Florence

Check out Rick's 2011 Italy Book. We're staying at B&B Bargello. http://www.firenze-bedandbreakfast.it/ It's exactly 100 Euro a night if you pay in cash.

I have stayed at Hotel Giappone several times and was very happy with it. The location is wonderful and the rates pretty good. Of course the first question is why is it pretty cheap with such a good location and the answer is simple. Its four long flights of stairs up which often doesn't suit the lazy tourist. If you don't object to that, consider them. On my last trip I stayed at Hostel Santa Monaca... its is also well sites just on the other side of the river. It was a bit loud the four nights I stayed there. We had a 2 bed room for about 45 euro a night which had shower down the hall but private toilet and sink. It rates a good value but I prefer Hotel Giappone. To keep things a bit cheaper... I love eating at Il Fratalini and Il Pirata in Florence. RS recommends Self Service Cafe Leonardo which is very close to Hotel Giappone. I have been there quite a few times and its reliably pretty good and reasonable. The owner is very nice but I prefer the first two.

We LOVED Residenza della Signoria (www.residenzadellasignoria.com) for it's nice, spacious rooms and perfect location, and I believe we got it for 80 euros a night. Great reviews on tripadvisor. I'll definitely stay here again next time.

Hostel Archi Rossi. Last year I "splurged" and took a double en suite room for myself in the annex. (The year before I had a single w/shared bath). Top floor, quirky, split-level, bath below, bedroom above. AC, free wifi, great large bed (king I think). Very clean. The staff are very friendly and helpful. It was €50/night. They are strict about enforcing the quiet rules, from 11 pm to 7 am. Don't expect much for breakfast, but at that price, you can go to a cafe. It's a good location, just 5 minutes from the train station, 10 to the Academia or the Duomo. PM me if you have questions.