Rome & Florence in Oct - hotel? Tuscany?
May 21st, 2006, 01:41 PM
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Rome & Florence in Oct - hotel? Tuscany?
Hi everyone,
I don't even know where to start! My husband and I are going to be in Italy for 9 nights in October. We are flying into Rome and flying out of Florence. I'm wondering whether to do 4 nights in each city and one night somewhere in Tuscany, or would it be better to just do a day trip to Tuscany from Florence? This is our first trip to Italy, so while we do hope to spend more time in Tuscany on a future trip, we kind of want to explore the cities on this trip. I read a bit about Luca from hillsandroads.com, so if we used him, we could maybe just go from Florence.
I'm also looking for a hotel in Rome. For some reason no matter how much I read about the city, I'm not really clear on where we want to be. We're young-ish, would want to be in a busy area, walking distance to attractions, restaurants & shopping. Piazza Navona might be good? We're probably looking for something just around or under 200 euro. Small room is fine, as long as it's clean and with our own bathroom.
I've tried to read trip reports and read the Fodors Italy book to try to figure things out. I'm just having a hard time with this one! I'm sure there are threads out there that would answer this question, feel free to give me some search words to find them!
Thanks for any help.
Christine
I don't even know where to start! My husband and I are going to be in Italy for 9 nights in October. We are flying into Rome and flying out of Florence. I'm wondering whether to do 4 nights in each city and one night somewhere in Tuscany, or would it be better to just do a day trip to Tuscany from Florence? This is our first trip to Italy, so while we do hope to spend more time in Tuscany on a future trip, we kind of want to explore the cities on this trip. I read a bit about Luca from hillsandroads.com, so if we used him, we could maybe just go from Florence.
I'm also looking for a hotel in Rome. For some reason no matter how much I read about the city, I'm not really clear on where we want to be. We're young-ish, would want to be in a busy area, walking distance to attractions, restaurants & shopping. Piazza Navona might be good? We're probably looking for something just around or under 200 euro. Small room is fine, as long as it's clean and with our own bathroom.
I've tried to read trip reports and read the Fodors Italy book to try to figure things out. I'm just having a hard time with this one! I'm sure there are threads out there that would answer this question, feel free to give me some search words to find them!
Thanks for any help.
Christine
May 21st, 2006, 03:32 PM
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Hi Christine
A few years ago we stayed at Sant Angelo Hotel between Piazza Cavour and the Tiber / Tevere. It's within walking distance of the main attractions. Not the busiest part of town but you can walk to Trastavere for example (a must-do for at least one evening) in about twenty minutes.
In Florence we stayed at Orto de Medici and would recommend it to anyone. It's about a ten miute walk from the Duomo and in the heart of student land so there are some wondefully exotic places to eat. The delicatessen on the way towards the Duomo is superb. If Orto de Medici are still doing their wine tastings courtesy of Joseph, do it.
The two cities will easily keep you busy for nine days. Visit the Boboli Gardens in Florence for a view into the olive groves of Tuscany, and you'll definitely want to go back another time.
A few years ago we stayed at Sant Angelo Hotel between Piazza Cavour and the Tiber / Tevere. It's within walking distance of the main attractions. Not the busiest part of town but you can walk to Trastavere for example (a must-do for at least one evening) in about twenty minutes.
In Florence we stayed at Orto de Medici and would recommend it to anyone. It's about a ten miute walk from the Duomo and in the heart of student land so there are some wondefully exotic places to eat. The delicatessen on the way towards the Duomo is superb. If Orto de Medici are still doing their wine tastings courtesy of Joseph, do it.
The two cities will easily keep you busy for nine days. Visit the Boboli Gardens in Florence for a view into the olive groves of Tuscany, and you'll definitely want to go back another time.
May 21st, 2006, 08:54 PM
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I would do 5 nights in Rome and 4 in Florence with a daytrip (or two daytrips, depending on how much you want to see in Florence) to somewhere in Tuscany. I'm one of those who has used Luca and highly recommend him for a daytrip. If you know where you want to go, that's fine. If not, give him an idea of what you're interested in (hill towns? wineries? scenic drives? shopping?) and he can suggest itineraries for you.
In Rome, you're right, Piazza Navona is a great area (anything in the area of Piazza Navona, the Pantheon & Campo de' Fiori is great). This puts you in walking distance of a lot of what you'll want to see (and good bus connections if you don't want to walk), great ambience, plus plenty of restaurants so you don't have to go far for dinner. Florence is much smaller and easier to walk where you want to go (although I used a taxi a couple of times, but I have arthritic knees). In Rome, I stayed in a convent once and an apartment once, so can't help with the hotels, but if you do a search here for both Rome Hotels and Florence Hotels (two separate searches), you will get more information than you know what do with!
Hope you ahve a great trip!
In Rome, you're right, Piazza Navona is a great area (anything in the area of Piazza Navona, the Pantheon & Campo de' Fiori is great). This puts you in walking distance of a lot of what you'll want to see (and good bus connections if you don't want to walk), great ambience, plus plenty of restaurants so you don't have to go far for dinner. Florence is much smaller and easier to walk where you want to go (although I used a taxi a couple of times, but I have arthritic knees). In Rome, I stayed in a convent once and an apartment once, so can't help with the hotels, but if you do a search here for both Rome Hotels and Florence Hotels (two separate searches), you will get more information than you know what do with!
Hope you ahve a great trip!
May 21st, 2006, 09:07 PM
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We stayed at the Hotel Dei Mellini. It was 140 Euros during August last year, probably more in October. A very nice hotel No restuarant, but there's a bar, and breakfast is wonderful. The hotel is on the other side of the river from Piazza Navona, but it's only a 10-minute walk to the Spanish Steps, and we also walked to St. Peter's from there. I was really amazed at how walkable Rome is. I had the idea that it was a big city with lots of traffic, but if you stay off the main streets, you could be in an Italian village. Loved it!
May 21st, 2006, 10:50 PM
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I have also used Luca from hillsandroads and can VERY highly recommend him. Especially for people like you (we were in the same situation) who have never really explored Tuscany and don't really know where to go. We used him about 3 months ago for 2 day trips and absolutely loved it. So much so, that we are planning a return trip in a few months and will base ourselves for a week in Tuscany and then another week in Florence. In Florence, we have stayed at Hotel Casci on via Cavour twice and loved it. Great small family-run hotel, wonderful and helpful family who run it, immaculately clean, comfortable beds and not small rooms. It is not elegant, but it more than meets my personal requirements of great location, right smack in the middle of town, but very quiet, very clean, great breakfast buffet. We paid 100 Euros for a double on off-season, I think the highest rate in mid-season is 150 Euros.
