Travel & Stay.
Most events will take place in and around Florence, Italy. Please see below for travel information and recommendations. Please check back often. This page will be updated as more information becomes available.
Travel to Florence, Italy
Rome, Italy | Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport (FCO)
Flying into Rome is usually the least expensive option. Most major US cities and most major airlines will offer direct flights into Rome’s Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci airport (FCO). Florence, Italy is 2 and half hours north by train.
Milan, Italy | Malpensa Airport (MXP)
If you’ve already been to Rome and want to explore a new area of Italy, Milan is a good option. Located in northern Italy, Milan is considered the financial and fashion capital of the country. Most major airlines offer direct flights from most major airports. The city is located about 2.5 hours north from Florence, Italy by train.
Venice, Italy | Marco Polo Airport (VCE)
Venice, Italy could be a good option for you if you are interested in visiting the City of Canals on your way to or from the wedding. It is located on the northeastern coast of Italy and is approximately 3 hours east of Florence, Italy by train.
Train Travel In & Around Italy
OMIO | Travel that moves you…
OMIO is a great website to use to book train travel in and around Italy (and all of Europe). It will amalgamate all trains available for the desired route and present them in a concise view so you can select the option that best fits your travel requirements.
Where to Stay in Florence, Italy
Hotel Pendini
A 5-minute walk from the 13th-century Duomo di Firenze, this refined hotel dating from 1876 is a 7-minute walk from the Uffizi Galleries and a 13-minute walk from Firenze Santa Maria Novella train station.
Featuring antique furnishings, the charming, old-world rooms offer complimentary Wi-Fi and satellite TV. There's stair access only.
Breakfast (surcharge) is served in an elegant dining room that has city views.
Check-in time: 2:30 PM
Check-out time: 12:00 PM
Palazzo Bardi-Guicciardini
A 5-minute walk from Ponte Vecchio over the Arno River, this grand hotel in a 15th-century mansion is 3 minutes on foot from Basilica of Santo Spirito and 15 minutes walking from Firenze Santa Maria Novella train station.
Featuring ornate, hand-painted walls and high ceilings, the airy, elegant rooms offer Wi-Fi, flat-screen TVs and minibars. Suites add living areas and/or original fireplaces. Room service is available.
Breakfast is offered. There's a 24-hour bar. Bike rentals, babysitting and personal shoppers can be arranged.
Check-in time: 2:00 PM
Check-out time: 11:30 AM
Residenza Giotto
Set in the historic district, this traditional Victorian bed-and-breakfast in a 19th-century stone building is a 2-minute walk from Florence Cathedral and a 7-minute walk from the Uffizi gallery and Ponte Vecchio.
With private bathrooms, the elegant rooms have antique furnishings and offer minibars, satellite TV and free Wi-Fi, as well as tea and coffeemaking facilities.
Breakfast is served on the rooftop terrace, which has views of the city's historic monuments. Pets are welcome.
Check-in time: 11:00 AM
Check-out time: 10:00 AM
Grand Hotel Minerva
This fashionable hotel is an 8-minute walk from both Santa Maria Novella train station and Florence Cathedral, and 1 km from the Uffizi Gallery.
Modern rooms with sophisticated decor have minibars, Wi-Fi and flat-screen TVs, plus tea and coffee making facilities. Upgraded rooms have landmark views. Suites add sitting areas and/or marble bathrooms, balconies and 4-poster beds. Room service is available.
A breakfast buffet is served in a refined restaurant. Other amenities include a seasonal outdoor rooftop pool with a bar, plus 5 meeting rooms. Parking is available.
Check-in time: 3:00 PM
Check-out time: 12:00 PM
Hotel Santa Maria Novella
Next to the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, this stately brick hotel with wooden shutters is a 7-minute walk from the Duomo di Firenze and the Piazza della Repubblica.
The sophisticated rooms feature Wi-Fi, flat-screen TVs and minibars, along with tea and coffeemakers and marble bathrooms. Suites add separate sitting areas and may include a terrace. Room service is offered.
Breakfast is served in the breakfast room. Other amenities include a bar, a smoking room and meeting spaces, plus a fitness room and a sauna.
Check-in time: 2:00 PM
Check-out time: 12:00 PM
Hotel Orto De' Medici
This fashionable hotel is an 8-minute walk from both Santa Maria Novella train station and Florence Cathedral, and 1 km from the Uffizi Gallery.
Modern rooms with sophisticated decor have minibars, Wi-Fi and flat-screen TVs, plus tea and coffeemaking facilities. Upgraded rooms have landmark views. Suites add sitting areas and/or marble bathrooms, balconies and 4-poster beds. Room service is available.
A breakfast buffet is served in a refined restaurant. Other amenities include a seasonal outdoor rooftop pool with a bar, plus 5 meeting rooms. Parking is available.
Check-in time: 2:00 PM
Check-out time: 11:00 PM
Palazzo Portinari Salviati
Set in a restored 15th-century home with views of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, this upscale hotel is an 8-minute walk from Ponte Vecchio. Florence Airport is 7 km away.
The elegant rooms feature designer linens, parquet floors and marble bathrooms, plus Wi-Fi, TVs, and tea and coffeemaking equipment. Suites add separate sitting areas; some feature fireplaces and/or frescoed ceilings. Upgraded quarters have terraces and/or cathedral views, plus kitchenettes and additional bedrooms.
Amenities include a polished restaurant and a bar. There’s also a spa with an indoor pool, a hot tub and a sauna, as well as a gym. Breakfast is available.
Check-in time: 2:00 PM
Check-out time: 12:00 PM
The Westin Excelsior
In a genteel building overlooking Piazza Ognissanti, this refined hotel is a 7-minute walk from Santa Maria Novella church and an 11-minute walk from the storied Ponte Vecchio bridge.
The elegant rooms have chic Florentine decor, Wi-Fi (fee) and flat-screen TVs. Upgraded quarters have Arno river views; some add balconies or terraces. Suites offer living areas; some add rooftop terraces. Room service is available.
Amenities include an upmarket restaurant with a roof garden, a wine cellar and a bar, plus a fitness room and 5 meeting rooms. Breakfast is available for a fee.
Check-in time: 3:00 PM
Check-out time: 12:00 PM
Where to Eat in Florence, Italy
The food in Florence is amazing! I don’t thing that Jeremiah and I had a bad meal in the two times we’ve visited the city. However, I want to share a few of our favorite restaurants in case you want some recommendations on where to grab a cocktail or a meal.
Places that Rhea and Jeremiah have tried…
This is an excellent restaurant in the center of Florence. They offer excellent, freshly-made pasta dishes. Their speciality is Tagliatelle flambé al tartufo fresco in crosta di Grana Padano. It is a pasta made tableside by flaming a giant cheese wheel (similar to Parmigiano reggiano but better when melted) and then tossing in fresh pasta, truffle oil, and fresh truffle. Jeremiah and Rhea HIGHLY recommend!!!
Rhea and Jeremiah had cocktails at this café while wasting time before their scheduled visit to the venue hosting their Welcome Reception. Florence’s oldest café, it opened in 1733 on the Piazza della Repubblica, just a stones throw from Florence’s famous Duomo (Cathedral of Santa Maria Del Fiore). They have excellent cocktails and also offer a full menu (which they did not taste).
Rhea is 87% sure that this is the restaurant that she and ate at during our first trip to Florence. If so, they had the most spectacular Steak Florentine. You must go… It’s also been recommended by thier wedding planner and these are her thoughts…. “A good, solid trattoria for all sorts of Tuscan specialities (their “roasted suckling pig is the house speciality). It can get crowded, so keep Trattoria 13 Gobbi (also in Centro) in mind as an alternative (expecially for a good Fiorentina steak.
This café has some of the best and most decadent hot chocolate that Rhea has ever tasted. Jeremiah said the latté was amazing and Mary Beth liked the tea. It was a great stop to waste time waiting for their Reception Dinner tasting. Bonus…it is located in the famed Piazza della Signoria with views of the Palazzo Vecchio where you can see a reproduction of the David statue (the original is located in the Galleria Dell'Acccadema Di Firenze).
Rhea is 90% sure that this is the restaurant that she and Jeremiah ate at their first night in Florence. They’d spent the day in Milan and arrived late to Florence via train. This restaurant was recommended by their hotel (Grand Hotel Minerva) because it was open late and a short walk from the hotel. It also happened to be delicious. Simple but elegant pasta dishes that filled their bellies. They slept well that night….
Places recommended by their wedding planner…
Tratorria Sostanza
This restaurant does not have a website but when I looked it up, it was listed on the Worlds 50 Best Restaurants website. Located on the same block as 13 Gobbi, it is one of the “big names” in Florentine steak. A simple place with three things worth having: steak, the artichoke frittata, and the unbelievable butter chicken breast.
Located in the San Niccolo neighborhood, this restaurant is a small osteria just outside the historic gates. They service excellent crostone (not quite pizza), toasted bread topped with melted cheese and covered in toppings of your choice.
Trattoria-Style Restaurants
Vini e Vecchi Sapori
Located in the city center, this is a super tiny restaurant a few steps from Piazza Della Signoria. Delicious Florentine food, always crowded!
Located in the Oltrarno neighborhood, is another restaurant in the running for best in tow. . An upgraded trattoria serves classic dishes with considerable style and some unusual flavors.
Located in the Ponte Vecchio neighborhood, it is a neighborhood hole-in-the-wall with three semi-communal tables. It has metamorphosized into a fancy central location with an amazing terrace overlooking the monuments (make sure to specify an outside table). The menu has become very tourist typical recently so stick to the truffle-laden items, the restaurants original focus (the tortelli is better than the tagliolini).
Located in the Cestello neighborhood, the restaurants offers a great modernist version of Tuscan classics. Their tasting menu is really worthwhile.
What to do in Italy
Florence, as the birthplace of the Renaissance, is full of things to do and places to see. Below are the highlights of Rhea and Jeremiah’s first trip to the city as well as a few websites they recommend to help you plan your trip.
Michelangelo's David has become one of the most recognized works of Renaissance sculpture; a symbol of strength and youthful beauty. The colossal size of the statue alone impressed Michelangelo's contemporaries.
The David is located in The Gallery of the Academy of Florence. In addition to Michelangelo’s David, The Gallery displays a vast collection of pictorial masterpieces, sculptures and musical instruments.
Click the link above for tickets and more information.
San Gimignano is a lovely walled, medival city about a 90 minute drive from Florence. It is special to Rhea and Jeremiah because it is where Rhea first told Jeremiah that she loved him. (Yes, she said it first!)
The city provided an important relay point for pilgrims traveling to or from Rome on the Via Francigena. The town became independent in 1199 and between the 11th and the 13th century the noble families and upper middle-class merchants who controlled the free town built many fortified tower houses (probably 72) as symbols of their wealth and power. The town grew around two principal squares: the triangular Piazza della Cisterna, ornamented with a lovely central well, and the Piazza Duomo, dating from the late 13th century with its more intricate layout containing the majority of public and private monuments.
Santa Maria del Fiore is one of the largest churches in the world and the symbol of Florence. Constructed between 1296 and 1436, it is a marvel of medieval architecture that is capped by Brunelleschi’s famous Dome.
Rhea and Jeremiah rearranged their trip to Florence so they could climb to the top of the Dome. The views of Florence are worth it.
Click the link above to learn more about the Cathedral, Brunelleschi’s Dome, museum, and other related buildings. If you want to be adventurous and climb the dome, be sure to purchase the Brunelleschi Pass. This pass allows you 3 days to experience all the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore has to offer
The it is one of the most famous museums in the world for its extraordinary collections of ancient sculptures and paintings (from the Middle Ages to the modern). The collections of paintings from the 14th century and the Renaissance contain some absolute masterpieces of art; including Botticelli’s Venus (a favorite of Rhea’s) as well as masterpieces from Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo.
To make your tour come alive, be sure to download Rick Steves’ Audio Europe app. It’s corny but delightful.
Purchased in 1550 by Cosimo I de'Medici and his wife Eleonora di Toledo to transform it into the new grand ducal residence, Palazzo Pitti soon became the symbol of the consolidated power of the Medici over Tuscany. It was the palace for two other dynasties, that of the Habsburg-Lorraine (successors of the Medici from 1737) and the Savoy, who inhabited it as Italian royals from 1865. Palazzo Pitti still bears the name of its first owner, the Florentine banker Luca Pitti, who in the mid-fifteenth century wanted to build it - perhaps based on Brunelleschi's design - beyond the Arno, at the foot of the Boboli hill.
Save time to visit the gardens. They are quite spectacular.
Visit A City is a great tool to determine all there is to see and do in a specific city. You can access the site via a computer or download a mobile app.
Viator is a another tool to research things to do in Florence and Italy. You can use this website (or download the mobile app) to connect with tours for popular attractions in and arround Florence. Plan a trip to Pisa, Tuscan wine country and more!