AMYWISS

We are going to be in Florence for three days in March and will be coming from Paris on the train. 2 Adults, 2 teens.
Any suggestions for hotels?
We would like to see some scenic areas outside of town.(love the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun&quot Day tour / trip ideas?
What about a day trip to Venice?
Thanks.

sarge56

amy.. seems there are quite a number of recommendations here for good Florence hotels. Just do a search.

While we have not stayed there yet, we are booked into the Hotel Casci next month. It got great reviews here. Very affordable and great location in the city. Do review it at tripadvisor.com.

Look for my trip report here sometime in November! I will let you know if the Casci is all it's cracked up to be!

pam

Fiesole ("Tea with Mussolini&quot. Don't climb on the ruins. Siena.
I think Venice is too far for a day.

pam

Oh, and Orvieto, but I would really spend a night there if possible.

bianca1975

please try www.sleepinginflorence.com or www.florenceapartmentrentals.net I have stayed in all of these apartments and in fact got married in Florence this past May and all of my guests stayed here and LOVED all of the apartments. I have stayed in these apartments myself 4 times over the past 7 years. Email me if you have any questions [email protected]

gard

Hi

If you only have 3 days I would not consider going to Venice on a day trip. If you do want to get out of town for a day I would recommend going for a drive around Tuscany and maybe visit a place like Siena. My trip report is not ready just yet but send me a mail on [email protected] and I'll let you know when I have published in on my homepage

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

jes3

We stayed at the Residence Hilda last year. Fantastic location between the Duomo and Piazza della santissima Annunziata. Attractive apartment-style rooms which are great for families, lovely staff... highly recommended. Kitchen facilities were great for snacking between meals - there is a very good small food shop/supermarket in the same street. (As is a small laundromat)
The reception staff gave us excellent suggestions for nearby restaurants. They could advise you on possible day tours out of town. (Although three days is not too long just to stay in Florence and savour it.) Siena is easy to reach by train.

ira

Hi A,

With only 3 days, I suggest no more than one daytrip (if at all).

Definitely not a daytrip to Venice.

What's your hotel budget?

Apres_Londee

I agree that it would be best to leave Venice for another trip.

I also agree with the recommendation for the Sleeping in Florence apartments. We stayed in the two bedroom Casini apartment last spring and we were very happy. The owners/management are wonderful, and the apartments are centrally located, well equiped, sparkling clean and fresh, comfortable, and very well priced.

One caveat: lots of stairs, as there is no lift in the building.

To get out of the city and see a bit of the gorgeous Tuscan scenery, but understanding that time is short, I'd recommend one of the following two ideas:

Fiesole- a little town in the hills outside Florence, essentially a suburb of Florence. You can take a regular city bus to Fiesole, takes about 20 minutes if I remember correctly.

Fiesole offers a nice view over Florence, but even better it has a little complex of Roman ruins with beautiful views of the rolling Tuscan countryside. The ruins are modest but picturesque, centred around a well preserved theater.

The associated museum is very well done (no English signs, unfortunately)and quite interesting, focusing on Estruscan and Roman archeological finds from the area, as well a full pre-historic Lombard skeleton, on display exactly as he was found, with ceremonial objects, jewelry, and bits of treasure.

There is a cafe attached to the museum, with a terrace that looks out over the ruins and the countryside. I think it would make for a lovely late afternoon drink or snack (I'll add that the museum complex staff were also lovely, very kind and helpful)

The entrance fee seems like a lot, I think it was 15 euros, but IMO opinion well worth it. On a late afternoon in April, we virtually had the entire place to ourselves.

Another idea would be to take a Caf half-day excursion to the countryside. Leaves Florence at 2pm, and you arrive back by 7-8pm. 40 euros per person, includes a wine tasting.

I'm not an organized tour kind of person, but all things considered the Caf tour was fairly enjoyable. We went to a pokey little village outside Florence with beautiful views, then drove to a country estate that produces wine and olive oil.

We had a tour of the house, the wine and oil cellars, and then a wine tasting. Again, the the views were gorgeous.

http://www.caftours.com/


Of course, if you've got a more generous budget, you could hire a private guide to take you on an afternoon diving tour in Tuscany. There are a few names always recommended here, a quick search should bring them up.


Here are some of my photos of the apartment, Fiesole, and our Caf tour:

http://tinyurl.com/2bevxk

sjj

My wife and I plus two teenage daughters stayed at the Calzaiuoli a little over ten years ago. The location is great. Some of the rooms were on the small side, but ours were comfortable. Re side trips, the only one I'd consider is Sienna. If you go there, take the slow bus, the one that goes through the countryside and small towns.

AMYWISS

Thanks everyone who has responded. I am now checking into the suggestions that I've received so far. This is GREAT.