Where to stay in Florence when planning on taking day trips frequently
 

We plan on using Florence as our "hub" for a handful of day trips and are wondering if it is really necessary to stay near the train station (we obviously know it would make things easier if we were within walking distance) but is transit relatively easy and time efficient if we stay further into the city or south of the river?
Thanks

central Florence is compact - just a few square miles - so it depends on what you consider to be walkable. I always stay right by the train station and there are many hotels and B&Bs in that vicinity and the new tramway makes getting from the historical centre to either train station (besdies Santa Maria Novella there is a Campo di ???? station that also has many trains on the eastern edge of the town center - SMN being on the northern edge as well as the main bus station next to it.

So I think it does not matter much - you are talking about a small compact area.

when i last stayed in Florence I stayed near Santa Croce and to be honest, it would not have been the best location had i wanted to take a number of day trips as it was too far from the station to be convenient.

there must be loads of pensione and hotels within a 10 minute stroll of the station.

Major booking websites often have maps that let you zoom down to the station, and then start comparing options (and near Florence S.M.N. it is MANY options) by price and also the all-important customer rating score. I find these most reliable on booking.com or venere.com because each person who stays is sent an e-mail asking them to rate the property (as opposed to the bias of a self-selected rating sample on, say, Tripadvisor).

Some of the places very close to the station are not the greatest, but as long as you are anywhere roughly between the Accademia and/ or Uffizi and SMN you are within an easy walk.

Trains aren't always your best bet for daytrips. For example, it's better to take the bus to Siena because the bus drops you inside Siena's historic center whereas the train stops outside the town walls at some distance from the historic sights.

However, the bus to Siena leaves from across the street from the main station, Santa Maria Novella. So accommodations around SMN would be equally convenient for both train and bus. Historically it's slightly unsavory around train stations including this one. But many have stayed there recently with no problems.

The area around Porta a Prato - Il Prato - via Curtatone - Lungarno Vespucci has some good hotels, is relatively quiet and it is ten minutes walking from the railway station and fifteen minutes from the center.

I think the area around SMN has improved greatly in recent years, but if you plan to be in Florence in the evenings I think you'd enjoy being closer to the Duomo or the Arno. The San Frediano area of the Oltrarno isn't far from the train station. Ditto the ever-popular Hotel Casci.

If you stay up the hill in Fiesole, you have a rental car to visit other places in Tuscany.

Depending on the day trips, having a car isn't necessarily helpful.

On our last trip, we stayed near the Duomo and found it a very easy walk to SMN.

I personally don't have the stamina to walk from south of the Arno to the train and bus stations every day, or even several times. But that's me.

Consider your age, condition, love of walking, and time availability.

I would not want a half hour walk before and after each day trip, especially if the day trips will involve walking, as is likely.

About 10 years ago my friend and I wanted a hotel near the Florence SMN train station for exactly the same reason you want. We stayed at the Villa Azalea but I can no longer find their web site so do not know if they are still in business.

It is an 18 century villa with lots of charm...but no elevator. The proximity to the main station, the city centre, and near some good restaurants made for a pleasant stay.

We found the area safe and the concierge was helpful in planning tours and recommending restaurants. There was one area in which we felt uncomfortable, but it is across from the hotel and there isn't any reason why you would have to walk in that area.

My favorite B&B's to stay at in Florence are the Johanna & Johlea. There offer several kinds of accommodations throughout the city; I stayed at one near the station on via San Gallo, it was nice and quiet yet close to everything. Check out their website and see what you think: www.johanna.it

WE last stayed in a hotel which actually faced the SMN CHURCH and was almost within sight of the station. There was nothing wrong with the area and there were several upscale hotels to stay in. Just because something is near a train station does not mean it is automatically "undesirable."

Sure, you can stay closer to the Arno and pay a lot more money.

i have recommended the Residenza Hotel on upscale Tornobuoni Street. Perfect for your train daytrips, near SMN, bus from San Marcos Square to Fiesole, etc. The hotel has wire caged elevator, rooftop gardens, good breakfasts and very large rooms and bathrooms. Got the recommendation from EKSCRUNCHY a few years back. You can walk to all sites within Florence.

Here is La Residenza...about 150 euros..w/breakfast..good value IMO.oo

https://www.laresidenzahotel.com/bookonline.htm

We just returned from our trip to Italy, including 6 nights in Florence, with day trips to Pisa and Lucca one day and Siena another. We stayed in an amazing apartment (the Domus) at Residenza il Carmine in the Oltarno (just south of the Arno, two bridges over from the Ponte Vecchio). We sometimes walked to the rail station or to other areas of the historic center, but since we had a Firenze Pass that included bus transportation, we also frequently rode the bus around town. We loved being in a "real neighborhood" in a place with a beautiful garden where we could relax in the evening.

Pisa was a a major tourist trap and we only went to do the photos with the leaning tower. We took the train there from Florence, then the VAI bus to Lucca, which we loved, and the train from there back to Florence. As suggested, we took the SITA bus to Siena and back. We were actually rather disappointed with Siena and would rather have had a full day in Lucca.

>>>>>>We were actually rather disappointed with Siena and would rather have had a full day in Lucca.

I first went to Siena when I was 17 - - we took an overnight train from Germany and arriving in Florence and connecting to Siena was like exiting a grey purgatory and entering a florid sun-blessed heaven. Siena was a medieval wonderland - - every day was a stiff breath of eternal stone walls and eternal Rennaisance beauty, little shops with meat/cheese excellences, and the Campo was our playground. We chased around it all alone, like horses at the Palio.

I went back a couple years ago and it was a tourist doormat. The same sights, the same shops as before but on a tourist treadmill. Godawful. Pure tourist treadmill.

Loved the trip to Lucca recently, though (just be aware of, and cirle around, the daytime tourist antstream)- - there is vastly more there in Lucca to enjoy.

Bologna/Lucca piccies here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/dougla...7634874102329/

If you stay where tower suggests, I would recommend you stop by the nearby Caffé Giacosa at Via Tornabuoni 83r. See if they still make the greatest chicken sandwich on the face of the planet. Basically, it is just chicken, lettuce and mayo in between two pieces of light, round bread, yet it is heaven on earth. Get there early...they sell out fast.

((H))

I recently visited I booked my stay with Avigogo.co.uk , I have used venere in the past also.