Make it a real comparative crawl, not a citywide abstraction. Vivoli, near Santa Croce, is the old-guard classic — riso (rice) and the dense crema are the move, served in cups only, no cones. Gelateria dei Neri a few streets over wins on range and on intense fruit and ricotta-fig. La Carraia, at the Oltrarno end of Ponte alla Carraia, is the cheap-and-cheerful crowd-pleaser with the best chocolate-and-cream value in town. The tells still matter — natural muted colours, covered metal tubs, seasonal flavours — but the real advice is who wins for what: Vivoli for tradition, dei Neri for fruit, La Carraia for a big cheap cone by the river.