Tuscany’s capital is a Renaissance wonderland of artwork and terracotta tiles. Florence is without doubt one of the hottest metropolis breaks in Europe, and it’s bought the superstar standing to show it. You’ve bought the Florence Cathedral, cobbled streets filled with unbiased boutiques, and the Arno River working via town heart. Florence is filled with artwork and tradition – however the place do you keep to see all the primary sights? How do you select the place to keep in Florence?
Best Places to Stay in Florence
Florence is a wonderful metropolis to go to. There’s artwork and wonder in all places. When it comes to the primary sights, you have got the Etruscan Archaeological Museum, the bustle of Piazza del Duomo, and the grandeur of Palazzo Vecchio. You’ve bought lots to look ahead to.
Where to keep in Florence is totally different for everybody and each go to. Central Florence has almost ten totally different areas, every with a mixture of trendy boutique inns and sights. You can go native and keep away from the vacationers or pay the value and be inside strolling distance of all the pieces. After numerous visits to town, we’ve whittled it down to six neighborhoods for you to select from – we would like you to have one of the best.
1. Centro Storico
Centro Storico is the guts of Florence and its historical past. Picture church buildings that date again centuries, slim streets, and views of the beautiful important attraction in town: Florence Cathedral. Centro Storico is absolutely the hub of town, and everybody is aware of it. All one of the best inns get booked out over the summer season, and crowds of vacationers descend on the neighborhood year-round. Most of Florence’s important sights 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 sights just like the Uffizi Gallery, Piazza della Signoria, Palazzo Vecchio, and the National Museum of Bargello. The neighborhood is a energetic mixture of main websites. You can’t beat staying right here if you would like to discover on foot.
In abstract, Centro Storico is the place to keep in Florence when you’re a first-time customer, dedicated to sightseeing on foot, or solely have a few days in town. It is completely handy, with the added bonus of being completely attractive (primarily thanks to the Duomo’s terracotta domes).
Luxury: Rocco Forte Hotel Savoy
Rocco Forte Hotel Savoy is a sublime 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 remedy in trade.
Rocco Forte Hotel Savoy is definitely the most effective luxurious inns 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 non-public terrace.
This lodge is sweet worth for cash and a pleasure to expertise. The terrace room is unquestionably an important shout, providing a little bit of solace in the busy metropolis heart.
Budget: Dante’s Rooms
Dante’s Rooms is your easiest selection for finances 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 cut price keep is definitely worth the trade-off. If you’re prepared to go for a extra B&B type expertise, Dante’s Rooms is an excellent finances lodge selection in central Florence.
Pros Of Staying in Centro Storico
Walking distance from main sights 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 encircling 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 filled with in-and-out guests and, as such, has loads of budget-friendly lodging. It can get sketchy across the practice station at night time, with drug use and the odd opportunistic lurkers prepared to bag snatch. But as a complete, the Santa Maria Novella district is the place to keep in Florence if you would like an affordable and easy place to keep. You are only a brief stroll into the historic metropolis heart and to all the primary sights, simply with out the expense of paying via the roof for extra central lodging.
Apart from the primary practice station (very helpful for day journeys), the neighborhood has the attractive marble Basilica of Santa Maria Novella. You also can take a look at the antiques alongside Via dei Fossi, a well-liked purchasing avenue, and a few 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 enchantment and is a brief strolling distance from Centro Storico anyway, which is a pleasant contact. Santa Maria Novella is definitely the most effective neighborhoods if you would like a extra budget-friendly different 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 if you would like luxurious with water views, they usually have wonderful lodge rooms with marble bogs and home windows overlooking the Arno River.
This luxurious property is definitely the most effective inns, centrally positioned, providing tasteful decor and upscale rooms.
Mid Range: Novella House
Novella House is filled 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 straightforward stroll of Ponte Vecchio and Piazza della Signoria.
Novella House is ready in a Seventeenth-century constructing, which is simply the cherry on prime. It is a historic spot and the most effective inns if you would like 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 cut price. The most cost-effective rooms are dormitory choices, with female-only and mixed-sex rooms accessible. There are additionally dearer personal rooms with mid-range costs when you desire privateness however nonetheless need a hostel atmosphere.
You also can entry a shared kitchen, bogs, and laundry services.
Pros Of Staying in Santa Maria Novella
It is barely cheaper than Centro Storico.
It remains to be in town heart, that means you’re inside strolling distance of main sights.
It has a enjoyable environment.
Cons Of Staying in Santa Maria Novella
The space across the practice station and Piazza Santa Maria Novella might be sketchy at night time.
You’re nonetheless in town heart, so one of the best inns might 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 wonderful 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 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 have to to plan some additional journey time to attain town heart and sightsee issues like the foremost 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 enduring Ponte Vecchio bridge or Ponte alle Grazia, each of that are pedestrian-friendly.
There can be a lot to see and do in the neighborhood itself. The Piazzale Michelangelo is a panoramic viewpoint overlooking Florence, with a bronze David duplicate 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 if you would like to expertise a quiet tradition in 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 lovely riverfront property. It is positioned only a brief distance from Ponte Vecchio and provides suites overlooking the water. The lodge is adorned with priceless artwork, together with unique items by Picasso.
Onsite eating places and superb eating choices can be found, and almost each visitor room or suite provides beautiful marble bogs.
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 residences, providing you with the proper self-catering base.
Every house has a kitchen and laundry services. You additionally get entry to a small however fairly shared backyard. It’s a soothing base for visiting San Niccolò on a mid-range finances.
Budget: QK Costa58 Home Tower
QK Costa58 Home Tower is as budget-friendly as this neighborhood will get. Luckily, the attractive 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 via basic picket doorways – an actual expertise.
The double room is your most budget-friendly possibility and has nice views over town beneath.
Pros Of Staying in San Niccolò
There are extra peaceable areas of nature and inexperienced house.
There are artisan workshops, villas, and off-the-beaten-track tradition.
You expertise fewer crowds.
Cons Of Staying in San Niccolò
There are fewer inns to select from.
You are farther from town heart.
There are fewer main vacationer sights.
4. Santa Croce
Santa Croce is broadly 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 contemporary produce bought on the healthful avenue 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 avenue and al fresco eating and markets on the subsequent. We love its sense of avenue tradition and out of doors residing. And if you would like someplace with historical past however laidback tradition, city Santa Croce is the place to keep in Florence.
Santa Croce sits east of town heart, lower than a 15-minute stroll from all of the central sightseeing and sights 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 bought the Florence National Central Library, Casa Buonarroti, the attractive Basilica di Santa Croce di Firenze, and monumental tombs. It’s nice for artwork, literature, and academia. And if you aren’t embracing inventive historical past in Santa Croce, you might be purchasing for contemporary fruit and greens. The common 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 possibility. The beautiful house has a non-public 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 fashionable and conventional, and it sleeps up to six folks – group journey, anybody?
You additionally get a non-public balcony with attractive avenue views. It’s a superb selection 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 if you would like aesthetically pleasing guestrooms on a mid-range finances. The combination of picket furnishings and art work is simply lovely.
As if all that wasn’t sufficient, you’re simply minutes from the Basilica di Santa Croce Firenze. Borgo Signature Rooms are lifeless centrally positioned.
Budget: Bargello Guest House
Bargello Guest House provides guestrooms in a B&B type with quite a few shared areas, together with a snug lounge space. Each room has a non-public ensuite with complimentary toiletries and a TV for downtime after sightseeing.
Bargello Guest House is without doubt one of the few budget-friendly lodging choices in Santa Croce, so snap it up whereas it’s accessible.
Pros Of Staying in Santa Croce
It is central and inside strolling distance of all the primary sights, together with the Uffizi Gallery.
It has a wonderful 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 slightly longer than when you stayed extra centrally (quarter-hour on common quite than 5 minutes or so).
Accommodation might be costly and promote out in peak months.
5. Santo Spirito
The Santo Spirito neighborhood is fashionable, with an electrical sense of nightlife. This is the place you may keep in Florence if you would like events after darkish, and it has an elegant assortment of vibrant bars that keep open lengthy into the early hours. Santo Spirito is a incredible place to embrace the native vibe and socialize in your journey to Florence. Oh, and it additionally has nice eating places, if these energetic bars weren’t sufficient for you. Unsurprisingly, it’s thought of the most effective 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 town heart and only a brief stroll to Florence’s important sights 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 a lot 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 when you love to social gathering 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 sights.
Luxury: Brunelleschi Imperial House
Brunelleschi Imperial House is a wonderful two-bedroom house in central Santo Spirito. The design is extravagant, with heat lighting and spectacular options like a stone hearth. You even get entry to a scorching tub. With all this on supply, the luxurious of self-catered lodging to slink again to for privateness, peace, and quiet after an extended day is good.
The house sleeps up to six folks. You have a spacious lounge and excellent kitchen services, so it’s a wonderful spot if you would like 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 complete 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 day by day breakfast (on the terrace, after all). If you actually need a memorable expertise, you may e book one of many rooms that includes an open fireplace. This is a pleasant possibility in winter.
Budget: Home in Florence
Home in Florence is a standard little house 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 house has all the pieces 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 incredible budget-friendly possibility in Santo Spirito.
Pros Of Staying in Santo Spirito
It has a classy bar scene for after-hours socializing.
It is only a brief stroll over Ponte Vecchio to attain town heart.
You’ve bought lovely sights 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 sights, just like the Florence Cathedral and Piazza del Duomo.
It might be rowdy and busy in components.
There are fewer inns, so e book in advance for peak months.
6. San Lorenzo
San Lorenzo is a wonderful neighborhood to the northwest of town heart. It’s proper on the cusp of being in the central historic district, making it one of the crucial handy locations you may keep in Florence. So, aside from its location, what precisely makes San Lorenzo so particular? In a phrase: meals.
The complete neighborhood revolves round hospitality and culinary experiences. It is the place you’ll discover the Mercato Centrale, promoting avenue meals from 9am till midnight seven days every week and a mix of low-light wine bars and upscale eating places. If you are taking a meals tour in Florence, San Lorenzo is the place guides will take you. So, when you’re a foodie, chances are you’ll 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 can be flawed with that?), and also you’ve bought sights 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 may simply spend your days sightseeing. This neighborhood is the place you may keep for leisurely sightseeing and culinary experiences in the galore.
Luxury: Hotel Cerretani Firenze
It doesn’t get extra attractive 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 day by day breakfast service, with 24-hour room service accessible.
Hotel Cerretani Firenze is ready in a Seventeenth-century constructing. It provides a lounge bar and onsite eating places, so principally, all the pieces 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 day by day breakfast and considerate perks like a shuttle service to the airport. The inside design is contemporary and trendy – a classy base in your time in Florence. It’s simply that good step between affordable costs and luxuries you crave. And whereas these are guestrooms, not residences, you continue to get useful facilities like a microwave, fridge, espresso machine, and toaster.
It’s straightforward to see why the opinions 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 without doubt one of 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 extremely sociable structure. It’s an important place to keep if you would like to stick to a finances and make loads of buddies.
You additionally get a shared kitchen, which is nice for saving cash when consuming out. Hostel Archi Rossi is reasonable and cheerful.
Pros Of Staying in San Lorenzo
There are lots of of meals experiences.
You are simply minutes from main sights.
There’s a wonderful church and historic sights.
Cons Of Staying in San Lorenzo
It can get busy, particularly in peak seasons.
It has fewer sights than different neighborhoods in Florence.
Accommodation might be costly.
Best Areas to Stay in Florence: FAQ’s
By now, you’re effectively ready to make your last choice on the place to keep in Florence. You actually are spoiled for selection, and town has a few of the greatest inns, too – simply considering of Hotel Palazzo Guadagni’s rooftop terrace makes us need to head again to Florence!
Before you make any last selections, although, listed here are some widespread FAQs. This part will assist solidify your selection, particularly when you’re visiting Florence for the primary time.
What a part of Florence is one of the best to keep in?
Centro Storico is one of the best a part of Florence when you’re visiting for the primary time or simply for a weekend. This is since you are proper in the center of all the pieces and only a nice stroll from sights like Piazza della Signoria, Florence Cathedral, and Piazza della Repubblica. It’s the guts of town, which is great for a time restrict.
Where ought to I keep in Florence for the primary time?
Again, Centro Storico is the most suitable 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 suggest 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 town heart.
What is probably the most lovely space in Florence?
San Niccolò is gorgeous. It’s filled with pretty 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 common, 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 a complete, central Florence is protected and simple to navigate, with most locations accessible inside a brief strolling distance.
However, we’d rule out neighborhoods in Florence’s outskirts. Not solely are these areas extra inclined to crime, however you’re additionally battling prolonged journey occasions on public transport simply to attain town heart to sightsee. It’s the very last thing you need. Here are a number of in specific to keep away from:
1. Peretola: The area across the airport is simply too removed from town heart and has virtually fixed noise air pollution.
2. Le Piagge: A budget-friendly area that sadly struggles with low-level crime in northwestern Florence.
3. Galluzo: A fairly disagreeable area in the south of Florence, most well-known for its massive jail facility.
Instead, if you would like a extra suburban and off-the-beaten-track place to keep, head to San Niccolò. It is ready on the other financial institution of the Arno River, away from town heart, with extra inexperienced house and a laidback environment.
Why we love Florence
There’s no denying that Florence is without doubt one of the prettiest cities in Europe. We adore its attractive 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 town and its tradition.
In Florence, the neighborhoods have such particular person senses of character. You’ve bought San Niccolò’s laidback greenery and Santa Croce’s market buzz. Or Santa Maria Novella’s no-nonsense finances lodging scene. Wherever you select to keep, we hope you have got a incredible time.