I plan to spend four to five days in Florence with my family.
Any lodging suggestions and places to see?
Do I need to rent a car to visit the surrounding area?
Thanks ,
Hannah
Traveling to Florence
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For lodging suggestions you need to tell us how many people and bed configuration you need - as well as a budget in $ or euros (moderate - doesn;t help - since that can mean many different things).
If you want to visit a couple of hill towns you can probably due that by train or bus. It makes no sense to have a car IN Florence - since the center - where most of the sights are - is pedestrian only. If you stay outside that you would still have to find a car to put a garage - since street parking is extremely limited. You might want to consider spending a couple of nights IN the country and drive from there.
Just came back from Florence.You can't drive in the city center,which is where you want to be.You can take a train to a hill town,or take a taxi and rent a car and drive somewhere,depends how far you want to go.We stayed at the Pitti Palace Hotel.It was right at the end of the Pontevecchio.so location was great.It is not a cheap hotel,but not 4 start,either.
Buses are great options for getting from Florence to a plethora of quintessential Tuscan or Umbrian hill towns and obviously with a bus you see the lovely countryside as well. Trains serve a few hill towns but then dump you off at the base of the immense hill most are situated on - often like in the case of Assisi or Cortona or Siena a long trek from the town center. Buses, which are dirt cheap and run all the time - no reservations ever needed take you to at least near the top of the hill so are not only cheaper than trains but more convenient for getting to the old town centers.
Hmmm... so what attracted you to Florence in the first place if you need to know what to see?
Your lodging requirements drive where you want to stay. What does family consist of, where you want to be close to, etc.
Your definition of "surrounding area" should guide you the relevant means of transportation. Without defining where you want to go, the recommendation on what to use: train,bus,car, taxi, etc, would be all over the map.
If are considering a car with Florence, you need a firm grasp of ZTL, Zona A Traffico Limitato, to avoid breathtaking traffic fines that come with wondering into city center where poysine referred as "can't drive in the city center."