Is staying right next to the Arno River a good location in Florence ?

Congrats on your upcoming trip to Florence, Edward! Yes, you'll definitely get plenty of neighborhood feel as you explore the city.

This palazzo is centrally located to all the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd tier sites in the historic center of Florence. Plus, it's within walking distance of the train station. With its location almost right next to Ponte Santa Trinita, you would be ideally situated to explore the Oltrarno district south of the Arno as well. I highly encourage you to mosey through the Oltrarno. Santo Spirito is a beautiful church, it's terrific fun to visit the shops and wander down the less-crowded streets in this historic artisan district, and more.

The only observation that stands out is the hotel is located right by Lungarno Corsini, which is a main thoroughfare for all traffic. You'll get more street noise at this hotel location. If you can, request an interior, quieter room to reduce the noise if that is a concern.

Let us know if we can help further and happy planning!

As the previous post mentioned, the rooms with a river view will probably be noisy. However, the quieter rooms Joanna suggested will probably not have a view, which seems to be what you were wanting.

My cousin lived in the penthouse of that palace at that exact address (Lungarno Corsini 2) for years (some relatives of mine have way more means than I). The UK Consulate was also there at the same address. The Lungarno below is closed to non residents’ traffic, so it’s not noisy, and you have to be a multimillionaire to afford to live there. There is a multimillion dollar view from I presume most rooms. It’s next door to the Ferragamo palace, and at the corner with Via Tornabuoni, the fanciest street of Florence. It’s probably the most expensive real estate block of all of Florence and probably one of the most expensive real estate blocks of the world. What exactly is there not to RS’ liking? If one likes neighborhoods of the opposite end of the income spectrum, one can stay at a housing project at Le Piagge, also along the Arno river, not too far to the west (same side of the river, but not quite the same view of Ponte Vecchio). You, Edward, stay there, you will be more than fine, and take plenty of pictures, because your friends at home will be awed and envious.

wow..thanks for you comments. You are sure helping me to decide! And thank you Joanna for you offer of more help. We are not experienced travelers so these choice are a big deal for us.

Enjoy your stay my friend. Just wanted to let you know it’s a historic building built a couple centuries ago, so that you don’t expect 21st century modern architecture. But the hotel will have all modern amenities, like air conditioning and modern plumbing, so you won’t have to bathe in the Arno river.
http://www.palazzoalfieri.it/?act=gallery

It was one of my biggest travel disappointments that the roads on along either side of the Arno were full of traffic, traffic, traffic all day. No, I didn't stay right along side the river as you are planning to........ but I had this fantasy of sitting in a café, relaxing and sipping an espresso as I gazed over the Arno! No way! The only time my daughter and I had a quiet view of the river as we walked along it was early Sunday morning, quite early! And the only places one could sit to eat with a river view (and view of the famous bridge), were restaurants that were beyond our budget. That being said, Florence was so beautiful to walk around in (especially not in summer tourist season) that as long as one is near the historic center, I would say that the exact location isn't that important.

We spent two months in an apartment around the corner on Via Romana and don't let anyone tell you that being in the ZTL means it will be quiet. We had to have windows open in the heat or swelter and it was incredibly noisy day and night -- especially bothersome at night. EVen with ear plugs it took me a couple of weeks to be able to get a good night's sleep. These main arteries are NOISY. And everything echoes off of the hard stone.

A word of warning: you might want to bring some mosquito repellent with you. My wife stayed near the river on one of her student trips. She and several of the students got some nasty bites out of the experience. The river might have had little to do with the bugs but in 13 trips to Florence that was the only time they ever got bit up that bad.

The river might have had little to do with the bugs but in 13 trips to
Florence that was the only time they ever got bit up that bad.

I can attest to it not necessarily being about the river. We stayed in a hotel near San Marco - some distance from the Arno - and I was eaten alive on our first night when we'd left the windows open. I react severely to mosquitoes in the first place but Florentine mozzies were something else: huge welts which took days to subside.

Our dearly departed Zoe said that reactions to foreign bugs one hasn't built some resistance to can be especially nasty if particularly sensitive (my husband wasn't bothered by them at all).

The streets along river are called Lungarno (plural Lungarni).

Some are open to traffic, some require a ZTL resident’s Permit for that specific sector. This has been going on for several years now.

Lungarno Corsini is in one of those restricted areas, therefore there is virtually no traffic. It’s not totally pedestrianized like the Duomo, but traffic is almost non existent during the ZTL hours of operation (8am to 8pm Mon to Sat, and in summer also on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night. Taxicabs and emergency vehicles are of course allowed, as are delivery trucks/vans with permit, but only for a couple of hours in the morning. I don’t know what more the City can do to make residents suffer so that visitors can enjoy Florence more. Those who are not satisfied should have visited Florence in the 1980’s when the Lungarni were thoroughfares with bumper to bumper traffic at all times of the day and night.

So to those who assert that along Lungarno Corsini there is never ending horrible traffic, should rent a car and drive there, so that they can come back to this forum and complain about the ZTL ticket scam they received in the mail a few months later.

Thanks Roberto for allying traffic fears. And thanks to all others.