Looking for the best place to stay in Florence? ?
Follow the guide, we’ve tested, listed and detailed for you the best areas to stay in Florence as well as the best accommodation in this sublime Italian city.
⏰ Don’t have time to read everything?
Here are our 3 favourite accommodations listed by price category:
🚨 These hotels are among the most popular, so don’t hesitate to book. Plus, they offer free cancellation, so don’t worry if you change your mind.
(€) Artemente Florence B&B: Charming cheap B&B located 300 m from the city centre very close to Santa Maria Novella Basilica and San Marco Church. Breakfast served in bed is a treat! Book here.
(€€) 
Palazzo Graziani: Exceptional location with incredible views of the Duomo from the roof terrace. Located just a few minutes from Ponte Vecchio .
(€€) B&B Lorenzo de’ Medici: Located in the heart of the historic centre, 500 metres from the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella and just opposite the gastronomic market. Book here.
(€€€) Four Seasons Hotel Firenze: One of the most beautiful hotels in Florence with a Michelin-starred restaurant and spa. Book here
🏨 Se e other accommodation at the best price 👈
Table des matières
The best area to stay in Florence: The Duomo
This area is ideal for sleeping in Florence and corresponds to the area around Florence’s huge cathedral and you can’t choose a more central area for your accommodation.
The Duomo is located halfway between the two monastic churches, the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella and the Basilica of Santa Croce.
This part of the city is also halfway between the Uffizi Museum and the Ponte Vecchio to the south and San Marco and the Galleria dell’Accademia, where Michelangelo’s famous David is on display, to the north.
To the south of the Duomo, the streets and alleys form a typical medieval tangle of tiny squares that will lead you to the Piazza della Signoria.
For those who want to be at the heart of the action and stay in the centre, discover the best hotels in Florence city centre.
This is one of the oldest parts of the city, and the streets still follow the layout devised and implemented by the ancient Romans.
The site of the Roman city forum is now the Piazza della Repubblica (Republic Square).
The Duomo district is, naturally, one of the busiest in the city, offering a wide range of accommodation from luxury hostels to student hostels.
However, if you want to make the most of your stay, you’ll need to remain vigilant and make a drastic selection. And the same goes for eating out in the area.
Here are our favourite places to stay in this part of Florence
Note: Don’t delay in booking as these hotels are among the most booked in Florence.
(€) Artemente Florence B&B: Charming, inexpensive B&B 300 metres from the city centre, close to the Santa Maria Novella Basilica and San Marco Church. Breakfast served in bed is a treat! Book here.
(€€) ❤️ Palazzo Graziani: Exceptional location with incredible views of the Duomo from the roof terrace. Located just a few minutes from Ponte Vecchio .
(€€) B&B Lorenzo de’ Medici: Located in the heart of the historic centre, 500 metres from the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella and just opposite the gastronomic market. Book here.
🏨 Se e other accommodation at the best price 👈
The best area to visit museums in Florence: Piazza della Signoria
This is the heart of the city and perhaps the best place to start if you’re a museum lover looking for the best area to stay in Florence – the Uffizi Museum, the Bargello National Museum where you can admire hundreds of sculptures and the Ponte Vecchio that leads to the Pitti Palace are all close to the square.
This is a very touristy area, but you can still wander through the narrow medieval streets where the famous Florentine poet, writer and politician Dante grew up.
The commercial area north of the Ponte Vecchio is a great place to shop without breaking the bank, but you’ll also find some unattractive modern buildings erected after the war to replace those that were destroyed.
The whole area can be quite stifling in summer – avoid Via Por Santa Maria at all costs if you’re worried about the heat.
Choose the times when you can walk through streets emptied of tourist groups, but this is still the romantic heart of pre-Renaissance Florence.
As in the Duomo district, choose the restaurants and stalls where you stop to buy a gelato or dine with great care, as not all are equal.
Here are our favourite hotels in Florence’s museum district
Note: Don’t delay in booking as these hotels are among the most booked in Florence.
(€) Artemente Florence B&B: Charming, inexpensive B&B located 300 m from the city centre, very close to the Santa Maria Novella Basilica and San Marco Church. Breakfast served in bed is a treat! Book here.
(€€) ❤️ Palazzo Graziani: Exceptional location with incredible views of the Duomo from the roof terrace. Located just a few minutes from Ponte Vecchio .
(€€) B&B Lorenzo de’ Medici: Located in the heart of the historic centre, 500 metres from the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella and just opposite the gastronomic market. Book here.
🏨 Se e other accommodation at the best price 👈
The authentic area to stay in Florence: Santa Croce
The church decorated with priceless works of art is located at the eastern end of the centrostorico. It is the heart of one of the most authentic districts in the centre of Florence.
Few tourists venture this far east of Piazza Santa Croce, so if you want to feel like a true Florentine, this is really where you should book a room.
The streets around the Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio (Sant’Ambrogio Market) and Piazza de’ Ciompi offer a particularly interesting local atmosphere for those who want to experience the real Florence, and the streets come alive even more after dark.
The area around Santa Croce is home to some of the best restaurants and bars in the city – at aperitif time you’ll see the terraces fill up and the streets come alive along Via de’ Benci, and there’s always something going on along Via Panisperna and Via de’ Macci.
Here are our favourite hotels in the authentic part of Florence
Note: Don’t delay in booking as these hotels are among the most booked in Florence.
(€) Artemente Florence B&B: Charming, inexpensive B&B 300 metres from the city centre, close to the Santa Maria Novella Basilica and San Marco Church. Breakfast served in bed is a treat! Book here.
(€€) ❤️ Palazzo Graziani: Exceptional location with incredible views of the Duomo from the roof terrace. Located just a few minutes from Ponte Vecchio .
(€€) B&B Lorenzo de’ Medici: Located in the heart of the historic centre, 500 metres from the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella and just opposite the gastronomic market. Book here.
The cheapest area to stay in Florence: San Lorenzo and the Mercato Centrale
The centrepiece of this district, at the crossroads between the railway station and the Duomo, is the Basilica of San Lorenzo, flanked by the Medici chapels, which contain the sarcophagi of Florence’s ruling family, designed by Michelangelo.
The large indoor market offers fresh food, and many of the adjacent streets are home to daily stalls of artisans selling leather goods and other souvenirs aimed primarily at tourists.
It’s a colourful area where you can book into a host of budget hotels and cheap restaurants, but it’s definitely not the quietest part of the City of Lilies.
If you’re travelling on a budget but don’t want to compromise on quality, discover the best budget hotels in Florence. We also have a list of the best youth hostels in Florence.
Here are our top 3 favorite accommodations in this expensive neighborhood sorted by price category :
Note: Don’t delay in booking as these hotels are among the most booked in Florence.
(€) Artemente Florence B&B : Charming inexpensive B&B located 300 m from the city centre, very close to the Santa Maria Novella basilica and the San Marco church. Breakfast served in bed is a treat! Book here.
(€€) ❤️ Palazzo Graziani: Exceptional location with incredible views of the Duomo from the roof terrace. Located just a few minutes from Ponte Vecchio .
(€€) B&B Lorenzo de’ Medici: Located in the heart of the historic centre, 500 metres from the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella and just opposite the gastronomic market. Book here.
The area to avoid when staying in Florence: Santa Maria Novella
This area of Florence borders the western border of the centrostorico (“historic centre”), and is known for having two distinct zones: a rather unpleasant one around the railway station, and a more pleasant one further south, between the church of Santa Maria Novella and the river Arno.
In general, and in all large cities, the area immediately around the station is often unattractive and rarely a good choice for booking accommodation for a holiday in Florence.
Most of the time, the streets are crowded and noisy, not least because of the heavy traffic, and you’re clearly a long way from the medieval atmosphere you’ve come to find in Florence.
This area of the city does, however, offer some interesting possibilities from a financial point of view, and that’s a big argument if you’re on a tight holiday budget for accommodation in Florence.
Think in particular of Via Faenza and the adjacent streets. It goes without saying that you should forget about accommodation too close to the busy Via Nazionale.
The atmosphere improves considerably as you move eastwards into the San Lorenzo area, or past the Santa Maria Novella church and southwards towards the River Arno.
Piazza Santa Maria Novella and the streets leading to it offer a few charming hotels of great elegance, but they are relatively expensive.
Florence’s bourgeois quarter: Piazza Santa Trínita
This square is located just north of the River Arno, at the southern end of Florence’s largest market, Via de’ Tornabuoni, which is home to the big brand boutiques of Gucci, Armani and many others.
It’s a pleasant, fairly middle-class (but still medieval) area, where you can have a wonderful stay even if you’re not a big fan of haute couture.
If you’re a fan of high-end shopping in luxury boutiques, look no further than this Tuscan holiday paradise.
San Marco & Santissima Annunziata
These two churches face onto Piazza San Marco, one of the city’s nerve centres and therefore very busy, and Piazza Santissima Annunziata, the most architecturally rich square.
These two areas define the northern border of the Tuscan capital’s famous historic centre.
The district is home to the University of Florence, the famous Accademia gallery, Fra’ Angelico’s paintings of San Marco (“The Painter of Angels”), and quiet streets with a few small hotels that are real gems.
You’ll never be far from the city’s most interesting sites, contrary to what you might think from a map, and you’ll probably be glad you chose this area for accommodation in Florence when you can escape the hordes of tourists in just a few minutes.
But it’s not (yet) a good area for dining in a quality restaurant or going out for a drink with friends or loved ones.
Florence’s artisan quarter: L’Oltrarno, San Niccolò and San Frediano
Once you have crossed the Arno, you find yourself in the craftsmen’s quarter, still dotted with workshops on almost every street corner.
Originally a working-class district where the growing population of the medieval city moved when the city centre could no longer accommodate them, the city expanded on the opposite bank of the river.
The destiny of this part of the city changed when the aristocrats of the time took over and built their luxurious palaces on the edge of the surrounding countryside.
The largest of these, the Palazzo Pitti, was later home to the Grand Dukes and today houses renowned paintings, making it the city’s second-largest painting museum after the Uffizi.
The shady centre of Oltrarno, Piazza Santo Spirito, is lined with bars and has some excellent restaurants (and you can also spend memorable evenings here).
To the west of the square you’ll find the San Frediano district, organised around the increasingly fashionable Porta Pisana.
Further on, you’ll come to San Niccolò, at the foot of the hills in the south of Florence, the meeting place for party-goers and night owls.
It’s not exactly the best area of the city for finding accommodation – there’s far from a plethora to choose from – but once the night is over, cross one of the bridges over the Arno to have dinner in a restaurant and continue the evening with a drink, and you’ll benefit from much better prices than those usually charged in the centrostorico.
Note: This information on finding accommodation in Florence is valid at the time of writing, but the city is changing very fast and the influx of tourists can push prices up quite quickly, especially in the trendiest areas.
Don’t forget to check the websites of hotels, bars and restaurants before organising your evening out.
If Florence is on your list of destinations, get ready for an unforgettable experience. Whether you want to satisfy your taste buds, spend a memorable evening or discover the city’s historical treasures, we’ve got you covered. For food lovers, discover the best restaurants where to eat in Florence. If you want to experience the Roman nightlife and discover the city’s trendiest spots, check out our guide to the best bars and clubs where to go out in Florence. And of course, for a cultural and historical immersion, don’t miss our must-see activities and visits on what to visit in Florence.
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