Where to stay in Tuscany: the back story

About Where to stay in Tuscany: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Tuscany Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Tuscany asks you to choose between two kinds of stay. In Florence, Siena and Lucca you want a room inside the old centre, close enough to walk everywhere; in the countryside, a castle, a wine estate or a restored village becomes the point of the trip.

Florence

The Four Seasons fills a Renaissance palace and its private garden on Borgo Pinti; the Savoy faces the Piazza della Repubblica; Portrait Firenze and Hotel Lungarno sit on the river by the Ponte Vecchio. For a villa above the city, look at Villa Cora, Il Salviatino or Belmond Villa San Michele in Fiesole.

Chianti and Siena

COMO Castello del Nero, Castello di Spaltenna and Borgo San Felice are among the vineyards; in Siena, the Grand Hotel Continental is a palace on the Banchi di Sopra and Palazzo Ravizza a calmer townhouse inside the walls.

Several of Tuscany’s country hotels are whole restored villages: Borgo San Felice and Castiglion del Bosco among them.

The Val d’Orcia

Castiglion del Bosco and Castello Banfi are wine estates near Montalcino; ADLER Thermae and Fonteverde are built around thermal springs.

The coast

Forte dei Marmi and Viareggio keep the grand seaside hotels of Versilia; Il Pellicano and L’Andana are on the Maremma coast, and the Hermitage on Elba.

Every budget

Every hotel in our list carries a price guide from € to €€€€. Small hotels such as the Davanzati in Florence, the Duomo in Siena and La Cisterna in San Gimignano keep you in the centre for less.

Our advice: book Florence early for spring and autumn, and the coast early for July and August.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Where to stay in Tuscany: the back story before you go.