Florence areas to stay

The Oltrarno (beyond the Arno), I.e. the southern (left) bank of the river Arno. The Oltrarno is part of the historical center (don’t stay outside the city center, there is no need).

Santo Spirito, San Frediano, San Niccolò (the 3 city center neighborhoods that make up the Oltrarno) are a bit less crowded. Santo Spirito is the closest to Ponte Vecchio, and might be a bit crowded with foot traffic on Via de Guicciardini (the street that connects Ponte Vecchio to Palazzo Pitti), and Piazza Santo Spirito, which is full of restaurants and cafes. Everyplace else in the Oltrarno is not bad at all. It’s not a long walk to the sights on the northern bank, also there are sights in the Oltrarno (like Palazzo Pitti, Boboli Gardens, Santo Spirito) that will be closer for you.

A number of year ago we stayed in Fiesole for 5 nights. About a 15 minute, frequent bus service into Florence, near the Campo station. A big room at this BnB:

https://www.lecannellefiesole.com/

A few good restaurants. This one with a view:

https://lareggiadeglietruschi.com/

We also like to stay in the Oltrano neighborhood.

On our most recent trip to Florence, late October to early December 2024, we absolutely loved staying in San Frediano just outside the city gate.

Lots of shops & restaurants within a very short walk of our San Frediano apartment: the Conad market 5 minutes away, & what turned out to be our favorite place to eat, Trattoria dell’Orto 2 minutes away. We also enjoyed Trattoria Sabatino (no reservations but the line is actually kind of fun as is the old-timey style of the place), the deli Gastronomia il Giglio, & pizza at Fermento 1889. We quickly became fond of the sight of the Porta di San Frediano because that meant we were “home.” It's a 16 minute walk from the train station to the Port di San Frediano. You might like walking up to Bellosguardo for the view.

There are three really conveniently close bus stops: San Frediano (#6 bus), Ariosto dell’Orto (hybrid electric bus C4), & Soderini Torrino Santa Rosa (hybrid electric bus C3). It is worth it to figure out how to take buses in Florence, even though you can walk everywhere. A 5 minute walk takes you to Piazza Tasso where there are more good restaurants such as Alla Vecchia Bettola & more useful buses (such as the bus that goes up to San Miniato al Monte). Also at Tasso is Gelateria Artigianale La Sorbettiera, which has the densely flavored & less sweet gelato that we like best. On this trip, our favorite restaurant outside of San Frediano was Acquacotta.

On previous trips, we greatly enjoyed a month staying in an apartment on Borgo la Croce, a few steps from Piazza Beccaria, but now that Beccaria is all torn up with road construction somewhere else in the Sant'Ambrogio neighborhood would be better. A 10-night stay in the heart of Santo Spirito in the Oltrarno was also wonderful, but it was busier with other tourists than we really like --- that probably depends on the exact street you stay on.