FANTASTIC FIND in FLORENCE!
Great place for a couple to explore Florence! This stylishly appointed apartment was the perfect find for my wife and me. The unit itself was very clean and appears exactly as pictured on Airbnb. The area in which the unit is located felt very safe and secure, especially at night as you had to pass through 2 secure doors/gates before arriving at the door of your unit within a large, shared but non-public courtyard – only those who live or stay there have access. The host has an on-site office which is open during normal business hours. A relatively easy (depending on the crowds) 15 minute walk from the train station, this location is centrally located in the historic district of Florence. The Duomo is a 3 minute walk, the Gallery of the Academy is a 6 minute walk, and the Uffizi Gallery and Ponte Vecchio are about a 10 minute walk from the apartment. Another excellent aspect of this unit’s location is that it is just slightly out of the tourist areas. When we turned left upon leaving the building we would be in the crowds within a 2-3 minute walk. However, when we turned right, we quickly found ourselves in a Florentine neighborhood which offered many very good restaurant options – restaurants which, in our opinion, had superb quality food that cost less than similar restaurants in the main tourist areas. Communication with the staff both before and during our stay was exceptional. Our primary contact, Jessica, even helped connect us with “Ciao Florence” ahead of time to arrange tours to Cinque Terre and the Tuscan countryside – we also received a small discount as a result. Should we return to Florence in the future, “Appartamento con affaccio su un cortile privato con vista Duomo” is the place we would definitely choose to stay again! >>>
One restaurant recommendation...we really enjoyed "Ristorante San Michele All'Arco" which was around the corner from our stay. It offers fresh farm to table food plus organic wines at a reasonable price.