Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 055 21 47 43;
www.hotel-balestri.it
; Piazza Mentana 7; d €100-160, tr €140-165; )
Bold on
the banks of the Arno, this historic hotel dating to 1888 remains the only riverside place to
stay in downtown Florence. As part of the chic, quality- guaranteed Whythebest Florence
hotel group (they're the guys behind L'Orologio, Villa Cora and other chic pads), Balestri
is comfortably contemporary while retaining a distinct old-world charm.
Villa Landucci
( 055 66 05 95;
www.villalanducci.it
; Via Luca Landucci 7; d €100-120; )
Five elegant and
refreshingly spacious rooms are named after Tuscan wines at this gourmet-themed B&B,
a short walk away from Santa Croce. The best in the house, 'Bolgheri' and ' Chianti ',
open onto the wonderful back garden - pretty as a picture with its perfect flowerbeds,
well-tended veggie patch, magnificent magnolia tree and age-old palm. Kids will love the
play area.
Debora, a sommelier, and partner Matteo, who created the place are fonts of knowledge
when it comes to dining well, and they can organise wine-tasting and food tours for
guests. Breakfast is predominantly organic and the free parking is a rarity in the city. Bor-
row a bicycle (reserve in advance) to pedal the 500m to Piazza del Duomo.
B&B
€€
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
FLEE THE CROWD
Should you want to get away from it all and stay out of town, two remarkable 'prince and pauper' ad-
dresses leap out.
In a 17th-century villa framed by extensive grounds, HI-affiliated
Villa Camerata
( 055 60 14
51;
www.ostellofirenze.it
;
Viale Augusto Righi 2-4; dm €19-21; ) is among Italy's most
beautiful hostels (and oh so typically Tuscan!). Bus 17 from Stazione di Santa Maria Novella stops
400m from the hostel; count on 30 minutes travel time.
Then there's
Il Salviatino
( 055 904 11 11;
www.salviatino.com
;
Via del Salviatino 21; d from
€475; ), named after the Salviati family who transformed the 14th- century villa into
the ravishing, swoon-worthy 17th-century ode to luxury it is today. Hidden among cypress trees in the
hills 3.5km east of Florence, the villa really is the stuff of Tuscan dreams. Italian literati gathered here
in the 17th and 18th centuries, and today it is Europe's moneyed hipsters who check in to spoil them-
selves rotten in the spa, lounge in the cascading infinity pool or perfectly manicured Italian gardens,
and ogle smugly at the dome of Florence's cathedral from the terrace bar.
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