Florence - which district?
 

Okay, I've got the Venezian siesteri sussed and I've finally wrapped my head around Rome's many suburbs but what about Florence? We're [two mid+ 20s females] staying for a week and are looking at self-catering, I'm kinda looking at an apartment in San Lorenzo on Borgo la Noce - mappy.com suggests it's 15 minutes walk from the Ponte Vecchio. Is this are as good as any in Florence? Ofcourse centrality and safety are the more pressing concerns. Cheers Italia buffs! :)

haven't stayed exactly there, but if it's where i think it is (off borgo san lorenzo), then yes, that's as good as anywhere, i'd have thought! it's really near the duomo - if you walk down borgo san lorenzo, it suddenly opens out onto the main square and it's just amazing. near one of the markets too, and the cappelle medicee, and 15 minutes to the ponte vecchio sounds about right. it won't be a quiet area, i wouldn't have thought (although, as i said, i don't know that exact street) - i've stayed in via de' ginori (quite near) and some of the university buildings are there, so prepare yourself for mopeds early in the morning :)

you're also conveniently near the train station without it being part of the "dodgy bit by the station" that most italian cities have!.

my personal favourite area of florence is the other side of the river in santo spirito, it's quieter and a bit more 'italian' if that makes any sense, but where you're looking at sounds fine to me!

Hello again, Mel,
Here is where we are staying in Florence this summer. http://www.residenzailcarmine.com/

It is an apartment in the Oltarno near Santo Spirito area near many restaurants and shops. The Oltarno is the less touristy and less crowded side of Florence. You just cross the bridge to get to the sights.

The Incenso apartment is priced at 89 Euro per night for our stay in early July 2005.

We have this apartment booked but haven't stayed here yet, so I can't give you a review. It gets great reviews at Slowtrav.com, though.

Happy apartment hunting! Laurie

Hey Vicki and Laurie - thanks for your insight! Two shout-outs for the Oltarno district then.. Would I be right in surmising it's akin to Trastevere - a little more authentic and ofcourse across the river? I'm in Florence for 7 days so I'd love to settle into a rhythm somewhere perfect - I'll do an Oltarno search.

Vicki - I had concerns as to whether the train station area suffered similar problems to that in Rome etc. I'll steer clear I think. :)
Laurie - hello! Thanks once again for the great tip...I'll research that one for prices in Oct. I'm aiming for around or under E400 a week.
Anyone else want to record their support for a particular district? Ta!

Yes, Oltrarno is Florence's Trastevere... although I must admit to not knowing Trastevere that well.

Oltrarno is (in my opinion) better for eating out as well. Less touristy with menus more likely to be written in unintelligible handwriting :). But also cheaper, better food, better service, smaller trattoria-type places. Also the right side of the river for the palazzo pitti and the adjoining boboli gardens (hints - if you have the energy and it's summer, go to the boboli gardens as early in the morning as you can; also if there's a long queue at the palazzo pitti entrance to the gardens, there's another entrance at the far end of the road that hardly anyone uses!), and for piazzale michelangiolo - long walk up hill, although there is a bus! - and san miniato al monte, which are both good for postcard views of florence.

Re the train station - actually Florence isn't that bad on that front, not really. I haven't been hassled as much there as I was outside Termini in Rome or the main station in Bologna. But it's not the nicest part of the city either!

Laurie: Il Carmine certainly looks intriguing. We're going in October--first time in Italy. We are two ladies (youngish mid-50's) and were planning to stay in the center. But this option looks awfully good and could save us more than $100 each for the 3 days.

Would you recommend the Santo Spirito section for first timers? I had also thought it would be helpful having staff at a hotel to help with questions. But the slow trav review says the apt owner speaks English and is very helpful.

Please give me your thoughts on this. Thanks.

Hi Jeanne,
I am not an expert on Florence by any means. VickyH seems to know quite a ot about this city.

We haven't been to Florence yet but before I booked this apartment I did quite a bit of research. We like to stay in quieter less touristy sides of cities. I feel that this way you get a true feeling for the culture and the people of the area.

I am in my upper forties and am in good shape physically. My husband and I both enjoy walking and sight seeing in the city so this seemed like a good option for us. In general, the apartments seemed a little nicer for less money in this area.

So, if this is the type of traveler you are, then the Oltarno may be right for you too! Hope this helps.
Laurie

Hi Jeanne,

Florence really isn't a very big city, so although Santo Spirito is certainly the quieter side of the river, you won't be too far away from the 'famous' bits - definitely walkable to the ponte vecchio, uffizi etc. It's a lovely city to walk around, especially that side of the river. I'd definitely suggest staying there rather than the centre - at the end of a long day it's quite nice to be able to wander back over the bridge to the relative calm of oltrarno.

to be honest, if you get yourself a good guide book, i wouldn't think you'd need to worry about whether or not the staff speak english. florence is a very tourist-friendly city, really. (in terms of maps, information etc, anyway - sometimes it can seem less friendly when you're trying to find out what buses go where from the main train station...;))

i hope that helps. i'd chose to stay in santo spirito even if it cost MORE than the centre, to be honest...:)

Very helpful...thank you both.

Vicki: That's good to know about easily getting around. I doubt we'll be taking the bus much. We're big walkers, too.

We're not going until the fall so any feedback will be appreciated.

JeanneB:
Are you planning to be in two places at once? On another thread, you are going to Paris and Provence...

I've done some reading on Oltrarno specifically now and it does sound right up my alley! I've heard the San Frediano area in particular is one of the more alluring and am searching for cheap apartments in the area. I've found one on Via del Porcellana which is just over the bridge on the northern side but practically a hop skip and jump to San Frediano. Does anyone know what the northern side opposite Oltrarno is like? I'm imagining it's similar..

And also, has anyone used www.florenceandtuscany.com? I swear my Lonely Planet states monthly rentals begin at around E500 but I'm finding it difficult to find something decent around this price for one week. Any cheap but good options? Thanks!

Hi AussieMel, Florence is very compact so just about anywhere you stay will be convenient. Other than the previous recommendations, I can also recommend the San Lorenzo Apartments, owned by Gianna Galeota. I think the web address is sleepinginflorence.com, or else you can do a search for her property. We stayed in one of her apartments and were very pleased with price, ammenities, location, service, etc.

Good luck on your trip planning!

Eloise:

I wish!

My friend and I went to Paris a couple of years ago. This year we've been planning our first trip to Italy.

But now we're both <i>longing</i> to see Paris again (we loved it). As things stand, we're still planning to do Italy. But we're researching a Paris/Provence itinerary...just in case.

Laurie - Il Carmine is climbing up my shortlist at the moment - thanks for the tip off once again! Just wondering out of curiousity, was the Incenso priced cheaper than the Masolino, Oro, Mirra and Masaccio or did you fancy it for another reason? Can't ait to hear your trip report in July!

Hi Mel,
If your read the apartment descriptions carefully, you will find the the Massaccio apartment has a sofa bed in the living room. Sometimes they are very uncomfortable.

As for the other apartments, I just liked the way Incenso looked online. It may or may not be better than any of the others.

The owner was very prompt with emails.
Have a great time!
Laurie

Being familiar with both Florence and Rome, I really would not consider the Oltrarno akin to Trastevere. I do like that area of Florence but also like the San Lorenzo area. Trastevere is jam packed with cafes and restaurants. Much of Florence is the same way. There is probably less of a concentration in the Santo Spirito area actually.

I have not found the restaurants to be any better on that side of the Arno but maybe that is because I have the good fortune to have friends in Florence and also to have been visiting my favorite spot in Italy fairly often over the past few years. I have learned my way pretty well.

I think most any part of Florence is safe exceot for the area near the Italian language school which gets pretty seedy at night. It is a very compact city and anywhere you stay will be convenient if you do not mind walking. I prefer to stay out of the amin tourist fray and enjoy waling in for dinner, etc.

You will just love Florence! Have a great trip!

Kfusto - thanks for the info re safety stuff, I hadn't heard anybody mention the foreign language school as a potentially seedy area before. I'm not certain of it's location actually - I'll have to mappy it. Jeanne mentioned Borga La Noce was quite near some noisy university buildings - I'll cross my fingers this isn't the area you're speaking of.

Has anyone stayed in the San Lorenzo Apartments perchance? I'm tossing up between this area and Oltrarno now - mainly because the San Lorenzo is about E150 cheaper per week! But I'll always preference safety and surrounds anyhow. Thanks again!

I think the San Lorenzo area would be more convenient for daytrips than the Oltrarno, if that's a factor to you. I liked staying in the Oltrarno, but when I go to Florence next time I'll probably be focused on daytrips so I might stay in a different area.

One thing I did find in central Florence is that there really are swarms of people. If that's a bother to you, consider the Oltrarno (not sure how significant this issue would be for the San Lorenzo apartment).

Hey WT - we'll be coming in following some time in CT and Bellagio so hopefully we will have had at least a small reprieve from swarming crowds prior! I'm not really certain as to whether swarms of people will bother - this is my first Euro trip so it's all a bit experimental. I hope that an apartment will provide some refuge from the crowds no matter where it is situated anyhow, I can always dart back there for a breather I guess.

The San Lorenzo apartment is right near the San Lorenzo market and is admittedly a little noisy, though I'm not sure how noisy noisy is.. It just clicks over into low season when I arrive mid Oct so its E350 for the week. That's pretty darn cheap as far as my research goes - but will gladly take submissions for anything cheaper??!

We stayed in the Lepri apartment in the San Lorenzo apartments in the summer of '03 and loved it. We would definitely stay there again.

The location was great for both day and night and we never had a problem with noise, but we were on the top floor. Also the owner, Gianna, was very prompt with emails, very helpful, and the price was right.

I'd be happy to answer specific questions if you have any, AussieMel.