Florence and Rome

[Abracadabra12345]

We - me and two AC - are planning a 9- day visit to Florence and Rome. We need 3 bedrooms and wonder where would be the best places to stay? Inside the actual locations or if not, do you have recommendations? We’ll be getting around via public transport.

Thank you!

In Rome I would rent an apartment in Travestere.

Ah, good suggestion thank you

DD and I are currently in Florence for five nights having spent three nights in Rome. We are shocked by how little you get for your money. We are staying in a lovely guesthouse BUT we could get a four star hotel in Sydney (home) with all the associated facilities and pool for the same amount we are paying for a room here and Sydney is not exactly known for being cheap. After a lot of research we found the areas beside the main train stations to be the best value and they are actually decent areas with lots of nice restaurants unlike a lot of city station areas. We stayed in an Airbnb in Paris which was a total pita with the host messaging daily so I’ve been put off Airbnb. If you want a fun place to eat the Mercato Centrale at Rome Termini station is good, the one in Florence is not as nice but still good.

This is so very, very helpful. I didn’t want to start researching accommodation until I’d asked on MN for personal experiences and your answer is just that.

I’ll look at the main train stations and go from there.

Are you enjoying your holiday?

We are having fun although we had two bad experiences with Florence taxi drivers yesterday (one refused to look at the written address and headed off in totally the wrong direction because I had pronounced the destination incorrectly and the other just took us the long way round so it ended up double what it should have been). Would recommend Walkabout tours’ pasta and gelato making class at a beautiful property near the foot of the hills and a day trip to Siena which you can do yourself by just taking a regional train or bus. The train leaves you outside the city walls so we taxied and it wasn’t too easy to get a taxi back to the station so bus might be better. My 22 DD has found us great places to eat with her Tik Tok research so I would get your daughters onto it too 😁

Do NOT stay near the railway station in Rome! Not a great area. Always pick your accommodation based on location, and then you can walk everywhere.
A nice family hotel in Rome is Albergo del Senato, which is slap opposite the Pantheon - perfect spot.

I stayed in a lovely AirBnB in Florence for work on the Via del Macci overlooking the market area: https://maps.app.goo.gl/ELeBFSQGxyfwTGMA6
Three bed, it was close enough to walk everywhere but off a busy road and away from the CROWDS of people. Early morning walk to the University building I was working in was lovely as there were not the crowds. It was better than the hotels others stayed in as many of them were noisy, tiny or just too busy. I and my colleagues in the AirBnB had leisurely breakfast, a quiet sleep etc.

When you do go you MUST eat here - one of the finest meals I have ever had in Italy. Hand written menu, all cooked by Nonna after she goes to the market that morning to see what is good... https://maps.app.goo.gl/RsVgmp4gDiwNNKhE8

We’re staying here in Florence at the end of the month. The landlady provides breakfast too :)

https://www.booking.com/hotel/it/la-firenze-sogna.en-gb.html?aid=304142&label=gen173nr-10CAEoggI46AdIM1gEaFCIAQKYATO4AQfIAQ3YAQPoAQH4AQGIAgGoAgG4ArDT-sYGwAIB0gIkYTI3MDM4ZDctMmIxZi00ZmJiLWJiMzctYTc4MjE2Y2E0OTI02AIB4AIB&sid=f1b91f2c451e211f2cc3f2009a297b25&dist=0&room1=A%2CA&sb_price_type=total&type=total&

@Cynic17 sorry but you are talking shit. We just spent three nights there, unlike many city station areas it was totally safe, lots of great restaurants, Mercato Centrale at the station, it was a great place to stay.

If you like modern and contemporary then you may like the look of this 3 bedroom apartment that I recently booked for a stay next January https://bookingsforyou.com/italy/toscana/apartment-teatro/

Thank you for taking the time to reply, I shall look forward to going through the links. Personal recommendations are always best so I really appreciate them

Any recommendations for Rome? These really ARE expensive

Ah just noticed the recommendation by Cynic17. Thank you

For Rome, the same site we used for Florence has some apartments - https://bookingsforyou.com/italy/rome-apartments/

If you wanted cheaper, perhaps you could stay slightly outside and commute in? For example, the lakeside towns of the Colli Romani south of Rome- near Castelgandolfo- look lovely, and are on the suburban train network (I researched staying there once, but we didn't in the end). For Florence, Prato is OK, but Pistoia is lovely.

Both of these options could give you a nice split between big city sights and small town pretty.