftsmanship and the kind of slow, intentional creativity that’s hard to find when you’re stressed about deadlines. It’s not a tourist destination, and that’s exactly what makes it worth visiting.
Go here when you need inspiration and the energy that only comes from being around people who make things.
Florence is more than a city crowded with tourists. Places like Biblioteca delle Oblate, Mensa Sant’Apollonia and Il Conventino reveal a different version of it that belongs to the people who actually live and study here. Sometimes the best way to get through exam season is to remember that the city itself is on your side.
