The best apartments in Florence

How to find, and reserve, the best rental flats in Florence in every price range and neighborhood

However, you'll sometimes find better deals by contacting people privately in Florence via local papers and the Florence tourist office, which has a list of apartments you can contact directly (though it consists of just-the-bare-facts info: name, address, tel/website, number of rooms, and sometimes prices) as well as names of local rental agencies.

Do a lot of shopping around, ask many questions, look at pictures if you can get 'em. Work with agencies that specialize in that region or city and only ones that will help you find the place you want, not the one they want to sell you. Here are some leads.

Favorite Florence rental apartments & flats

Palazzo Gamba

Modern apartments overloooking the Cathedral—no, really: right along the northern flank of the Duomo. Each of the 11 renovated flats—some with high ceilings; a few with frescoes—has A/C, kitchenette, flat-screen TV, free Wi-Fi, and dishwasher. Note: Not all flats have that killer view

Via Martelli 2

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Palazzo Antellesi ★

Twelve outstanding, weekly rentals that sleep anywhere from 2-8 people, located in the heart of Santa Croce. The 16th-century palazzo is owned by the gracious Signora Piccolomini, who rents out truly spacious apartments to anyone who has ever dreamed of lying in bed next to a roaring fire under a 17th-century frescoed ceiling (the Granduca, sleeping two or three) or sipping tea in a living room surrounded by trompe-l'oeil Roman ruins with a 16th-century wood ceiling above.

Piazza Santa Croce 21–22; tel. 212-932-3480 in the U.S. and +39-055-244-456 in Italy; www.palazzoantellesiflorence.com

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Appartamento Signoria

Set in a 13th century building in Florence historic city centre—with frescoed walls in many rooms—the Appartamento Signoria is just 150 meters from the Uffizi Gallery. The air-conditioned apartment sleeps six (two bedrooms, two bathsrooms), features a balcony and free WiFi throughout, and overlooks the pretty Mercato Nuovo, or Straw Market.

Piazza del Mercato Nuovo 1

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Appartamento Florence Art

a few steps from the Duomo, boasting views over Giotto's Campanile, the Florence Art is an elegant apartment with high, painted panelled ceilings and terracotta floors. It sleeps five, offers free WiFi, a washing machine and dishwasher, 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, and a living room with kitchen.

Via Tosinghi 1

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Era Rental Apartments

Era Rental offers 11 panoramic apartments at the heart of Florence, a few steps from the Duomo. Each air-conditioned apartment includes free WiFi, wood-beamed ceilings, terracotta floors and views of the historical center—some have great views of Brunelleschi's dome over the nearby rooftops. Some have one or more separate bedrooms, while other apartments are open space.

Via dei Servi 3

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Madame Tina

The real selling point of these two Oltrarno apartments (one a double, one sleeping four) is that the view from your bedroom or dining room is directly over the Arno river and the nearby Ponte Vecchio, with the towers and domes of downtown Florence rising just behind it. There is a TV, a computer, and free WiFi as well as a full kitchen with a dishwasher and a microwave.

Borgo San Jacopo 2

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Florence apartment rental agencies and booking sites

Booking.com (www.booking.com)- A generalist booking engine is a great choice for nightly or short-term apartments. Its selection of apartments is massive—some 817 flats in Florence—and but well worth looking into.

HomeAway (www.homeaway.com) - Probably the biggest (at least when it comes to Italy), with more than 8,500 rentals in Italy alone, of which around 250 are in Florence.

VRBO (www.vrbo.com) - The names stands for "Vacation Rentals By Owners," which is (mostly) exactly what this is: it cuts out the middle man or a rental agency (and the attendant fees) by allowing those with rental homes—nearly 200 in Florence—to advertise them directly to potential vacation renters. I say "mostly" because, as you might imagine, plenty of agencies post their offering here as well, but that's OK. So long as you find the right match for you, does the provenance of the perfect vacation home really matter? I've used this service to find everything from a flat in London to a South Carolina beach house.

Airbnb.com (www.airbnb.com) - Network of both official and unofficial apartments and B&Bs, including more than 550 apartments in Florence. Its rates are among the lowest, most charging anywhere from $25 to $800 per night. A handful do range higher, but the important thing is that roughly 80% of the apartments cost $200 or less per night—way less than most hotels. Still, as it is Airbnb (and hence unregulated, and uninspected) it is a bit of a buyer-beware arrangement.

Rentalo (www.rentalo.com) - More than 120,000 properties around the world, including 165 in and around Florence—how about a frescoed two-bedroom apartment in the city center for €775 a week or €130 a night? (Note that they also list some B&Bs and a whole lot of regular hotels; be sure to click on "Apartment/Condo" in the left-hand column under "Vacation Rental Types" to limit the list to rental apartments.)

Barclay International (www.barclayweb.com) - One of the world's premier rental agencies since 1963. (And yes, "premier" does mean "a bit pricey"). Excellent properties and service, though, throughout the major cities of Western Europe.

Interhome (www.interhome.us) - Thousands upon thousands of apartments and villas across Europe (and, er, Florida).

Villas International (www.villasintl.com) - Long-established agency, with properties in perhaps more countries than any other.

Craigslist.org (www.craigslist.org) - The biggest virtual classifieds section lists short-term rentals all over the world. Be sure to rifle through the craigslists of most major U.S. cities—doesn't matter if you live there or not—because lots of folks post rental ads for their Rome apartment on the Craigslists for New York, Chicago, San Fran, etc.

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