Florence Booking Hotel e Touristic Information

Florence – one of the most popular and traveled cities in Italy, famous and alluding to its attractive museums, churches, cathedrals, elegant buildings, streets, squares and being the home of Italian Renaissance Art.

Florence is an Italian capital city in the Tuscany region about 200 km northeast of Rome. This city on the Arno River is well known throughout the world as the birthplace of Italian Renaissance and was the centre of trade and wealth in Europe during the Middle and Renaissance Ages.

Its popularity is even rooted in Italian history, the fact that from 1865 to 1870 the city became the Italian capital. The Historic City Centre has even been declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Globally regarded as one of the most attractive cities, its artistic, historical, and cultural heritage impact on the world is proven through its numerous piazzas, Renaissance Palazzi, museums, churches, monasteries, and art galleries.The city's wide art collections is arguably the largest in the world, taking into consideration that Florence was the birthplace or adopted home of some of the most notable figures in the arts such as Dante, Leonardo da Vinci, Donatello, Michelangelo and Galileo just to name a few.

WHAT YOU NEED TO SEE
Tourism being the main industry for Florence, there are literally thousands of tourist attractions all over the city, with many located in the Quartiere (quarter) Historic Centre. We are just naming a few here. The city also has an abundance of hotels and hotel-like accommodations.


Galleria degli Uffizi
Galleria degli Uffizi – so fanatically popular with tourists and it has a right to be because of its immense collection of the finest Renaissance art in the world. The masterpieces of Botticelli, da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and many other Italian masters are found in the Uffizi.


Galleria dell' Accademia
Galleria dell' Accademia – is the home to some of the most important paintings and sculptures from the 13th to 16th centuries, including Michelangelo's most famous sculpture, David. Visitors will also be treated to the interesting collection of musical instruments by the Medici family. A very busy gallery open from Tuesday to Sunday, 8:15-6:50, with waiting lines of up to an hour. The usual advice before going to the Accademia is to call ahead for a reservation and leave the camera at the hotel since no picture taking is allowed inside.

Santa Croce
Santa Croce – located in the Piazza Santa Croce, the largest Franciscan church in Italy that holds the tombs of famous artists like Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli and Dante. Stained glass and frescoes adorn the church interior.

Ponte Vecchio
PPonte Vecchio – built in 1345 and literally means Old Bridge. This was the first bridge in Florence to span the Arno River and is the only surviving bridge from its medieval days because other bridges were destroyed in World War II. The old bridge is still lined with shops selling gold and silver jewelry. The view from the bridge is quite breathtaking.

FLORENCE TRIVIA
There are approximately 35,000 hotel beds and around 23,000 other accommodations in Florence like guesthouse, hostels and bed and breakfast accommodations.
Annual tourist count reaches 1.7 million, often swamping the many hotels and other accommodations in the city.
Tourists arrive by the thousands every day brought in by cruise ships via Livorno and by autobahn, rail and air.
In 2007, Florence was ranked ‘59th' as the most visited city by major travel magazines.
It is estimated that Italian tourists make up one-third of the total tourist count, followed by Americans (20%), Germans (13%), Japanese (8%), Britons (8%), French (7%) and Spaniards (5%).