Photo: Diego Delso / Wikimedia Commons
Best Hotels in Florence: Arno Riverfront, Oltrarno & the Historic Core (2026)
Portrait Firenze's Lungarno riverfront position, Palazzo Vecchietti's private palazzino in the historic centre, and Soprarno Suites' Oltrarno creative neighborhood — Florence's best hotels in 2026.
Florence’s Hotel Geography
Florence (Firenze) is a compact city — the entire UNESCO-listed historic center is walkable in 30 minutes end to end. The hotel geography reflects the character of the different zones: the Lungarno (the Arno riverfront — the most scenic position in Florence), the historic center core (the Duomo and Signoria area — the most convenient but most tourist-dense), and the Oltrarno (the “Other Side of the Arno” — the left bank, more residential, more artisanal, more creative).
The Lungarno Hotels
Portrait Firenze — The Contemporary Masterpiece
Price: €600–4,000/night | Location: Lungarno Acciaiuoli 4, Santa Croce
Portrait Firenze (the Ferragamo family hotel project — the Salvatore Ferragamo family opened Portrait Roma in 2006 and Portrait Firenze in 2015) is among the best hotels in Florence. It occupies the former Ferragamo headquarters on the Arno riverfront, with a view across the river to the Ponte Vecchio from the rooftop terrace and many of the suites. The hotel’s apartment-style design gives it a distinctly residential feel — “apartments within a hotel,” complete with kitchenettes and generous room sizes — and the Lungarno Ristorante, one of the better hotel restaurants in the city, adds a river terrace for summer dining and a Florentine and Tuscan menu.
The rooftop terrace at Portrait Firenze is one of the best outdoor hotel settings in Florence — the Ponte Vecchio, the Uffizi loggia, and the city’s skyline (Brunelleschi’s dome, the Campanile di Giotto, and the terracotta roofscape) are all visible at once, in one of the finer urban panoramas in Italy after Rome.
Lungarno Collection: Lungarno Hotel
Price: €250–800/night | Location: Borgo San Jacopo 14, Oltrarno
Lungarno Hotel is the flagship of the Ferragamo family’s Lungarno Collection, positioned on the Oltrarno side of the river directly opposite Portrait Firenze, looking back across the Arno to the Uffizi loggia and the Vasari Corridor. Its interiors include a notable collection of original artworks, among them pieces by Jean Cocteau, and the hotel’s Il Borgo Ristorante is well regarded in its own right.
The Historic Center
Palazzo Vecchietti — Private Palazzino
Price: €400–2,500/night | Location: Via dei Vecchietti 4, City Center
Palazzo Vecchietti is one of the more unusual luxury stays in Florence — a private palazzino (small palace) of 13 suites in the absolute center of the city (between the Duomo and the Piazza della Repubblica), each with its own living room, bedroom, and kitchen, and a private concierge team dedicated to just those 13 guests. The 16th-century building (trompe-l’œil ceilings, terracotta tile floors, antique furnishings) paired with fully contemporary service makes this one of the most distinctive stays in the city.
Hotel Savoy — Piazza della Repubblica
Price: €400–2,000/night | Location: Piazza della Repubblica 7, City Center
Hotel Savoy (1896, reopened after comprehensive renovation in 2000) is one of the grandest traditional hotels in Florence — set on the Piazza della Repubblica, the social heart of the city with its historic carousel and the outdoor café culture of Caffè Gilli and Caffè Paszkowski, with a lobby renovated by Olga Polizzi, one of Italy’s most acclaimed hotel designers, and the excellent Irene restaurant, one of the better hotel dining rooms in the historic center.
Continentale — Ponte Vecchio Neighbour
Price: €250–1,000/night | Location: Vicolo dell’Oro 6, City Center
Continentale is one of the more design-forward mid-luxury hotels in Florence — positioned directly adjacent to the Ponte Vecchio with Arno views from its rooftop terrace, The Sky Lounge, and built around a 1950s-60s Italian design aesthetic (B&B Italia furniture, Flos lighting, striking graphic art) that gives it real character. Good value for the position.
The Oltrarno — The Left Bank
Soprarno Suites — Artisan Neighborhood
Price: €150–500/night | Location: Via Maggio 35, Oltrarno
Soprarno Suites is one of the best boutique options in the Oltrarno — apartment-style suites in a 16th-century palazzo on the Via Maggio, Florence’s antique dealer street and among the richest concentrations of antique shops in Italy. It’s a short walk from the Boboli Garden, one of the finest Italian formal gardens, and the Palazzo Pitti, and the hotel’s ground-floor Caffè Soprarno is worth a stop on its own.
AdAstra — Medieval Authenticity
Price: €200–800/night | Location: Via dei Serragli 106, Oltrarno
AdAstra is one of the most atmospheric boutique hotels in the Oltrarno — a genuine medieval building with thick stone walls, high ceilings, and a vaulted ground-floor suite, backed by attentive personal service and a position in one of the most authentic Florentine neighborhoods.
Florence’s Essential Experiences from Your Hotel Base
The Uffizi: One of the most important art galleries in Italy — a major Botticelli collection (the Birth of Venus and Primavera, among the most famous paintings in Italy), a strong Leonardo collection, and a Michelangelo collection anchored by the Doni Tondo, his only complete panel painting. Book online at least 2 weeks ahead (same-day online slots sometimes available); the €30 entrance fee is worth it.
The Accademia: The David by Michelangelo — arguably the single most significant sculpture in Western art, and genuinely striking in person: the 5.17-meter scale, the psychological intensity of the face, and marble finishing that, four centuries on, still holds up. Book in advance.
The Duomo complex: Brunelleschi’s dome (completed 1436, the largest brick dome in the world and still not fully explained by engineers — the herringbone brick pattern, the double-shell construction), the Campanile di Giotto (one of the most beautiful campaniles in Italy), and the Battistero (home to Ghiberti’s bronze doors, the “Gates of Paradise” — copies on the building, originals in the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo). The dome climb (463 steps, no elevator) rewards you with the best view in Florence.
FAQ
What is the best hotel position in Florence? The Lungarno riverfront (specifically the stretch from the Ponte Vecchio to the Uffizi loggia) offers the best view position — the combination of river, bridge, and historic skyline is genuinely unmatched in any Italian city. Portrait Firenze and the Lungarno Hotel both occupy this position.
When is the best time to visit Florence? April–May and September–October: spring brings Arno embankment gardens and clear light, while autumn brings the Tuscan grape harvest and its accompanying wine and food culture. June–August is peak season — genuinely overcrowded at the Uffizi and the Accademia (queues can extend an hour before opening time in July–August) and extremely hot (32–38°C), but the city stays lively with evening culture.
Is Florence worth more than 2 days? Yes, firmly — 2 days covers the Uffizi, the Accademia, and the Duomo but misses the Bargello (one of the finest sculpture museums in Europe after the Louvre, with Donatello bronzes, a Michelangelo marble tondo, and a strong Verrocchio collection), the Brancacci Chapel (Masaccio’s frescoes, foundational to Renaissance painting), the character of the Oltrarno neighborhood, and worthwhile day trips to Siena, San Gimignano, and the Chianti wine region. 4–5 days is the minimum for Florence done properly.