Not a hotel, but we stayed at this apartment. Excellent central location on a quaint side street around the corner from The Uffizi. Apartment was very nice. Three separate sleeping areas, all amenities inc washing machine. Host was lovely, greeted us with a bottle of wine. Wonderful deli next door. Price was great.
https://www.vrbo.com/6594701ha?adultsCount=1&arrival=2020-03-13&departure=2020-03-17
Viareggio is great. Working port city, many yacht builders so amazing world class yachts to see in port. Great seafood. Lucca is one of my favorite Tuscan small cities to stay in and use as a home base. Lots of good rentals there.
Italian cities aren’t really built for green space - I’m sure part of it is how ancient they are and many are/were walled cities. Piazzas make up for green space, IMO. However, Florence has a few gardens, the largest being Boboli Gardens.
We loved both our Rome and Florence hotels. Rome - Hotel d’Inghilterra Roma - well located - could walk to everywhere - near the Spanish steps. Florence - Hotel Brunelleschi - again well located - near the Duomo and the service was exceptional.
@taverngirl , that apartment looks very nice…especially the price! I think we need 2 bathrooms though.
Maybe the reason I didn’t feel like Florence is touristy is because I stayed in a home on the outskirts of the center city. It was still a walkable distance to the Duomo (about 15 minutes) but definitely in a neighborhood and away from the throngs of tourists. If you only stay right near the Duomo I can see why it wouldn’t be as charming.
We failed to get to any gardens in Rome or Florence - the Boboli gardens were closed because it was late in the day and we ended up going to an impressionist exhibit in Rome instead of the gardens at the Villa Borghese. I agree that the piazzas serve as the town greens in Italy.
Very true. I recommend staying on the Oltrarno, the left bank and less touristy side of the Orno. There are some very nice, hip neighborhoods with great dining. Florence is fairly small and very walkable so no place is really that far.
22 new posts - Yay - fun thread!!
“H would have no trouble driving and I’m a pretty good navigator.” - DO NOT DRIVE IN ROME! Trust me on this… even being a taxi passenger is nerve wracking, with scooters dodging through the traffic. Streets are tricky - I was glad we paid for the transportation from airport to Airbnb rental
We loved the Plaza Narvona area (and have a good Airbnb place to recommend, if you are ok with steep stairs to the 2 bedrooms). But the above uggested Campo de Fiori, where we did our laundry one day, was also lovely.
NOTE: The Rick Steves recommendations for Rome were terrific. At Colloseum it saved us an hour of line (we walked a few minutes over to the Palentine entrance, shared tickets - no morning line). The kiddos, who had laughed at my book research, thought I was brilliant. There was also a shortcut he recommended from the back of sistene chapel at end of Vatican tour that took us to the head of the line at St Peter’s.
We would not drive in Rome or Florence. When we did our road trip in France we picked up the car after Paris. We took a train to an outer city and began our driving portion.
Would love any links.
We stayed near the train station in Rome to save money, also it’s obviously convenient if you take the train. There are some sketchy areas near the station like in all large European cities, but nothing really bad. The hotels were named Wow Roma and Sweet Home, both were small, more like apartments, and the neighborhoods were perfectly fine. We’re also big fans of Airbnb but recently switched to booking apartments on booking.com because they’re easier to cancel.
D2 and I stayed here when we were in Florence. It is very centrally located.
http://www.torremannellisuites.it/en/
Thanks for all the links
My H is worthless in the planning as people tell him ideas but he can never remember what they told him.
Any thoughts on Italia airlines?
I’d steer clear of Alitalia airlines if you have other options that aren’t much more expensive.
In Florence, we loved https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187895-d3314157-Reviews-Firenze_Number_Nine_Wellness_Hotel-Florence_Tuscany.html
I also recommend the lakes area north of Milan and Cinque Terre. We never drove ourselves, as the trains are fantastic.
We have never spent the night in Florence, but have Milan, Rome, Positano, and Turin. Mostly we stay outside of any city center, mainly because we wanted a place for our kids to run around, and Italian cities and towns are so accessible by car (and always being able to park right outside the city wall). The main benefit to staying right in a city or town, I think, is the early morning. There is something special about waking up and walking outside to a large selection of pastry and coffee shops. And, same for the late night. Rome has an actual department in the government dedicated to the lighting, and it shows. So…for every trip, we bookend our weekly rental with 2-3 nights inside a city wall.
My first list of places to see was not doable in three weeks without a lot of moving. I’m slowly eliminating places but I’m sure I still need to make some hard decisions. We don’t like to move every night or two.
I’m thinking fly into Milan. One night in Milan due to plane arrival time. Two nights in Varenna on Lake Como. Next would be possibly Verona or Venice, Florence, Tuscany and Umbria ( not sure what towns). Down to the Amalfi coast and end with 3 days in Rome. Fly out of Rome. Probably some combination of train and car.
I’m loving the search feature as I’ve been going back and reviewing old CC threads on Italy. Over the years there have been some well traveled CCers with a lot of good suggestions.
I think you are making a good decision to minimize the “set changes”. That will allow you more time to savor the visited locations.
I don’t remember if we mentioned this here yet … Rome2rio is a great website if you are trying to an initial compare air/car/bus options between 2 locations.
No real tips, just a vote of support. My husband and I spent two weeks in Italy this last fall. (Naples-Amalfi Coast-Matera) We liked it so much, we’re planning to go back in fall of 2020 to explore the south. Enjoy - and share your impressions!
@katliamom I’m hopeful that our trip will be great and I can plan another. Did you have a car on your trip last fall?
I’m accumulating library books on Italy and I think I would enjoy an agriturismi. I’m considering possibly doing two, one somewhere in Tuscany and another somewhere in Umbria. Or would I be missing out on not staying in a village? I do like the idea of walking in the early morning or evening after the day tourists have gone. Any specific spots you’ve liked in the countryside?
We rented a car in Salerno and took it to Matera. We took trains and local buses in and around Naples and Amalfi. As for walks - we did the Walk of the Gods trail on the Amalfi Coast, which was wonderful. We were in Italy in early November… and there were still plenty of tourists. You may have to seek out off-the-beaten-path destinations because odds are slim you’ll avoid tourists in/near the major sites. Overtourism is a real thing in Europe and especially in such a popular destination as Italy.