Am going to Florence in January for a few days and was wondering if anyone can recommend a nice hotel to stay in that is central, also if they came across any nice restaurants and good bars
I was in Florence last May and we stayed in Residenza il Villino, 53 Via della Pergola (tel: 00 39 055 2001116; fax 00 39 055 2001101; e-mail: ilvillino@ilvillino.it). The owner (Stefano) speaks good english, and we really enjoyed our stay there - it worked out about $50 per head per night, which is v good for somewhere in Florence which is relatively central (about 5 minutes walk to the Duomo). Its an old house which has been restored into a small hotel (maybe 15 rooms). If you look at , they have many reviews of this hotel.
Places to go out: 1. Golden View Open Bar - a v nice brasserie/pizzeria/winebar. It overlooks the river and is located just along from the Ponte Vecchio. The address is Via dei Bardi 58R (tel 055 214502) and they have a websiteaddress: www.goldenviewopenbar.com It says on the website that they alsohave occasional jazz sessions, if that might interest you.
2. "Trattoria 4 Leoni" (Piazza della Passera, Via dei Vellutini) : the tel no is 055 218562 and its worthwhile ringing up in advance to book (particularly for the evening) as it can get v busy. Again it was a very nice restaurant, on a small piazza.
