Where to Stay in Florence: Honest Advice
It's easy to get Florence wrongfrom the start. I learned that the hard way when I spent an hour wandering the narrow streets of Oltrarno, clutching a map that kept directing me to a hotel that didn't exist. The owner of a nearby gelateria, noticing my confusion, handed me a small paper map drawn in her own hand and said, "You're looking for the wrong part of town. The real Florence is here." That was my first lesson: Florence isn't just about the Duomo and the Uffizi—it’s about getting lost in the right places. After that, I stopped relying on generic travel guides and started asking locals. I discovered that the best way to find a hotel in Florence is to look for places that feel like they've been there for generations, not just the ones with the most Instagrammable facades. I ended up booking a room at Hotel Brunelleschi, a small family-run hotel on Via dei Servi, just a five-minute walk from the Duomo. The room was small but bright, with a view of the...