Florence is crammed full of converted palazzos, villas and old family homes.
Florence pulls in some 10 million tourists a year – and each of those needs somewhere to sleep. You could stay in a hotel or apartment, but if you’re travelling with a larger group a villa will likely be your best bet. Villas range from cheap and cheerful affairs to sumptuous palazzos, though generally speaking, they tend to offer better value for money than the city’s most prestigious hotels. To help you with your search, we’ve selected three of the best places to rent a villa in and around Florence, for a range of tastes of budgets. To compile this list, we’ve considered website usability, customer reviews, customer service, range and price of properties.
There are hundreds of villas dotted across Florence and the surrounding hills (Photo: Booking.com)
Plum Guide
Plum Guide is an excellent option for travellers looking for a plusher place to rest their head for the night. Unlike most booking platforms, there’s no need to trawl through thousands of below-par villas, since every property listed has already been carefully vetted by the team. There are currently 274 properties listed on the platform, with many more located on the outskirts of the city. There are handy filters for those looking for specific amenities and facilities too, such as ‘rooftop terrace’, ‘home cinema setup’ and ‘hot tub’. You can also search by location and activity preference, like ‘hiking’ and ‘golfing’.
Booking.com
Booking.com offers some of the best value villas in and around Florence. There are close to 4,000 properties listed on the site, though this shrinks down considerably once you start to apply filters. You can sort your search by price, rating, guest reviews and distance from the city centre, or you could opt for one of the platforms ‘top picks’. Most properties are comprehensively reviewed and given a score out of 10 based on staff, comfort, WiFi, facilities, value for money, cleanliness and location. Those looking to travel more sustainably can select the ‘Travel Sustainable properties’ filter, which showcases villas that are making efforts to reduce waste, energy and greenhouse gases while supporting local communities and nature.
Agriturismo.it
Agriturismo – a blend of the Italian words for agriculture and tourism – has taken off in the past few years, but agriturismo.it was the first website dedicated to this unique accommodation type. Officially, the website specializes in farmhouses, though many of these encompass picturesque villas too. It’s the best option for those looking to stay in the Tuscan hills, close enough to the city to see the sights but far from the crowds of tourists. Properties range in price and are independently reviewed by guests out of 10. There are currently close to 200 properties listed on the website, though the handy map tool will help you refine your search to those closest to the city.