cadd

We'll be in Florence/Tuscany for 4 nights in late September/early October and wanted to see where was the best place in that area to stay.

We really like an area that's walkable, we won't be renting a car or anything and we'll probably use public transportation a lot. Is there a city center area or a good neighborhood to stay in that you guys would recommend?

Jean

I'm not sure what you mean by 'an area that's walkable.' Are you into distance hiking or want to stay in a flat-ish town or what?

Tuscany is 9000 square miles, so focusing on a place to stay involves knowing where in Tuscany you want to go, what you want to see. Public transportation exists, but the timetables don't make it terribly useful for day trips.

How high is your interest in Florence? I'd probably stay in the city and use trains and buses one or two days. Pisa, Lucca, Siena, San Gimignano, Bologna, Arezzo are fairly easy day trips. The small town of Fiesole in the hills above Florence is the closest/easiest destination (bus or taxi) and has some interesting Roman and Etruscan sights.

LisaG

cadd,

For clarification, are you spending 4 nights in Florence, or 4 nights in Tuscany? Or some combo? Knowing that will allow us to recommend either:

1) an area of Florence that fits your "walkable" "centrally located" bill
OR
2) a town in Tuscany that fits your requirements, and does not need a car to get to.

I suspect that you are wanting #1 above, and that you are spending 4 nights in Florence. Is that right?

LisaG

cadd

Yep, 4 nights in Florence. I hear San Marco is nice and very centrally located.

kybourbon

San Marco is not inside the pedestrian center and would be a bit of a trek to everything. Most people would not pick that as "walkable". I would pick somewhere more central or if willing to stay that far from the center, I would stay somewhere in the Oltrarno.

ElendilPickle

I don't know what your budget is, or how many people are in your group, but we rented a studio apartment on Via delle Ruote through Airbnb and we thought the location and price was good. We were about 10 minutes' walk from the Accademia and not at all far from the other things we wanted to see. It's easy to walk around in Florence, so we never used public transportation while we were there.

Lee Ann

PalenQ

florence is eminently walkable no matter where you stay - Oltrano is the oldest looking part with narrow lanes and is very close to all the main sights just over the Arno.

A day trip to Siena is great - buses in about an hour for just a few euros each way. Siena is one of the finest of the fine iconic tuscan hill towns. No need to book buses - they leave very often from the main bus station opposite the main train station.

Jean

Unless you're considering the Four Seasons Hotel near Piazza San Marco, I think you may be confusing this with Piazza San Marco in Venice.

But there are sights in the area of Piazza San Marco in Florence. The Galleria Accademia, Museo di San Marco, Basilica Santissima Annunciata, the Last Supper at Sant'Apollonia, and the Botanic Gardens.

HappyTrvlr

In Florence, we enjoyed staying on the Santa Croce neighborhood, walkable to the historic and relifious sites but out of tourism central.