Laundromat in Florence

Ask your hotel about a nearby laundromat. We spent a relaxing hour at the one in the next block from Hotel Dali (gelato shop helped.)

Joan,

The only Laundromat that I recall is at Via Faenza 10, which according to Google maps is 650 metres from your hotel and an 8 minute walk. I have my doubts whether it could be done that quickly, but it looks realistic on the map.

I'd suggest asking the staff at your hotel when you arrive, as they will know where the nearest Laundromat is located.

Ask the hotel. A couple of times the hotel has offered to do the laundry at the same price as a laundry service.

Joan,

You may also ask at the Tourist Information office.

Here is list of the self-service laundromats in Florence:http://blog.studentsville.it/tourist-info/wash-dry/

The opportunity cost of wasting two hours doing laundry at a laundromat instead of visiting the city is much greater than the cost of a dry cleaning shop that can do the laundry for you while you go touring around. Locate a laundry place near the hotel, if the hotel doesn't have laundry service, leave your dirty laundry with them, and pick it up nice and clean in the evening before they close.

There are two self service laundries in via della Scala. One is on a side of the Farmaceutica di S. Maria Novella shop that is a sight in itself. Another one is on the corner of via degli Orti Oricellari and is easily reached from Piazza della Repubblica by urban bus #22 that has a stop just in front (but the return stop is on the other side of the railway station).

Italy does great laundry. We usually ask our hotel and send the laundry out. Not outrageous, especially with the low exchange rate. They come back so beautifully packaged you hate to wear them.

Roberto makes an excellent point.

Self- service laundromats are not cheap. The last time I did laundry in Italy, I spent about 20 Euros for 2 loads & wasted at least 1.5 hours of my time. Many hotels have a laundry service or they will refer you to one.

If you enter lavanderia into Google Maps it will show:
Lavanderia Lorenzi E Cardis
Via dei serragli 71 R
50122 Firenze

As for it being a waste of time..... I can't think of a better way of "living like a local" than doing your laundry. If your priority is to see every tourist attraction and that two hours is eating up precious time then wash your underwear in the bathroom sink or take it to a cleaners. Experiencing everyday activities while traveling can be as equally rewarding as going to a museum and sometimes it's nice to take a break and slow down. My wife and I reminisce more about interactions we had from stopping for gas or asking a local for directions more than the museums or tourist attractions we visited.

I have to agree with Roberto's advice. I briefly traveled with a friend who insisted on going to a laundromat. It was the biggest waste of time of the entire trip.

On the subject of "wasting time" at the Lavanderia, I don't usually find that to be the case. For example, the last time I visited the one that I mentioned in my previous reply, I had some interesting conversations with other travellers while waiting for my laundry. After they left, I had a short chat with some of the locals, as much as my limited Italian skills would allow. Those serendipitous moments are often the best memories of my trips.

To fill in the remaining time, I went to a restaurant across the street (where I could keep an eye on my laundry) and had a fine hot lunch. By the time I'd finished my repast, the laundry was ready and I walked back to the hotel. I found that to be an enjoyable few hours.

Yes, Zoe. It would be a waste of precious time, since Florence has many more things to do than a laundromat.

No Richards. I would not consider going to a laundromat as the best place to live like a local or even meet a local. You will be hard pressed to find locals at a laundromat. What you will see is a lot of tourists, visitors, out of town students, or immigrants who live in small shared studios or apartments downtown which often do not have a washing machine. Locals will do laundry at home or maybe drop dry cleaning and dress shirt at a full service dry cleaning place. I lived in Florence several decades, I've used dry cleaning occasionally, but never a self service laundromat and I've never heard a local friend that has. If you want to meet locals, you need to get out of the historical center and go to a coffee bar or a 'circolo' or maybe a trattoria.

Doing laundry does seem like a waste of time, but two of our fondest memories in Italy are laundromat-related. Once, in a Florence laundromat (don't recall the location and it was over ten years ago, probably not there anymore anyway), there was a TV playing the local version of MTV and we were the only ones in the laundromat, there was a large tiled floor, so we danced (we are in our sixties). Another time, we were in a Sorrento laundromat and there were two other couples doing laundry and they were so much fun, talking about their experiences and travel blunders. We laughed and laughed.

The Wash & Dry Lavarapido chain mentioned on p.478 of Rick's Italy book is open late, 8:00-22:00, so that laundry can probably be done whenever you consider least intrusive to your schedule. But versus a typical €8-10 to wash and dry a load yourself, the full service places often don't cost much more.

I cleaned up a few posts here to end a not-so-positive side discussion.

Thanks for all the good information ... and advice.

We all have different styles of travel, I prefer to do less sightseeing than some and relax a bit more. I have had some of my fondest memories doing mundane things like stopping for gas or asking directions. A self service laundry would be fine by me but I don't mind experiencing whatever differences there are from doing laundry at home compared to a foreign country. Having done laundry in my hotel room I now know that it is a pain and the clothes were not very clean or dry the next day so an actual washing machine will be a priority on my next trip. To each their own and no opinion will be "right".

Has anyone ever heard of someone being pickpocketed or scammed while at a laundromat?

My wife and I spent tens days in Florence and did our laundry at the Lavarapido. Like Richard we were taking our time, smelling the roses and generally having fun with most everything we did. We we still scratching our head as to how to operate the washers when a local woman whose English was as limited as our Italian showed us how it was done. I'm sure she thought we were idiots because it wasn't until she left that we noticed the instructions were written on the wall in English in letter three inches high.

Ah...good times.

Jeff

I couldn't begin to tell you the direction....but in our first zombie like stumbling around in the daylight after airport, after checking into our hotel, we walked past 2 or 3 Laundromats in the old town center on our way to supper.....lots of kids with back packs in them. so, ask at your hotel, but I bet there will be a close at hand choice if you want it.

We were staying last month at an apartment overlooking the Piazza Santa Maria Novella, and the first day, we needed to do laundry, having already been on the road a week. I had scoped it out online beforehand, but we found a little lavanderia a block away. We had plenty of coin Euro, but when the woman proprietor said to us, 'I do it all for 18 Euro'. My wife was hesitant, but I said 'SOLD!'. After walking around and taking a nap, we returned 3 hours later, folded the laundry ourselves and returned to the apartment. Money well-spent.

Just saying that some places have this option.

Did laundry in siena a few days ago. Picked up a great warm prosciutto and cheese sandwich and abeer from a place next door that was delicious. The lavanderia was cleaner and more modern than any I have seen in the states. Tried talking with a local who was doing wash and the attendant that stopped by Both were charming. It took about an hour because the machines were so efficient and we later learned they automatically add soap and the stuff we bought was just color stabilizer which was pretty funjymonce we actually read the instruction pamphlet with an english translation.
Compared to dealing with the mass of humanity at the Rijksmuseum for example, the experience was more memorable and having clean clothes was more rewarding.