We had a very comfortable stay at Letizia's apartment. My husband and 9 year old son were with me on holiday, but I was also visiting Florence to attend several business meetings with Italian leather manufacturers. The location of the apartment couldn't be any better. It is on the southern side of the river, just a 5 minute walk away from Ponte Vecchio and 2 other bridges, where there are 2 taxi ranks. I walked to several of my meetings, but was also able to quickly jump into a taxi when I had to travel further out. All the major attractions can be reached by crossing one of the bridges on foot.

In terms of food and wine, again the location is superb.
There are numerous brilliant wine bars and restaurants within a few minutes' walk and 3 of the ones we went to are actually recommended in the top tourist guides which we found in the flat. The kitchen is well equipped with a fridge freezer and gas cooker/oven, so you can also save some money by going to one of the local mini markets, buying some lovely fresh Italian bread and cheese and then eating on the balcony. We used the balcony almost every day to eat breakfast and in the evenings when our son was in bed, we sat there to sip lovely Chianti wine ! I looked around the other flats and realised that this was one of the very few with a balcony on that street and that it was almost complete private as the wall facing is part of a large church, so no one can see you sitting there !!

The apartment's other big advantages are WiFi (a very good speed and absolutely crucial to us as my husband and I both had to do some work on the internet while in Italy) and the air conditioning units in the main living room and main bedroom. I can't imagine living in Italy in the middle of July or August without a/c. The heat on several days was almost unbearable (it reached 38 on 2 of the days we were there) and it was nice to be able to switch on the a/c and sit in a cool room for a few hours. Overall, I would say that this apartment is the best I have stayed in Italy. I have been to Italy 5 times before and always book self-catering as I don't like hotels ! It is spacious and clean and is located in exactly the right part of town, away from the hustle and bustle and noise of the centre, but also within 10 - 15 minutes' walk of most of Florence's attractions. I would stay here again next time I am in Florence as it is ideally suited not only to tourists, but also to families with children or business people who need access to the Internet.