Some Tips to Choose the Perfect Holiday Apartment in Florence

If you have made the wise decision to take a trip to Florence, and the even wiser decision to stay in one of the many holiday apartments that are available in such a beautiful city, then you are well on your way to one of the most memorable vacations of a lifetime. Florence is a haven for tourists and no matter what time of year you decide to come, you can find both reasonable and absolutely luxurious apartments for rent in Florence; but booking well in advance in the spring is a good idea.

There are a few tips that can make your vacation that much more enjoyable. The historical center of the city is where most people want to be. Finding a holiday apartment in the center of Florence will make getting to almost every museum, piazza, and shopping destination only the matter of walking 15 minutes. The concentration of beautiful works of art is beyond description; both of the Renaissance variety and the modern retail variety. Finding the ideal Florence apartment for rent in spring is just a little more of an effort than in the summer, fall or winter. August is a time where there is a lot of availability, and if high temperatures are not a problem for you, then the city is much quieter in August.

One handy internet tool that can help in choosing between various Florence apartments for rent is Google Earth. Seeing just where the apartment is in relation to the location of everything in the city can help you choose between similar apartments. If you were to draw a series of concentric circles around the center of Florence, with the Piazza della Repubblica in the middle, you will gradually go to zones that are more and more quiet. If you want to be “where the action is” getting as close to the center as possible will put you in a holiday apartment that is not only in the center of Florence, but is also in the middle of all the liveliness. Another thing to consider is stairs versus elevators in a building. At first you may think that if it is only a couple of flights of stairs it won’t be that much of a bother, but after four hours walking through Boboli Gardens you may look up that staircase with a different mindset.

For the interior of the apartment, the first thing you want to consider is the size. This is probably listed in square meters and one square meter is a little over ten square feet. Most of the holiday apartments in the centre of Florence and the surrounding areas come with a decently to very well-stocked kitchen, so getting a little clarification on that is good if you think you might be cooking. American breakfast is more substantial than Italian so you might want a little something around even if you eat all of your other meals in the thousands of restaurants you have to choose from. The beds in Italy come in three different sizes and are not the same as American sizing. The single is virtually the same, but then you have what is called “piazza e mezza” which some say is meant for two adults, but unless both are less than 5 feet tall or one is an adult cat, I don’t recommend it. The “letto matrimoniale” is the way to go; this is slightly larger than an American queen-size. The final tip to make sure that you enjoy your holiday apartment to the utmost is to ask about a bathtub. The shower over the tub set-up is fairly common in newer or remodeled hotels, but in the center of Florence many of the apartments date back centuries. You will find everything from a stand-up shower, to a bathtub with no shower, to shower over the bathtub, to a separate shower and bathtub. And, of course, the ever-present bidet. Asking just a few questions can increase the pleasure of your vacation immensely.