Florence Neighborhoods

All of the neighborhoods, except for the hills, in the website you linked, are in the Centro Storico (historical center), which is defined as the area enclosed in the XVI century walls (orange perimeter below): http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mura_7.JPG Any of those neighborhoods are fine and safe. The closest and most central to the tourist sites are the Duomo or Piazza Signoria, but you'll pay more to stay there, and the other places aren't much farther away from the sites (maybe an extra 5 min. walk) since the entire historical center is small and you can walk from one side to the opposite in less than 20 min. The places that traditionally are cheaper are Oltrarno and Santa Croce (they are also slightly less crowded with tourists, but only slightly). Avoid the following streets due to noisy bus traffic: Piazza Stazione, via della Scala, Via Alamanni, via Jacopo da Diacceto, via Nazionale, Via XVII Aprile, Piazza San Marco, Via Cavour, Via della Colonna, Via S.Egidio/via Bufalini, Via de Benci/via Verdi, Corso Tintori.

Thanks Roberto. I was hoping to hear from you :) I didn't know about the city walls, cool! The list on airbnb names these neighborhoods ( it's a lot, sorry...): Campo di Marte. San Jacopino Centre Storico. San Lorenzo Fiesole San Maro San Galllo Gavinana Galluzzo San Ambrogio Isolotto Legnaia. Santa Croce Rifredi. Santa Maria Novella SS Annuziata Santa Spirito San Frediano
San giovani Phew, that took a lot of predictive text over-riding... Any favorites? I know it's subjective... I'll add Centro Storico in my search; but as example, I read on a former RS thread that Santa Spirito has some dangerous parks, and not great for after dark.

Sorry, the spacing didn't come through with my neighborhood listing, it's hard to read...

:) I just found this and wanted to share for any others referencing the post: http://www.frommers.com/destinations/florence/0051025074.html

San Lorenzo, San Marco, Santa Croce, Santa Maria Novella, SS Annunziata, Santo Spirito, San Giovanni (the actual name of the Duomo/Piazza Signoria neighborhood) All of the above are neighborhoods within the Centro Storico (which is a broader definition encompassing the entire area within the ancient walls). In other words the above neighborhoods are 'subsets' of the Centro Storico. San Gallo, San Ambrogio, San Frediano are also in the Centro Storico (within the city walls) however they are at the edges (North, East and West respectively), therefore a little farther, maybe an extra 10-15 min walk, from the core of the Centro Storico where you are likely to visit places. Santo Spirito and San Frediano were, in the old days when I was a kid, the rough neighborhoods. Not anymore. They are invaded by tourists as well nowadays. Santo Spirito is full of restaurants and sidewalk cafes, it was closed to all traffic and pedestrianized totally in 2011, there is nothing to worry about. I'd try to stay there if you can, because it's a more characteristic part of Florence and slightly less crowded with loud tourists. All other neighborhoods in your list, that I haven't mentioned, are outside the historical center and you shouldn't consider them unless you have a car (in which case the historical center would be off limits to you). When you find something you like send me a message and I'll tell you if it's a good (strategic) location. Everywhere in the historical center is safe. And if you stay away from crowded buses, you don't even have to worry about pickpockets.

Perfect! Thanks Roberto!!