What is the best area to stay in Florence ? best attractions to see ? hotel ? places to eat ? My wife and I are celebrating our honeymoon (year after married) - we want to stay in Florence, sightsee for a day or two, rent a car, day trips. Going to drive thru Tuscany, Pisa, the coast. Where else should we visit ? Staying for 4 or 5 days. Then driving to Rome for 4-5 days.
Thanks for all the advice.
Unfortunately, sleeping in Florence and renting a car don't go together very well. The historic center of the city is pretty much covered by a zone of limited traffic (five of them, actually) called ZTL's. Here's a discussion of that:
People who feel they need to rent a car and sleep in Florence usually find accommodations outside the historic center, near one of the autoroutes, where the hotel specifically says something like "overnight parking provided."
Overnight parking in Florence is a hassle. The city is worth it, but...experienced Italy travelers usually find a way to be in Florence without renting a car. This can be done by timing the Tuscany day trips, when a car is needed, to either before or after the Florence time. You can get everywhere you need to go around Florence, except the Tuscany countryside, by train.
I agree with Kent. A car in Florence (and in Rome) is not worth the hassle.
I'd give myself a day to get over the jetlag. Go for a nice walk along the river, see the Ponte Vecchio, etc. Then take another two days to explore Florence. The city is pretty compact so I don't know that there's a particular best area to stay in. We stayed in a hotel near the Ponte Vecchio which was well-located although I didn't think the hotel was worth the money. As long as it's centrally located or near one of the big sights, you'll probably be happy with it.
I'm slightly unsure about the length of your trip. Do you mean that you have about 10 days in total? Generally one-night stops are not popular on this board as they're tiring, a hassle, cost more, and prevent you from actually enjoying the places you're trying to enjoy. You also can't generally count the day of arrival/departure as jetlag and flight issues make those days unreliable at best.
For day trips with a car, there is parking under the main train station.
Since we rented a car for our entire trip, we stayed on the outskirts of Florence at the Hilton Metropole which had free parking and a free shuttle in/out of the city. If you are flying into Florence, you could tour the city for a few days and then pick up a rental car at the airport. As others have said, you don't want a car in the city. As for what to see, there's so much. Get Rick's tour book to see his recommendations. Then drive to Pisa. Maybe stay in Lucca or in a hilltown in Tuscany such as Volterra or San Gimignano. There are also many small towns in the area that have accommodations. Check Rick's Italy tour book for ideas. Are you flying out of Rome? If so, you can drive to Orvieto where you can turn in the car. You don't want to drive into Rome. If you have time, you could stay in this quaint hilltown for one night and then take the one hour train ride to Rome. Have fun!
Stay at the Palazzo Gamba right at the Duomo.I wouldn't suggest this in the summer as it's too busy but we were there in March. It was a fabulous location, well-kept apartment and you can't beat the view if you get an apartment that looks out on the Dome!
Don't miss San Giminagno(?) on the route to Siena.
Went to Assisi and was pleasantly surprised at how simple it was !It's in Umbria but we did an easy day trip from Florence.
Mary,Ontario.
