Where to stay in Florence Italy in 2026

You’ve decided you want to visit beautiful Florence Italy in 2026 and you’ve booked your flight.

Now it’s time to find your accommodations.

However, you have no clue about where to stay in Florence.

Well, read on and we’ll tell you about where to stay in Florence on your dream vacation!

Florence is subdivided into five smaller administrative boroughs governed by their own council and President, who is elected similarly to the Mayor of Florence.  These boroughs include:

1. Centro Historico
2. Campo Di Marte – Northeast of Centro Historico
3. Gavinana-Galluzzo – Southeast of Centro Historico
4. Isolotto-Legnaia – Southwest of Centro Historico
5. Rifredi – north of Centro Historico

If your goal is to primarily explore the city of Florence itself, then you will want to stay in the Centro Historico.

Closed inside the avenues traced on the old medieval walls, the historic center of Florence contains the city’s most important cultural heritage sites.

Within Centro Historico, there are ten neighborhoods…

• Duomo
• Santa Maria Novella
• San Lorenzo
• San Marco and Annunziata
• Sant’Ambrogio
• Santa Croce
• Oltrarno
• Santo Spirito
• San Frediano
• San Niccolo

For a trip to Florence where you plan on primarily exploring the city, we recommend you stay in Duomo, parts of the San Lorenzo neighborhood, Oltrarno or Santo Spirito.

These neighborhoods lie within area enclosed by the black lines on the map below.

On the north side of the river within the black lines is the Duomo neighborhood.  On the south side are Oltrarno and parts of Santo Spirito.

Most of the major sites within Florence are located within this area, and it is very walkable.

Note: If you are planning on staying in Florence as a base to explore Tuscany and you will be renting a car, then you may want to stay outside of this area.  Parking will be limited, and cars are not permitted in certain areas of the Centro Historico.

Therefore, consider the Rifredi borough in the northern section of Florence.  Tram lines will get you to just outside of the Santa Maria Novella train station and from there you can walk throughout the Centro Historico.

A few recommended hotels for your stay in Florence

Here are a few hotels in Florence we recommend you consider for your stay…

The Floren Hotel is located just a couple blocks west of the Duomo.  Renovated in 2024, this hotel offers clean, comfortable rooms and suites, a free buffet breakfast and memory foam beds, among other amenities.

Arte’ Boutique is a gorgeous hotel located near the Basilica di San Lorenzo.  This hotel offers beautifully decorated rooms and suites along with breakfast and it also hosts a happy hour.

Relais Piazza Signoria is located on the Piazza Signoria near the Uffizi Gallery.  This is one of the main squares in Florence and it provides you within easy walking access to many major sites, shopping and restaurants.

Bernini Palace is another gorgeous hotel located just east of Piazza Signoria.  It is known for its exquisite decor and antique furnishings.  This hotel offers a range in accommodations to smaller rooms to larger suites, and your stay includes breakfast.

While this is just a handful of hotels to consider, these are a good place to start.

Final thoughts on where to stay in Florence

As mentioned, if your goal is to spend most of your time in Florence exploring the city and all it has to offer, then it is best to stay in the historic center.

Hotel accommodations start at about $200 per night and run upwards of $1,000 per night for a full service spa type facility.

If you will simply be visiting Florence on a day trip, check out our recommended 1 day itinerary.

When visiting Florence, we generally recommend flying directly to Rome if possible to avoid headaches involving connections.

Check out CheapOair to find flight options.