Florence travel guide — where to stay, what to do, and where to eat in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.
Luxury hotels
Five-star and palace properties.
Four Seasons Hotel Firenze
Florence's most celebrated luxury hotel, occupying two historic palaces — the 15th-century Palazzo della Gherardesca and the 17th-century Conventino — set within 4.5 hectares of private gardens, the largest private garden in Florence. The hotel blends Medici-era frescoed rooms with Four Seasons service standards. The Atrium restaurant, spa with outdoor pool, and garden access make it the definitive Florentine luxury address.
Belmond Villa San Michele
A converted 15th-century Franciscan monastery in the hills above Florence, with a facade attributed to Michelangelo and gardens overlooking the Arno valley and the Florence skyline. The 46 rooms and suites each have antique furnishings and garden or valley views. The Loggia restaurant serves Tuscan cuisine on a terrace with one of the finest restaurant views in Italy. A Belmond hotel shuttle connects to central Florence.
Il Salviatino
A 15th-century Medici villa above Florence on the wooded Fiesole hills, with sweeping views over the Florence skyline, the Arno valley, and the Apennines. This intimate 39-room hotel preserves original Renaissance architecture with frescoed loggias, a Renaissance garden, and an outdoor infinity pool overlooking the city. The position, 6 km from the Duomo with city views, makes it one of Tuscany's most atmospheric hideaways.
Portrait Firenze
A Ferragamo family hotel on the Lungarno embankment directly opposite the Ponte Vecchio, in a 16th-century palazzo steps from the Uffizi. The 36 suites all face the Arno or the Florentine roofscape, and the terrace lounge has one of the most coveted Ponte Vecchio views in Florence. The hotel is part of the Lungarno Collection of Ferragamo boutique hotels.
Fine dining
Michelin-starred and chef-driven restaurants.
Il Palagio - Four Seasons Hotel Firenze
The Four Seasons' main restaurant, serving contemporary Tuscan cuisine in a frescoed dining room of the historic Palazzo della Gherardesca. Chef Vito Mollica interprets classic Florentine and Tuscan ingredients with modern precision. The garden terrace is one of Florence's most coveted summer dining tables.
Buca Mario
Florence's oldest restaurant (est. 1886), occupying medieval vaulted cellars in the historic centre. The menu centres on classic Florentine cuisine — bistecca fiorentina, ribollita, lampredotto — with an extensive cellar of Tuscan wines. A Florentine institution that represents historic luxury rather than contemporary innovation.
Enoteca Pinchiorri
One of Italy's greatest restaurants and a three-Michelin-star institution since 1993, housed in a Renaissance palazzo in the Santa Croce neighbourhood. The wine cellar is one of Italy's finest, with over 140,000 bottles including extraordinary verticals of Barolo, Brunello, and international classics. Chef Riccardo Monco's cuisine is sophisticated Italian with strong Florentine roots.
La Leggenda dei Frati - Villa Bardini
A Michelin-starred restaurant set in the restored Villa Bardini gardens in the Oltrarno with sweeping views over Florence's rooftops. Chef Filippo Saporito serves creative Tuscan cuisine inspired by seasonal Florentine produce, in a setting where the panoramic terrace dining with Brunelleschi's dome as backdrop is one of Florence's most memorable luxury experiences.
Exclusive experiences
Bespoke and once-in-a-lifetime activities.
Private Uffizi Gallery after-hours tour
A private evening access to the Uffizi Gallery after closing (typically 8PM-11PM), with a personal guide among the Botticellis, Leonardos, and Raphaels without another visitor in sight. Organised through specialist concierge services and requiring months of advance notice. The experience of standing alone before the Birth of Venus is one Florence's most extraordinary privileges.
Private wine tour and dinner at a Brunello estate
A private day visit to one of Montalcino's great Brunello di Montalcino DOCG estates — Biondi Santi (Tenuta Greppo), Poggio di Sotto, or Ciacci Piccolomini — for a cellar tour and vertical tasting of multiple vintages, followed by a private dinner cooked by the estate chef using estate-grown produce and the estate's Brunello and Rosso. A car and driver from Florence is arranged.
Personal shopper on Via de' Tornabuoni
Florence's luxury shopping street hosts the flagship Italian and international fashion houses: Gucci (Piazza della Signoria and Via de' Tornabuoni), Ferragamo (Piazza Santa Trinita, 5r — historic Palazzo Spini Feroni), Prada, Bottega Veneta, and Emilio Pucci. A personal shopper from a luxury hotel concierge can arrange private showroom access, alterations, and after-hours appointments at participating houses.
Helicopter flight over Tuscany
A private helicopter tour departing from Florence Peretola airport, flying over the Chianti wine zone, Val d'Orcia, Siena, and Montalcino. A 1-hour flight covers the entire Tuscan landscape visible only from the air. Sunset flights over the Val d'Orcia UNESCO landscape are particularly spectacular.
Medici Villas private access and art consultation
The network of Medici villas around Florence — Villa di Poggio a Caiano, Villa Medici at Fiesole, and Villa Petraia — hold exceptional artworks in a domestic Renaissance setting. Private scholarly tours with art historians specialising in Medici art patronage can be arranged through museum foundations and specialist tour companies.
Spas & wellness
World-class spa retreats and treatments.
Four Seasons Spa, Florence
The benchmark Florence luxury spa in a Renaissance palazzo garden setting with heated outdoor pool, hammam, and treatments using Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella heritage products.
Fonteverde Terme Lifestyle Resort
Tuscany's most complete thermal resort (2 hours from Florence) using natural 42°C sulphurous springs of Roman origin with full spa and accommodation.
Grotta Giusti Thermal Spa
A natural thermal cave spa (40 km from Florence) with a subterranean lake at 34-36°C in stalactite grottos — one of Italy's most extraordinary spa settings.
Luxury transport
Travel in style.
- Overview
- Private transfer services, historic car rentals, and helicopter charters serve the luxury visitor to Florence and Tuscany.