Florence — Renaissance Art & Tuscan Elegance 🏛️
The cradle of the Renaissance: a compact, walkable city of frescoed churches, Medici palaces and world-class galleries, with the Tuscan hills and the Arno running right through the middle of it. Hand-picked stays and must-book experiences — every link takes you straight to Trip.com to check live prices and book.
🏨 Where to Stay
- Helvetia & Bristol Firenze ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — Florence's first grand hotel, opened in the late 19th century right by Palazzo Strozzi and the Duomo. A Leading Hotels of the World member with a glass-ceilinged Winter Garden restaurant, a spa built where the Roman baths once stood, and a guest list running from Enrico Fermi to today's design-conscious travellers.
- Hotel Lungarno ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — smart pick — the Ferragamo family's flagship hotel, perched directly on the Arno with front-row views of the Ponte Vecchio. Original art from Picasso and Cocteau on the walls, a Michelin-starred restaurant, and a genuinely special riverside setting five minutes from everything.
- Grand Hotel Baglioni ⭐⭐⭐⭐ — family-friendly — a grand 1903 palazzo two minutes from the train station, with a rooftop restaurant serving breakfast under the Duomo's dome. Spacious, historic and genuinely central without the flagship price tag — a smart base for families.
- Hotel Calimala ⭐⭐⭐⭐ — attainable pick — ranked among Florence's very best hotels, steps from Piazza della Signoria and the Uffizi, with a Michelin-recommended rooftop restaurant and genuinely stylish, art-filled rooms for a fraction of the grand-hotel rate.
- Palazzo Vecchietti — hidden gem — a 16th-century former merchant's residence turned intimate Small Luxury Hotels of the World property, with just 14 suites, kitchenettes, and a genuinely private, residential feel two minutes from Piazza della Repubblica.
✈️ Flights
- Flights to Pisa (PSA) — direct flights from Manchester year-round with Ryanair, easyJet and Jet2 (around 2 hours 30), followed by an hour's train or drive to Florence. There's no direct Manchester–Florence route, so Pisa is the standard gateway.
🎟️ Experiences
- Uffizi Gallery — one of the world's greatest art museums, home to Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera, alongside masterpieces by Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael. Book timed entry well ahead — this is the single most in-demand ticket in the city.
- Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore — the Duomo: a vast Gothic cathedral crowned by Brunelleschi's red-tiled dome, the defining engineering feat of the Renaissance and still the symbol of the city skyline. The nave is free to enter; separate tickets cover the dome climb, bell tower and baptistery.
🚗 Car Hire & Transfers