Stay here for the perfect location and the stunning rooftop views. The location of this place is amazing! It is on Via dei Neri, one of the main hip streets, right above a great pizza spot (Pizza Napolito) and panini shop (All’Antico Vinaio), and down the street from Gelateria dei Neri (aka the best gelato in Florence). The panini shop always had a long line and seemed very popular, though we didn't go there ourselves. This Airbnb is located 2 blocks from Piazza Signoria, Palazzo Vecchio, & the Uffizi Gallery, 1 block from the Galileo Museum, and 4 blocks from Ponte Vecchio, which was perfect for us to get around the city. It is a very popular area with restaurants, shops, and bars. There were always crowds of people around, even later into the night. But even though it was it in a hip spot, the room was high enough and bedroom positioned well so that it was totally quiet for sleeping at night. The stairs are as others have explained. Top story. There are several locked entry ways into the unit so we felt very secure (front door locked, patio access deadbolt + regular lock, Airbnb unit deadbolt + regular lock). Though, this place did not have a safe to protect valuables. It's about a 15 minute walk over flat-ish cobblestone from the train station.
The patio/terrace/rooftop are incredible. The pictures do not do it justice. There are 2 main sitting areas outside, the first is the terrace/patio which has a table as well as a separate couch area that wraps around half of the unit. These are both great because they are shaded during the hot summer days. Lots of plants bring life to this outdoor living area. The 2nd seating area is the rooftop, which has two lounge chairs and a table with chairs. The view is much better on the rooftop, but there is no shade from the heat. We spent most of our time on the terrace due to the heat when we visited in early September. However, both were great locations to kick back and relax. Both seating areas are 100% private, only you get access to them. You can see the glorious red rooftops of the city, as well as the tops of the city's best sites: Santa Croce, Piazza Michelangelo, the top of Palazzo Vecchio, the top of the Bargello Museum...it was a delight.
The unit itself was as expected. The bathroom and bedroom were very small, as is customary in Italy. The kitchen and living room were bigger than we thought and included pots/pans/wine glasses, a small refrigerator, stove top, and more (and a wine bottle opener, an important tool in this city). No dish washer or washing machine for clothes, also customary in Italy. The bathroom had a couple shampoo/conditioner/bug spray bottles, but still better to bring your own. There was a hair dryer as well as an iron and ironing board, which we used. There were a couple mosquitoes when we visited, but we used a citronella flat coil that was in the apartment, which helped.
Finally, Silva gave GREAT recommendations for where to eat. There is a basket of city guides and guide books that were helpful.