ParisAmie

Long message title I know. I have been researching for days and reading books and websites. I would enjoy hearing a recommendation for Florence and - really - should we have a base location for our daily drives and travels once we leave Florence? Figure about 5 days in the hillside towns. We like to 'stay put' and move around from our 'home'.

THANK YOU!

Alajan

ParisAmie, please let us know your budget so we can be more specific about lodging. Also the time of year of your trip and do you want town or countryside lodging once you leave Florence? Which towns interest you? By hilltowns do you mean the Pienza/Montepulciano area?

I would find one base for those 5 days so you don't lose time transitioning.

Laidback

We stayed at the Relais Uffizi in Florence last fall and really enjoyed it. It's right near the Piazzo della Signora. It seems you answered your own question about having a home base. We did the same and stayed in a village called San Quirco d'Orcia and loved it. We just hate to pack and unpack.We have friends who do it the other way and keep going from one place to the other because they don't want to backtrack, so I guess you need to do what makes you happy!Our itinerary was three nights in Florence,seven in San Quirico with day trips from there, a night in Siena(needed to stay longer) at Palazzo Ravizza, two nights in Lucca at Palazzo Alexander, which I highly recommend and finally back to Florence for two days where we stayed at the Orto de Medici, which was nice but we preferred the location of the Relais Uffizi. Then,sadly, we had to leave. There were so many places wejust hit and would love to return for a month the next time.

heidiho

We stayed at Tourist House Ghiberti in Florence a year ago. It is about two blocks behind the Duomo. It was my favorite place we stayed. It was more of a B&B and offered a nice enough breakfast. Our room was clean and everything was in good condition. The bathroom was clean and modern, but had the usual small shower. The off season rate we had was 180 euros I think.

j_elzie

Hi,

Check out the Corona D'Italia, which is a 3-star hotel close to the historic center and within walking distance to the main monuments, Duomo and museums. For a 4-star, consider the Hotel Degli Orafi, which is between the Uffizi and Ponte Vecchio with views of the Arno and Palazzo Vecchio. For a 5-star, check out the Grand Hotel, which is a very high quality hotel in a former palace facing the River Arno.

Best Regards,
Julia

debbieinstowe

Try the little town of Greve. I stayed there at an incredible place where they filmed Midsummer's Night's Dream. Can't remember the name tho should be easy to find it. It was sooooo beautiful! Debbie

isabel

I stayed at the Hotel Desiree in Florence last summer and found it very acceptable. Walked everywhere, was clean and comfortable (though not luxurious) and had great air conditioning and breakfast.