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Florence hotels

Overview                    Prepare                    Get Around                    Highlights

Hotels in Italy offer a good variety of accommodation and are often family operated and fairly small.  Italy hotels do perhaps lack the high levels of customer facilities usually expected, but compensate for this with a personal touch to all services.  Hotels are graded using stars, but you may find discrepancies where an hotel has declined an additional star so as to pay less tax!  Luxury hotels do tend to be above and beyond the more ordinary hotels and are probably the only places where you will find high thread count sheets on quality mattresses.

 Luxury hotels do tend to be above and beyond the more ordinary hotels....

Italian hotels will usually offer a very simple breakfast included with your room price.  Some of the cheaper city hotels actually share a building with offices or residential units, so don't be surprised if you encounter this.

Whether you are looking to stay in beautiful and cultural Tuscany, landlocked Umbria, the great cities of Rome, Milan, Venice or Florence or the glorious Amalfi Coast, cheap hotels in Italy are best sourced using our price comparison, before booking in advance to secure your rooms.

 

Overview

Overview

Florence, cradle of the Renaissance, is an alfresco museum of cobbled streets and endless culture. You'll want to loosen your belt for the fine cuisine, and your wallet for the superb shopping.

See

The massive cupola of the marble Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, the Duomo, dominates the city skyline, while Michelangelo's David stands proud behind the doors of the Galleria dell'Accademia. View Botticellis and other Italian old masters on the walls of the Uffizi Gallery. Gaze at the Medici family tombs lining the New Sacristy in the Renaissance church of San Lorenzo.
Spend

The leather capital of Italy strains at the seams with gloves, belts, bags and shoes in the many artisan workshops, as well as at San Lorenzo Market. Drool over the designer boutiques that line up-market Via Tornabuoni.
Get Out

For fresh air and fantastic city views, hike uphill to the regal Boboli Gardens. Soak up sun and cappuccinos, and do some quality people-watching at the historic city café Giubbe Rosse. On summer evenings head to Le Pavoniere swimming pool in the Parco delle Cascine and cool off with a swim and a cocktail.
Culture

Top venue for live music is the Teatro Comunale, hosting opera and ballet through autumn, and the symphony orchestra through winter. Enjoy chamber music recitals most weekends at the Teatro della Pergola. Through summer, several of the city's piazzas become open-air venues for jazz concerts and ethnic music, notably Piazza S. Ambrogio and Piazza S.S. Annunziata.
Eat & Drink

Strong, simple flavours infuse the cuisine of the Tuscan motherland. Satisfy carnivorous taste-buds with the hefty bistecca alla fiorentina, a 3cm-thick charcoal grilled steak. Wild boar, game and duck are popular, as are chill-beating Tuscan soups, pork sausages and beans. Tuscan olive oil comes with everything – a fruity, aromatic delight, often known as 'liquid gold'.
New Perspective

Enjoy a fusion of contemporary Florentine tastes in a high-fashion setting at the Fusion Bar Shozan Gallery. Or reach dizzying heights of sophistication at the Bar Continentale atop the medieval Consorti tower.

Prepare

Prepare

Ready your wallet for shopping expeditions as an antidote to cultural overload. Florence's concentration of artistic masterpieces can be almost overwhelming for first-time visitors.

Florence Year

Join Carnival's street parades (Feb-Mar) and Easter Sunday's ox-and-cart procession to the Duomo. Watch footballers play in medieval dress at Historic Football (24 Jun), held in honour of St John. Wish the Madonna happy birthday (7 Sep) with La Rificolona procession of lanterns, and get your running shoes on for the gruelling Florence Marathon (Nov).
Public Holidays

New Year's Day (1 Jan), Epiphany (6 Jan), Good Friday (Mar/Apr), Easter Monday (Mar/Apr), Liberation Day (25 Apr), Labour Day (1 May), Feast of San Giovanni (24 Jun), Assumption (15 Aug), All Saints (1 Nov), Christmas Day (25 Dec), Boxing Day (26 Dec).
Weather

The best time for a Florentine trip is in spring, April to June, or autumn, mid-September to mid-November. Winters are chilly and the perfect time to gorge on hearty soups. Mid-summer sees searing heat rising to 38°C.
Electricity

220V AC, 50 Hz, two-pin plugs are standard.
Dialling Code

+39 (Italy), 055 + 7-figure number (Florence).
Money

Euro (€) is the currency.
GMT

GMT +1 (+2 in summertime).
Florence Tourist Info

Florence Tourism website.

Fit In

Expect to see fur coats in the winter along with the ubiquitous leather gloves. Purple – the colour of the Fiorentina football team – is the new black.

Get Around

Get Around

With the snaking River Arno cleaving the city in two, Florence is compact enough to cover comfortably on foot.

In this pedestrian-friendly city, you're never more than a short walk from the main cultural attractions. Use the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in the heart of the centro storico (historic centre) to orientate yourself through the medieval cobbled streets.

Northeast of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore lies the Galleria dell'Accademia, and northwest is the Church of San Lorenzo and the Central Station. South lies Piazza della Signoria and the Uffizi Gallery. From here, the Ponte Vecchio bridge traverses the River Arno, and a short uphill hike reaches the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens.
Foot

Florence's narrow medieval streets were made for perambulating and horse-drawn carts. Walking is still the quickest and most enjoyable way of getting around a city that is a work of art in itself. Stroll around at night to have the streets to yourself.
Taxi

Florence is compact so a taxi is only needed when travelling with heavy luggage. Minimum fares are steep and the complex one-way system and pedestrianised zones make even short journeys laboriously long. There are ranks at the airport and immediately outside the Central Station (Santa Maria Novella), alternatively call the Radio Taxi Service (+39 055 4390).
Bus

As the centro storico (historic centre) is mostly closed to traffic, Florence's efficient buses run almost exclusively on the principal streets. Several small electric buses cover the otherwise pedestrian-only areas.
Bicycle

The relatively traffic-free centre means that cycling is a pleasant and speedy way of zipping about town. Temporary sites renting bikes for a nominal fee are plentiful: try the Central Station, Piazza Strozzi, or the south side of the Palazzo Vecchio.
Scooter

Florence may be small enough to cover on foot, but nothing beats the thrill – or makes you feel more like a local – than scooting about on the back of a bike. You can rent scooters from Alinari Rental on Via Guelfa 85/r.
Transport Tips

Wear comfortable shoes for sightseeing. If you envisage frequent bus journeys, pick up a pack of four tickets called biglietto multiplo, a 24-hour or three-day pass at the ATAF kiosk in Piazza Stazione or at any tabacchi (newsagent). Be sure to stamp your ticket in the box at the rear of the bus to avoid a hefty fine. Pick up a bus map at the tourist office near the station.
Time Travel

Visit Piazza della Signoria, where fervent friar Girolamo Savonarola organised the Bonfire of the Vanities during the 15th century, burning "immoral" masterpieces of Renaissance art. Fast forward to the 20th century to see the collection of modern art at the Pitti Palace.
Florence Transport Link

Florence Public Transport (ATAF) website

Highlights

Highlights

Every street of Florence's compact city centre is crammed with Renaissance cultural treasures to explore, so narrow it down to your hot picks.

Scale the cupola of Florence's Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore for a spectacular overview of the city, then check out the golden doors of the octagonal Baptistery opposite. Make your way to the Uffizi Gallery for an afternoon with the masters of Renaissance painting. Traverse the River Arno via the Ponte Vecchio bridge to picnic in the Boboli Gardens of the Pitti Palace.

Admire Michelangelo's gargantuan marble masterpiece of David at the Galleria dell'Accademia. See the beautifully sculpted tombs of the Medici family, noted art patrons, at the New Sacristy in the church of San Lorenzo.
Sightseeing Tips

Save time spent in snaking queues at major attractions such as the Uffizi Gallery and Galleria dell'Accademia by booking museum visits before you leave home. Contact the tourist board for details.

Content provided by Frommer's Unlimited © 2009, Whatsonwhen Limited.



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