Florence & Tuscany

I have stayed the last two years in a row at the Il Salotto di Firenze. It is located above the Gucci store, in front of the Duomo and Baptistry. It is as centrally located as you can get, the rooms are fabulous, and very well priced. Alessandro is a superb host! You can't miss with this one.

http://www.ilsalottodifirenze.it/en/index.php

As far as fun ideas to explore Tuscany, rent a car (FROM THE AIRPORT) and take a day trip to Siena and San Gimignano. I did so this last trip and had a blast driving the countryside. Buy a GPS (I have a Garmin Nuvi) with European maps pre-installed and program and learn how to use it before you leave; a travel necessity if you are driving. But, don't drive into the center of Florence, or Siena or San Gimignano for that matter, as you will get (numerous) fines for driving into the ZTL (zona traffico limitato) restricted traffic zones.

If you want a quick half day trip and to have lunch at a fabulous restaurant, take the #7 bus to Fiesole and have lunch at the Trattoria Le Cave Di Maiano. (#7 bus to Fiesole, then a short taxi ride to the restaurant)

http://www.trattoriacavedimaiano.it/

The restaurant is not cheap, but the food is the best I've ever had in Florence.

There was a NY Times list recently of inexpensive places in Florence -

http://www.florence-journal.com/florence/2009/10/hotels-in-florence-for-under-150.html

As John suggested, rent a car at the airport to avoid the possibility of getting caught in a ZTL in Florence and also for easy access to the autostrada. I suggest the Chianti Road just to the southwest of Florence. Greve in Chianti is a fairly large town without any character. Go to Castellina in Chianti instead for a Chianti town with charm in spades. Do visit Siena; you can easily do a whole day there. You might want to consider an overnight there if you want to go to San Gimignano. You could return to Florence via the Chianti Road or take that road on your way to Siena. Keep in mind that travel times will be longer than you expect because of the winding, hilly roads.

Have you thought about renting an apartment? We love renting apartments for our travels and rented an apartment in Florence this past July for 5 nights. The location was great and we had lots of room to spread out.

check into hotels calzaiuoli,rosso23 and cerratani for ideas

We loved Tourist House Ghiberti in Florence. Great B & B close to everything in Florence. www.touristhouseghiberti.com We stayed in Florence for a few days then rented a car, stayed at Il Canto del Sole (agriturismo) outside of Siena, and took day trips to various hill towns. Total trip was about 10-12 days. Perfect!

Hey there, fellow Seattleite! June is a wonderful time for Italy. Can I assume you've bought the latest RS Tuscany book? If not, you'll want to. We stayed at Bellevue House in Florence in 2003 and really loved it. They helped us out in a pinch when we needed to arrive two days earlier than planned. We also found it very convenient to the train station, buses and the major sights.

http://www.bellevuehouse.it/inglese/bed_and_breakfast_florence_center.asp

Their prices on the website are available only through the Italian language link, but a double bed for two will cost you about 110 Euro during high season. Ask for "matrimoniale" if you want a shared bed, or "singolare" if you want twin beds. A lot of the beds in hotels in Italy are two twins that they push together for "matrimoniale" or pull apart for singles.

They were very helpful in setting up reservations for the Uffizi, Accademia, etc.

Rent an apartment. We just came back from Florence and rented this apartment. Can's say enough of how beautiful and centrally located it was. http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/p420459. We took a tour of a couple of towns in Tuscany and had a great time. Well worth the money. Check out Walkabout Tours.

http://www.tuscany-biketours.com/

I've posted about this tour before. We did it in 2008 and really enjoyed the day. I don't know how much time you have, but biking can be a wonderful way to slow down and experience the scenery in a different and unique way. They pick you up in Florence and it includes lunch and a tour of a castle where they make wine and olive oil (with tasting, of course) Everytime my husband and I bike, we use the water bottles they gave us and it brings back wonderful memories. Check it out.

If you chose a hotel, we stayed at Hotel Martelli, which is in FLorence, near the Duomo. I think it was about $125 a night with breakfast included. It was an older hotel, but aren't they all there? Rick Steves recommended it and we thought it was a fine hotel..nothing fancy, but nice and safe for the price. More importantly, it was in a great location on a main road. The only thing we didn't like is that our room was next to the breakfast room, so it was noisy in the AM.

We went in May this year. Please note it is very hot that time of year, but we thought it was the perfect time to go. We went 14 days there with NO RAIN!

molly