Where to stay in Florence?

Florence, the birth place of Italian Renaissance as well as the modern world as we know it today, is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and is a must visit. During the 250 years of Italian Renaissance, Florence was most important political, economical and cultural center in Europe and today, it is one of the most important tourist centers in Italy.

Florence has only 336,000 residents but houses 80 museums (the city itself is a large, open air museum). Major museums in Florence are City Hall, the Palazzo della Signoria (a.k.a Palazzo Vecchio), the Archeological Museum, the Museum of the History of Science, the Palazzo Davanzatti, the Stibbert Museum, St. Marks, the Medici Chapels, the Museum of the Works of Santa Croce, the Museum of the Cloister of Santa Maria Novella, the Zoological Museum (“La Specola”), the Bardini, and the Museo Horne. And of course a must-visit place is the Accademia where David, a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture by Italian giant Michelangelo stands 5.17 meters tall.

Walking along the shores of Arno River, bridges on it and narrow streets from Medieval times is another “must-do” in Florence. If you want some shopping, you should also visit Via Tornabuoni, Via del Parione and Via Maggio.

Any way, let’s talk about the title of the post here: Where to stay in Florence? Florence hotels are expensive and Florence is one of the most expensive place in Italy in terms of accommodation. Most hotels in Florence occupies historic town houses or palazzos (small palace (palazi) like residences in Florence from Renaissance era. But there are many hotels in Florence catering to all budgets from B&Bs to 5-star boutiques so it is still possible to stay in Florence without opening up a big hole in your travel budget.

The best place to stay in Florence is of course its historic city center. Florence city center (Firenze Centro Storico) is quite small and almost every main attraction here can be accessed on foot if you stay in here. Florence is really one of the most beautiful city in the world and you should definitely stay in the middle of this beauty surrounded with history, culture and art. But if you want a budget hotel in Florence, you can find it outside storico.

A little warning here : There are Florence budget hotels around the rail station but this place is not very safe. If you are also into big hotel chains, they are quite outside Florence city center.

Florence Italy

A good tip to find relatively cheap hotels in Florence is visiting the city in the weekend. Some Florence business hotels like Starhotel Michelangelo offers weekend room discounts where the business travelers do not visit the city. You should also book your Florence hotel online where you can find many discounts.

Florence Historic City Center (Firenze Centro Storico)

Between 14th and 17th century, during when Florence was the center of the world, bankers, merchants and royals have built many elegant and gorgeous buildings in the city. Today, the historic center of Florence (Centro Storico) houses most of the tourist attractions in the city. Here you will get lost in historic churches, cathedrals, museums, art galleries, streets, squares and bridges. The best way to experience all these is to go around on foot.

As we have written above, this small area is expensive to stay but nevertheless it worth to stay here. For an up-to-date, price compared list of hotels in Florence historic city center, you can check Florence hotels in historic city center page.

Let’s now look at some major district in Centro Storico.

The Duomo

The center of Florence historic center is the most famous structure in Florence: The Duomo a.k.a Basilica of St. Mary of the Flowers. The area around this beautiful building is an ideal place to stay in Florence because this is half way between one of the most visited tourist attractions in the city, Uffizi Galleries and Ponte Veccho which is famous with jewelry and shops and art galleries (other side of Arno River). Plus, Accademia, where you will see Michelangelo’s David, is a short walking distance away.

For hotels around The Duomo, with their latest prices and customer reviews, you can check Florence Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore hotels page.

The Duomo, Florence Italy

Piazza della Signoria

Piazza della Signoria is the beautiful square in Florence where you can find infamous Uffizi Galleries (one of the oldest and most famous art museums of the Western world). This “L” shaped square is an ideal place to start your Florence tour and the area around it is ideal to stay in Florence. This is the center of Florence and the 14. century The Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace) here is the city hall of Florence. There is also a copy of Michelangelo’s David in the square.

For hotels near this beautiful Florence square as well as their price comparisons, you can check Florence Piazza della Signoria hotels page.

Piazza della Signoria Florence (The building is Palazzo Vecchio)

Oltrarno

Oltrarno means beyond the Arno; it is located south of the River Arno. It is located on the other side of Arno compared to the historic center. Oltrarno was a district inside the city walls which were constructed in 14. century. Artists and aristocrats lived here. Famous Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens are in Oltrarno as well as Piazza Santo Spirito with its restaurants and colorful night life.

For hotels near Oltrarno  as well as their price comperisons, you can check Florence Oltrarno hotels page.

Piazza Santa Croce

If you want to see how residents of Florence live, you should head to Piazza Santa Croce at the tip of historic center of Florence. The bonus here are the infamous restaurants. Basilica of Santa Croce in the square is the largest Franciscan church on the planet.

For hotels here check Florence Piazza Santa Croce hotels page.

Santa Maria Novella

Santa Maria Novella is on the western border of the historic center of Florence and is the area around Florence central train station. There are some nice hotels here and the area is known to house budget hotels in Florence but it is generally not safe here. If you really want to try to find a nice hotel here check Florence Santa Maria Novella hotels page.

Belgrade Night Life

Belgrade, the capital and largest city of Serbia, is the largest city in Southeastern Europe after Istanbul and Athens. With its friendly inhabitants and infamous night life, it draws thousands of tourist every year.

Belgrade night life is highly active and colorful even in weekdays. The night life in winter is quite different compared to summer. In summer, night life is “happening” on and around the river in open air discos, boats, floating clubs, restaurants, bars and in the streets. In the winter, the night life migrates to the buildings.

Between May and September, floating clubs on Sava and Danube river are very popular. Floating river clubs like  Sound, 20/44 and Poveratac are very popular. There are no dancing floors on many of these floating clubs.

20/44 boat club is open all year around independent of the weather condition.  20/24′s deck is turned to a very colorful dance floor in summer. The club offers detroit techno, soulful, disko, funky, house and dub stepe and is one of the most popular places for club parties in Belgrad.

One of the best night clubs in Belgrade is Boulevard which is connected to Hotel Metropol. Guli, Scena Cafe Club and Gaucosi are popular among residents of Belgrad. Freestyler, exclusive Mr Stefan Braun (best night club in Belgrade for many) and Sound are three top clubs in Belgrade.

Knez Mihailova Street is one of the main streets of Belgrade. Dotted with historic buildings housing countless bars, restaurants and clubs, this street and small alleys opening to it are very colorful. If you are in Belgrad, you should see Knez Mihailova Street both in the morning and in the evening.

Another important entertainment center in Belgrade is Strahinjića Bana Street in the center of the city. There are 20 cafes, bars and clubs here full of Belgrade residents.

Another aspect of Belgrade night life is gambling. There are many casinos in Belgrad (Ok not as much as Budapest and Prague but still plenty). Admiral Club Belgrade casinos and Grand Casino Belgrade (Grand Casino Beograd) near Hotel Yugoslavia are some of the most known ones. Some hotels like Happy Star Club and Belgrade City Hotel also house their own casinos.

Where to stay in Belgrade?

If you are looking for information on Belgrade accommodation, check our where to stay in Belgrade post.

Hotel Esperia Kavala

We have recently been to Kavala and we have spent a lovely night in Esperia Kavala Hotel with pleasure. If you’re looking for a cosy place to spend a few nights, this hotel is a great choice. I don’t know if it is this calm in the summertime, the staff and the facility was amazingly professional for a 3 star hotel. The lady in the reception tried so hard to give us advises about how to make our night unforgettable and breakfast was the best I had in my North Greece trip.

Esperia Kavala is located in the city center, quite close to bus terminal which you can access Thessaloniki and Athens. There are lots of shops in the 100m circle including kiosks, Goody’s (a Greek fast food shop, delicious!), some patisseries and some restaurants. If you walk just 15 minutes, you arrive to the coast and there you can find lots of taverns and fish restaurants.

The breakfast is actually much more than I expected. It was rich and tasty. The open-buffet breakfast is being served between 6 to 10.

Hotel is located in the first parallel to coast. But since there’s a small government building in front, the view is open and great. At night, it gives you a photographic moment of the city with Aegean sea.

Hotel Experia Kavala

Rooms are clean and big enough to keep our luggages and clothes tidy. The bathroom is relatively big for a 3 star hotel. Some rooms have a bath tube! When I was booking the hotel, I told them that we just got married and asked if they could give us a room with a nice view. They didn’t just do that, but also offered us a tasty Greek wine and a basket of fruits. It was so kind and generous.

We loved the city of Kavala and we loved this hotel. I believe that a nice stay makes you remember your trip with good memories. The staff of a hotel is very important for me that they define the vision of the commercial people to the visitors. I’m sure you will love Kavala city and this hotel as well. You can definitely book your Kavala stay in Hotel Esperia!

Where to stay in Hua Hin?

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Where to stay in Pattaya?

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Pattaya Night Life : Red Light Districts

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Where to stay in Alanya?

Alanya is one of the most beautiful and popular tourist destination in Turkey. Located at the end of Pamphylia, Alanya is famous with its white sandy beaches, clear waters, ancient Roman ruins, watersports and giant luxury, all-inclusive resorts dotting the long coastline.

Alanya is a favorite vacation destination for many Turks as well as Europeans and Russians. The city and nearby coastline is filled with German, Scandinavian and Russian tourist during high seasion of June - August months. The large resorts with almost everything are marketed in cheap, all-inclusive holiday packages where a resort stay plus flight tickets from Europe can cost as low as 400 Euros.

We will answer the question of the title (where to stay in Alanya?) by providing information about the neighbourhoods. You can have two major types of hotels in Alanya to choose from : large hotels and resorts outside Alanya and concentrated around nearby towns like Konakli, Avsallar and Okurcalar or hotels in Alanya city. Alanya has a fantastic beach to the west of the historical peninsular (housing Alanya Citadel) named Cleopatra Beach (Kleopatra Plaji) and recently, boutique hotels converted from town-houses are also increasingly becoming popular alternatives to big resorts.

Alanya City Center- Cleopatra Beach, Saray District and Alanya Old Town (Historic Peninsular)

Lying from the Alanya Castle to the west on the waterfront of Alanya city center, Cleopatra Beach is one of the most beautiful and popular beach in Alanya. With its white sandy beaches and clear waters, Cleaopatra Beach carries Blue Flag. The beach is named after the infamous Egyptian Queen because it is believed that she was once using it as a place to swim when Alanya was given as a gift to her.

The hotels near the beach, especially in the Saray District behind it offers an excellent location from where you can both access a fantastic Mediterranean Beach as well as the colorful center of Alanya. This location is for those who want to be away from noisy, large resorts (couples indeed) and near Alanya shopping centers and Alanya night life.

For hotels near Cleopatra Beach, hotel prices and details like customer reviews, you can check Alanya Cleaopatra Beach hotels or Alanya Saray hotels pages.

Another popular location in Alanya is the historical peninsular which also houses the Alanya Citadel. Although this place is a little of the Alanya center, it is still near the center and offers fantastic views of Mediterranean Sea. In the past few years, this location is getting popular among couples as a romantic holiday destination in Alanya, similar to Antalya's Old Town (Antalya Kaleici). The demand is met by a supply of boutique hotels converted from historic town houses.

For hotels in Alanya old town, you can check Alanya Tophane hotels page.

Map of Alanya. The best places to stay in central Alanya are near Cleopatra Beach (to the west of
peninsular here) or Alanya old town (on the historic peninsular).

Konaklı, Avsallar and Okurcalar
The coastline of Alanya to the direction of Side and Antalya houses many seaside hotels and resorts. Some of these resorts are quite big with large and luxurious facilities. There are three towns in the region around which the hotels are clustered : Konakli, Avsallar and Okurcalar (in the order of their distance from Alanya). Families will love the resorts here with facilities and activities catering to both adults and children. From these towns, Alanya is still quite near.

Konakli is probably the most popular town near Alanya. Just 12 kilometers to the west of Alanya center, Konakli is a cluster of 4 and 5-star hotels and the area is almost entirely invaded by Russian tourists during summers. There is also a significant European expat community here, permanently staying or using the place as a summer house location.

22 kilometers to the west of Alanya Center is Avsallar, another popular tourism village in Alanya. Huge Alanya resorts are clustered here and usually used by Germana and Russian tourists as a holiday destination. The small town here has a quite long history. Avsallar probably takes it name from a Turkic clan who came and built the village here. Originaly the town was to the north of the current location but that town was destroyed by a far in 19th century.

The coastline to the west of Alanya is dotted by luxury, all inclusive resorts.
(Photo : Granada Luxury Resort in Okurcalar)

Okurcalar is a little far away from Alanya (30 kilometers or 30 minutes by bus) but is still quite popular. Although there are many resorts on the coastline now, the sea is still beautiful and there is still a green pine tree forest behind the shoreline. Other than a small town center and beautiful hotels, the place also has a large aquapark.

For resorts and hotels in Alanya's Konakli, Avsallar and Okurcalar villages, you can check Alanya Konakli hotels, Avsallar hotels and Okurcalar hotels pages.