Hotel Areas in Florence
 

I am narrowing down my hotel choices for Florence, having secured a place for Venice (October). I tried Pensione Sole but was told to call back in September. Now, I am trying to decide between Hotel Bellettini and Pensione Bretagna as a first choice. The first is located very close to the Duomo and in a straight line with the train station. The second is located overlooking the Arno, near Galleria Corsini and Santa Trinita (pretty much due south of the train station). The pensione costs less, but the hotel would put me much closer to the train station (but not too close) for two early morning departures (one with luggage and one without). I know central Florence is supposed to be small, but I also know that statement is tossed around a little too loosely sometimes in regards to European cities. Which one of these locations would you recommend? I have already read every post I could find in the archives.

The Duomo is about a 10-15 min walk from the train station. <BR> <BR>

That's helpful information. What about the Arno location?

Dan, <BR>The Arno location is a bit further. I'll admit I'm a wimp, & if I had your trip to look forward to, I would stay near the Duomo. (Can't give an estimation on how much further, as a lot depends on weight of your bags & how fast you walk. I would say if I had luggage of any kind, personally it would be a minimum of an additional 20 minutes further than the Duomo location. <BR>Buon Viaggio, <BR>BC

Hey Dan, Do a google search and find the Relais Ufizzi for a great location and good value. Good luck !

Florence is small, everything seems to be within a 5 min walk of each other. I also would stay near the Duomo. But don't be surprised if you don't think it's a "good" neighborhood. One of the oddest things about Florence is that even the high end stores aren't in what we would think are "good" areas! But the Duomo area is a good location (and I wouldn't think that a cab would be too expensive to take to the train station -- I wouldn't want to haul suitcases up and down the streets of Florence as the streets are very narrow, unless it was before 8am). I stayed near the train station, and was a little uncomfortable with the area -- checked out other hotels and the neighborhoods they were in and wouldn't have felt any better (but I was by myself.)