Tuscany’s capital is a Renaissance wonderland of artwork and terracotta tiles. Florence is among the hottest metropolis breaks in Europe, and it’s obtained the movie star standing to show it. You’ve obtained the Florence Cathedral, cobbled streets filled with unbiased boutiques, and the Arno River operating by means of the town heart. Florence is stuffed with artwork and tradition – however the place do you keep to see all the principle sights? How do you select the place to keep in Florence?
Best Places to Stay in Florence
Florence is a ravishing metropolis to go to. There’s artwork and sweetness in all places. When it comes to the principle sights, you might have the Etruscan Archaeological Museum, the bustle of Piazza del Duomo, and the grandeur of Palazzo Vecchio. You’ve obtained lots to look ahead to.
Where to keep in Florence is totally different for everybody and each go to. Central Florence has practically ten totally different areas, every with a mixture of fashionable boutique lodges and sights. You can go native and keep away from the vacationers or pay the worth and be inside strolling distance of all the things. After numerous visits to the town, we’ve whittled it down to six neighborhoods for you to select from – we wish you to have the most effective.
1. Centro Storico
Centro Storico is the center of Florence and its historical past. Picture church buildings that date again centuries, slender streets, and views of the beautiful primary attraction in the town: Florence Cathedral. Centro Storico is absolutely the hub of the town, and everybody is aware of it. All the most effective lodges get booked out over the summer season, and crowds of vacationers descend on the neighborhood year-round. Most of Florence’s primary points of interest are condensed into this tiny pocket of historical past, and the temptation is an excessive amount of for many guests to resist. It’s even UNESCO-recognized.
With this nice location, you’re inside straightforward strolling distance of points of interest just like the Uffizi Gallery, Piazza della Signoria, Palazzo Vecchio, and the National Museum of Bargello. The neighborhood is a full of life mixture of main websites. You can’t beat staying right here in order for you to discover on foot.
In abstract, Centro Storico is the place to keep in Florence for those who’re a first-time customer, dedicated to sightseeing on foot, or solely have a few days in the town. It is completely handy, with the added bonus of being completely beautiful (primarily thanks to the Duomo’s terracotta domes).
Luxury: Rocco Forte Hotel Savoy
Rocco Forte Hotel Savoy is a chic 5-star lodge proper subsequent to the Uffizi Gallery. You can e book rooms with distinctive views, together with certainly one of Piazza del Duomo or the well-known bell tower. Rooms don’t come low-cost, however you’ll get world-class therapy in alternate.
Rocco Forte Hotel Savoy is definitely among the best luxurious lodges in the historic heart of Florence.
Mid Range: Hotel Della Signoria
Hotel Della Signoria is a three-star property with a five-star location, simply steps from Piazza della Signoria and Ponte Vecchio. It provides a variety of rooms, together with a superior room with a personal terrace.
This lodge is sweet worth for cash and a pleasure to expertise. The terrace room is unquestionably an excellent shout, providing a little bit of solace in the busy metropolis heart.
Budget: Dante’s Rooms
Dante’s Rooms is your easiest alternative for price range lodging in the middle of Florence. You get all of the fundamentals: free wi fi, comfy beds, and TVs in every visitor room.
Does it have a rooftop pool? No, however the discount keep is well worth the trade-off. If you’re keen to go for a extra B&B model expertise, Dante’s Rooms is a superb price range lodge alternative in central Florence.
Pros Of Staying in Centro Storico
Walking distance from main points of interest just like the Duomo, Uffizi Gallery, Piazza della Signoria, and Palazzo Vecchio.
Plenty of buzz and an thrilling environment.
Lots of lodge selections.
Cons Of Staying in Centro Storico
Heavy crowds.
Hotels can include a hefty price ticket.
You solely see the “main area”, with out the encompassing countryside or suburban areas.
2. Santa Maria Novella
Santa Maria Novella is no-nonsense. The neighborhood is centered across the Santa Maria Novella practice station. It is stuffed with in-and-out guests and, as such, has loads of budget-friendly lodging. It can get sketchy across the practice station at evening, with drug use and the odd opportunistic lurkers prepared to bag snatch. But as an entire, the Santa Maria Novella district is the place to keep in Florence in order for you an inexpensive and simple place to keep. You are only a brief stroll into the historic metropolis heart and to all the principle sights, simply with out the expense of paying by means of the roof for extra central lodging.
Apart from the principle practice station (very helpful for day journeys), the neighborhood has the beautiful marble Basilica of Santa Maria Novella. You may take a look at the antiques alongside Via dei Fossi, a preferred purchasing road, and a number of the metropolis’s extra budget-friendly nightclubs, like Space Club. There are museums, too, together with the Marino Marini Firenze Museum and Palazzo Strozzi.
We’d counsel staying in the lower-eastern area of Santa Maria Novella, away from the practice station and alongside the Arno River. It has extra of a central attraction and is a brief strolling distance from Centro Storico anyway, which is a pleasant contact. Santa Maria Novella is definitely among the best neighborhoods in order for you a extra budget-friendly various to Centro Storico with out sacrificing a lot for handy sightseeing.
Luxury: Portrait Firenze
Portrait Firenze is a beautiful 5-star lodge simply 30 meters away from Ponte Vecchio. Portrait Firenze is the place to keep in order for you luxurious with water views, and so they have wonderful lodge rooms with marble loos and home windows overlooking the Arno River.
This luxurious property is definitely among the best lodges, centrally positioned, providing tasteful decor and upscale rooms.
Mid Range: Novella House
Novella House is stuffed with character, with a boutique lodge inside that includes patterned wallpapers and frescoed ceilings. It is superbly positioned in the Santa Maria Novella district, inside a simple stroll of Ponte Vecchio and Piazza della Signoria.
Novella House is about in a Seventeenth-century constructing, which is simply the cherry on prime. It is a historic spot and among the best lodges in order for you loads of persona.
Budget: Foresteria Sociale Florence Center by New Generation Hostel
Foresteria Sociale Florence Center by New Generation Hostel is ideal for anybody who likes a discount. The most cost-effective rooms are dormitory choices, with female-only and mixed-sex rooms obtainable. There are additionally costlier personal rooms with mid-range costs for those who want privateness however nonetheless need a hostel atmosphere.
You may entry a shared kitchen, loos, and laundry services.
Pros Of Staying in Santa Maria Novella
It is barely cheaper than Centro Storico.
It remains to be in the town heart, which means you’re inside strolling distance of main points of interest.
It has a enjoyable environment.
Cons Of Staying in Santa Maria Novella
The space across the practice station and Piazza Santa Maria Novella may be sketchy at evening.
You’re nonetheless in the town heart, so the most effective lodges may be costly.
Santa Maria Novella nonetheless will get crowded with vacationers and native folks utilizing the practice station.
3. San Niccolò
San Niccolò is a ravishing place to keep in Florence. The historic neighborhood is a community of cobbles and twisting streets backed by artisan workshops earlier than exploding into open expanses of inexperienced areas and villa gardens. It completely balances historical past, tradition, and nature. And for these wanting to dodge the crowds, it sits a protected distance away from Florence’s manic metropolis heart, overlooking the cityscape from throughout the Arno River.
San Niccolò is on the town’s south financial institution, which is the other facet of the Arno River to Centro Storico and Santa Maria Novella. Because of this, you will have to plan some additional journey time to attain the town heart and sightsee issues like the key attraction of Florence Cathedral. However, it solely takes round 20 minutes to stroll from San Niccolò to Florence’s central vacationer district – how straightforward is that? You’ll cross over the long-lasting Ponte Vecchio bridge or Ponte alle Grazia, each of that are pedestrian-friendly.
There can be lots to see and do in the neighborhood itself. The Piazzale Michelangelo is a panoramic viewpoint overlooking Florence, with a bronze David reproduction standing guard. The Terzo Giardino and Villa Bardini are additionally nice locations for peaceable walks in serene nature.
San Niccolò is the place to keep in Florence in order for you to expertise a quiet tradition in the town. It’s filled with gardens and serenity, with an opportunity to expertise Florence with fewer crowds.
Luxury: Hotel Lungarno
Hotel Lungarno is one other stunning riverfront property. It is positioned only a brief distance from Ponte Vecchio and provides suites overlooking the water. The lodge is adorned with worthwhile artwork, together with authentic items by Picasso.
Onsite eating places and nice eating choices can be found, and practically each visitor room or suite provides beautiful marble loos.
Mid Range: Serristori Palace Residence
Serristori Palace Residence is positioned in the far west of San Niccolò. The Nineteenth-century constructing has a mix of luxury-furnished flats, providing you with the right self-catering base.
Every condo has a kitchen and laundry services. You additionally get entry to a small however fairly shared backyard. It’s a calming base for visiting San Niccolò on a mid-range price range.
Budget: QK Costa58 Home Tower
QK Costa58 Home Tower is as budget-friendly as this neighborhood will get. Luckily, the gorgeous setting of this property makes these additional pennies worthwhile. Forget reserving a cookie-cutter lodge with a swimming pool or rooftop terrace. Instead, you’ll be staying in an actual medieval tower. You enter the stone tower by means of traditional picket doorways – an actual expertise.
The double room is your most budget-friendly choice and has nice views over the town beneath.
Pros Of Staying in San Niccolò
There are extra peaceable areas of nature and inexperienced area.
There are artisan workshops, villas, and off-the-beaten-track tradition.
You expertise fewer crowds.
Cons Of Staying in San Niccolò
There are fewer lodges to select from.
You are farther from the town heart.
There are fewer main vacationer points of interest.
4. Santa Croce
Santa Croce is extensively hailed as probably the most “charming” place to keep in Florence. It has tons of lingering heritage, being the ultimate resting place of big names like Galileo and Michelangelo. You have bars and cafes, plus recent produce offered on the healthful road market of Sant Ambrogio. It’s a romantic and ever so barely eclectic neighborhood. You’ll discover monumental tombs of the late and greats on one road and al fresco eating and markets on the subsequent. We love its sense of road tradition and outside residing. And in order for you someplace with historical past however laidback tradition, city Santa Croce is the place to keep in Florence.
Santa Croce sits east of the town heart, lower than a 15-minute stroll from all of the central sightseeing and points of interest just like the Uffizi Gallery. The south border overlooks the Arno River, whereas the east borders the Florence ring street, offering swift entry for these driving or catching a taxi to the airport. It’s central sufficient to nonetheless be handy however far out sufficient to escape the stifle of different weekend metropolis breakers.
In Santa Croce itself, you’ve obtained the Florence National Central Library, Casa Buonarroti, the beautiful Basilica di Santa Croce di Firenze, and monumental tombs. It’s nice for artwork, literature, and academia. And while you aren’t embracing inventive historical past in Santa Croce, you may be searching for recent fruit and greens. The normal consensus is apt; Santa Croce undoubtedly has a “charm”.
Luxury: YiD Cantoria
When staying in Santa Croce, YiD Cantoria is by far your greatest luxurious choice. The beautiful condo has a personal entrance and inside designs to die for. Fresco-style art work items adorn its partitions, and loads of picket notes. It’s a mixture between stylish and conventional, and it sleeps up to six folks – group journey, anybody?
You additionally get a personal balcony with beautiful road views. It’s a superb alternative for anybody wanting privateness and independence in Santa Croce.
Mid Range: Borgo Signature Rooms
Borgo Signature Rooms is a guesthouse in Santa Croce with splendidly adorned rooms. It is the place to keep in order for you aesthetically pleasing guestrooms on a mid-range price range. The combination of picket furnishings and art work is simply stunning.
As if all that wasn’t sufficient, you’re simply minutes from the Basilica di Santa Croce Firenze. Borgo Signature Rooms are useless centrally positioned.
Budget: Bargello Guest House
Bargello Guest House provides guestrooms in a B&B model with quite a few shared areas, together with a cushty lounge space. Each room has a personal ensuite with complimentary toiletries and a TV for downtime after sightseeing.
Bargello Guest House is among the few budget-friendly lodging choices in Santa Croce, so snap it up whereas it’s obtainable.
Pros Of Staying in Santa Croce
It is central and inside strolling distance of all the principle points of interest, together with the Uffizi Gallery.
It has a ravishing market scene for laidback, genuine residing.
There’s tons of fascinating historical past, particularly artwork historical past and monumental tombs belonging to Galileo and Michelangelo.
Cons Of Staying in Santa Croce
It can get busy nonetheless.
You nonetheless have to stroll just a little longer than for those who stayed extra centrally (quarter-hour on common relatively than 5 minutes or so).
Accommodation may be costly and promote out in peak months.
5. Santo Spirito
The Santo Spirito neighborhood is stylish, with an electrical sense of nightlife. This is the place you possibly can keep in Florence in order for you events after darkish, and it has a classy assortment of vibrant bars that keep open lengthy into the early hours. Santo Spirito is a implausible place to embrace the native vibe and socialize in your journey to Florence. Oh, and it additionally has nice eating places, if these full of life bars weren’t sufficient for you. Unsurprisingly, it’s thought of among the best neighborhoods in Florence.
Santo Spirito is positioned south of the river, like San Niccolò. However, it’s barely extra central, positioned simply off the steps of the Ponte Vecchio bridge. Because of this, you’re already on the outskirts of the town heart and only a brief stroll to Florence’s primary points of interest just like the cathedral and Piazza della Repubblica. It’s only a bit extra handy.
When you aren’t partying or strolling briskly over Ponte Vecchio for inner-city sightseeing, there’s lots to do in Santo Spirito. The largest attraction in the neighborhood is Pitti Palace. Pitti Palace is an artwork gallery advanced inside a Renaissance royal palace and opens onto the Boboli Gardens.
Santo Spirito is undoubtedly the place to keep for those who love to occasion and expertise nightlife in new cities. However, it’s equally a superb place to let your hair down in nature and admire art work – the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens are two of Florence’s most spectacular outer-city points of interest.
Luxury: Brunelleschi Imperial House
Brunelleschi Imperial House is a ravishing two-bedroom condo in central Santo Spirito. The design is extravagant, with heat lighting and spectacular options like a stone hearth. You even get entry to a sizzling tub. With all this on provide, the luxurious of self-catered lodging to slink again to for privateness, peace, and quiet after a protracted day is sensible.
The condo sleeps up to six folks. You have a spacious lounge and excellent kitchen services, so it’s a ravishing spot in order for you spacious lodging in Florence.
Mid Range: Hotel Palazzo Guadagni
Hotel Palazzo Guadagni oozes custom and sophistication. Its most eye-catching high quality is its stone rooftop terrace, adorned with stone columns. The entire property is adorned with antiques and frescoes. If you need someplace memorable to keep in Santo Spirito, that is the place to select.
Some rooms overlook the Pitti Palace, and a few bookings embrace a every day breakfast (on the terrace, after all). If you actually need a memorable expertise, you possibly can e book one of many rooms that includes an open fireplace. This is a pleasant choice in winter.
Budget: Home in Florence
Home in Florence is a conventional little condo with terracotta-tiled flooring and a wrought iron mattress body. Staying right here is equal to stepping right into a novel or TV present. The property’s barely primary, rough-around-the-edges attract offers it that genuine vibe. Think of Emily in Paris if Emily moved to Florence as an alternative.
This one-bedroom condo has all the things a pair or solo traveler wants. You get a kitchen, lounge, and a rest room with a superbly tiled bathe. Quaint and delicate on the pockets, Home in Florence is a implausible budget-friendly choice in Santo Spirito.
Pros Of Staying in Santo Spirito
It has a stylish bar scene for after-hours socializing.
It is only a brief stroll over Ponte Vecchio to attain the town heart.
You’ve obtained stunning points of interest like Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens.
Cons Of Staying in Santo Spirito
You nonetheless have a 15-minute stroll or so by way of the Ponte Vecchio to attain the northern metropolis heart’s points of interest, just like the Florence Cathedral and Piazza del Duomo.
It may be rowdy and busy in components.
There are fewer lodges, so e book in advance for peak months.
6. San Lorenzo
San Lorenzo is a ravishing neighborhood to the northwest of the town heart. It’s proper on the cusp of being in the central historic district, making it some of the handy locations you possibly can keep in Florence. So, aside from its location, what precisely makes San Lorenzo so particular? In a phrase: meals.
The entire neighborhood revolves round hospitality and culinary experiences. It is the place you’ll discover the Mercato Centrale, promoting road meals from 9am till midnight seven days per week and a mix of low-light wine bars and upscale eating places. If you’re taking a meals tour in Florence, San Lorenzo is the place guides will take you. So, for those who’re a foodie, you might as effectively skip that and simply e book to base your self there as an alternative.
It isn’t all meals in this culinary-focused neighborhood (though what could be unsuitable with that?), and also you’ve obtained points of interest just like the Basilica di San Lorenzo and the Museo di Casa Martelli. You are additionally lower than a 10-minute stroll from main sights just like the Piazza del Duomo, so you possibly can simply spend your days sightseeing. This neighborhood is the place you possibly can keep for leisurely sightseeing and culinary experiences in the galore.
Luxury: Hotel Cerretani Firenze
It doesn’t get extra beautiful than Hotel Cerretani Firenze on this facet of city. This 4-star lodge is simply 300 meters from Florence Cathedral, and a few of its rooms have views of the terracotta dome. Each room oozes class, with complimentary particulars like slippers and robes. You can select from a mix of superior rooms and suites. Almost each reserving features a complimentary every day breakfast service, with 24-hour room service obtainable.
Hotel Cerretani Firenze is about in a Seventeenth-century constructing. It provides a lounge bar and onsite eating places, so mainly, all the things you want is inside its 4 partitions.
Mid Range: B&B Lorenzo di Medici
B&B Lorenzo di Medici provides a variety of room choices, all together with complimentary every day breakfast and considerate perks like a shuttle service to the airport. The inside design is recent and trendy – a stylish base to your time in Florence. It’s simply that good step between cheap costs and luxuries you crave. And whereas these are guestrooms, not flats, you continue to get useful facilities like a microwave, fridge, espresso machine, and toaster.
It’s straightforward to see why the critiques are form to B&B Lorenzo di Medici. It’s a cool mid-range spot in this foodie neighborhood in Florence.
Budget Hotel: Hostel Archi Rossi
Hostel Archi Rossi is among the few typical hostel lodging in Florence, and it doesn’t fail expectations. It provides a enjoyable atmosphere with white wrought iron beds in dormitories for up to 9 folks. There’s hand-painted art work in all places and a very sociable structure. It’s an excellent place to keep in order for you to stick to a price range and make loads of buddies.
You additionally get a shared kitchen, which is nice for saving cash when consuming out. Hostel Archi Rossi is affordable and cheerful.
Pros Of Staying in San Lorenzo
There are lots of of meals experiences.
You are simply minutes from main points of interest.
There’s a ravishing church and historic points of interest.
Cons Of Staying in San Lorenzo
It can get busy, particularly in peak seasons.
It has fewer points of interest than different neighborhoods in Florence.
Accommodation may be costly.
Best Areas to Stay in Florence: FAQ’s
By now, you’re effectively ready to make your remaining determination on the place to keep in Florence. You actually are spoiled for alternative, and the town has a number of the greatest lodges, too – simply pondering of Hotel Palazzo Guadagni’s rooftop terrace makes us need to head again to Florence!
Before you make any remaining selections, although, listed below are some frequent FAQs. This part will assist solidify your alternative, particularly for those who’re visiting Florence for the primary time.
What a part of Florence is the most effective to keep in?
Centro Storico is the most effective a part of Florence for those who’re visiting for the primary time or simply for a weekend. This is since you are proper in the center of all the things and only a nice stroll from points of interest like Piazza della Signoria, Florence Cathedral, and Piazza della Repubblica. It’s the center of the town, which is great for a time restrict.
Where ought to I keep in Florence for the primary time?
Again, Centro Storico is the best choice for first-time guests to Florence. Its quick access to central sights is unbeatable. It’s handy and thrilling for first-time guests to be so in the thick of it. Book in advance to keep away from steeper costs and peak occasions, although.
Where to keep away from staying in Florence?
We wouldn’t advocate staying on the outskirts of Florence, particularly because it’s such a metropolis break-style vacation spot. If you’re visiting for a weekend, save your time on ridiculously lengthy public transport journeys simply to attain the town heart.
What is probably the most stunning space in Florence?
San Niccolò is gorgeous. It’s filled with beautiful gardens, wine bars that sprawl out in al fresco seating, and views of Florence’s cityscape from throughout the Arno River.
Where not to keep in Florence
In normal, anyplace in central Florence is nice. The worst you’ll have to put up with is vacationer crowds and the opportunistic petty crime that may generally entice – like pickpocketing or bag snatching. As an entire, central Florence is protected and simple to navigate, with most locations accessible inside a brief strolling distance.
However, we might rule out neighborhoods in Florence’s outskirts. Not solely are these areas extra susceptible to crime, however you’re additionally battling prolonged journey occasions on public transport simply to attain the town heart to sightsee. It’s the very last thing you need. Here are a number of in explicit to keep away from:
1. Peretola: The area across the airport is just too removed from the town heart and has nearly fixed noise air pollution.
2. Le Piagge: A budget-friendly area that sadly struggles with low-level crime in northwestern Florence.
3. Galluzo: A reasonably disagreeable area in the south of Florence, most well-known for its massive jail facility.
Instead, in order for you a extra suburban and off-the-beaten-track place to keep, head to San Niccolò. It is about on the other financial institution of the Arno River, away from the town heart, with extra inexperienced area and a laidback environment.
Why we love Florence
There’s no denying that Florence is among the prettiest cities in Europe. We adore its beautiful structure and the cultural issues to do. Choosing the place to keep in Florence is simply the cherry on prime —good lodging is heaven-sent and helps you immerse your self much more deeply into the town and its tradition.
In Florence, the neighborhoods have such particular person senses of character. You’ve obtained San Niccolò’s laidback greenery and Santa Croce’s market buzz. Or Santa Maria Novella’s no-nonsense price range lodging scene. Wherever you select to keep, we hope you might have a implausible time.