Franki & Ed

July 22, 2017 • Castello Di Vincigliata, Via di Vincigliata

Franki & Ed

July 22, 2017 • Castello Di Vincigliata, Via di Vincigliata

Getting to Florence

From Flight to Florence

Peretola Airport (Florence airport)

There is an airport close to the centre of Florence (Peretola Airport). From this airport, the city centre can be reached in about 15 minutes by taxi, and in about 20 minutes with the Busitalia SITA Nord "Vola in Bus" bus shuttle, which operates between the airport and the central railway station of Santa Maria Novella. From here you can walk most places in the city or jump in a taxi if you'd prefer.

Alternately, you can take a taxi to surrounding villages for those guests who are planning on staying the countryside. This airport is usually quite expensive to fly to and if you are travelling from Yorkshire, it's kind of useless.

Pisa Airport (Florence)

An easy option is to fly straight to Pisa airport and then jump on the train or a bus straight to Florence.

For the train: Pisa Centrale train station are connected by the PisaMover, an innovative high-speed automated people mover service running every day from 6 a.m. to midnight, every 5/8 minutes. The trip takes about 5 minutes and it costs 2,70€. Once in Pisa Centrale, just hop on the train to Florence (choose the one that suits you best here). It's really easy! Depending on the train you get, journey time can vary: the fastest trains cover the distance between the two cities in about 50 minutes.

You'll be able to buy a combined ticket (11,10€) for both the PisaMover and the train at the Arrivals hall of the airport (turn right when you come out of baggage claim). Just follow the signs for the pisamover!

Ps. IF YOU ARE GETTING ANY TRAINS WHILST IN ITALY ITS REALLY IMPORTANT THAT YOU VALIDATE YOUR TICKET BEFORE GETTING ON THE TRAIN. Look for the little green machines and stick your ticket in it to validate.

For the bus: There is also a bus which runs directly from the Pisa airport straight into the centre of Florence. It takes 70 minutes at costs €4.99. Check it out here: http://www.terravision.eu/airport_transfer/bus-pis...

Flying to Pisa is easy and generally cheaper. You can fly to Pisa from Leeds, Stanstead, Gatwick and Heathrow and probably more (with BA, Jet2, Easy jet, Ryanair etc.).

Rome Fumicino (Rome)

An other option is to fly to Rome, which is also really well connected. From there you can jump on the Leanardo Express. This is basically Rome's answer to the 'Heathrow Express.' it takes you to Rome's central train station quickly and easily. There are trains departing every 30 minutes from Leonardo da Vinci Airport (Rome Fumicino) to the centre of Rome in only half an hour.

From Rome Termini station you can jump on a train to the centre of Florence (Santa Maria Novella station). The fast train takes an hour and a half (this train is much more pricey than the Pisa-Florence one - I would say from experience, that flying to Pisa is the best option!)

Where to Stay

Accommodation

Your main options are to either stay in the centre of Florence (in a hotel/Air BnB,) or to venture into the countryside which surrounds Florence and stay in a small town or village, such as Fiesole.

Staying in Florence

Staying in the centre of Florence comes with the added bonus of having lots to see, eat and drink on your doorstep (have a look at some of my dad's recommendations if your're considering staying in Florence). It is a gorgeous city with interesting history. If you have not been before, you might fancy having a couple of days to explore the city's streets and restaurants so this could be a good option! Just note that it can be very hot in Florence during July so you might not want to plan too much for one day.

Staying in Florence also means it will be easy arranging transport to the wedding (via your hotel or the numbers provided) as there are lots of landmarks for taxi's to easily find. Additionaly, transport has been arranged for you back into the centre of Florence after the wedding. It's a pretty small city so between the two drop off locations, you should be able to walk to your bed! The downside of staying in Florence (in my opinion) is that if you are planning on staying longer than a couple of days, it is likely to be very busy and you may find this frustrating (it really just depends on the kind of trip you're after). July is a popular time for tourists so staying in Florence means having to put up with crowds of people wandering around. Staying in the centre means its unlikely that you will have a swimming pool so if you fancy sunbathing, it could be also be a no-no.For a list of recommended Florence hotels just drop me an email at fdammone@gmail.com.

So, staying in Florence is great for:

- a long weekend/short city break

- things to see and do

-places to drink and eat

-stress free travel to and from the wedding

-lots of choice for those on a budget

Not great if:

-you want a really quiet, relaxing, lounging around break

Staying Outside of Florence

There are lots of beautiful villas and hotels on the outskirts of the city, for those guest that prefer a more quiet and relaxing trip to Italy. The nearest town to the wedding venue is Fiesole, which is a short drive to the castle. Fieslole is really lovely, it is a small town which has some great restaurants and a few things to see and do. The advantages of staying somewhere like Fiesole are that you are surrounded by the gorgeous Florentine countryside and if you are lucky, close enough to have amazing views of Florence from above. Fiesole is short drive from the centre of Florence and is well connected by bus, you can hop on the bus from Fiesole (around every 20 mins) and be wandering the streets of Florence in about half an hour.

Staying outside of Florence means that you are much more likely to have a swimming pool (always a plus) and if there is a big group of you, you are much more likely to find accommodation to fit everybody in.

If you are staying outside of Florence, especially if you are planning on staying further away from Fiesole, it might be a good idea to rent a car. Ed and I stayed in Fiesole without a car no problem and used the bus and taxi's to get around. Again, it is totally dependant on the type of trip that you want!

So, staying outside of Florence is great if:

- you are staying with a group and looking for a villa

- you want to be away from the touristic centre

- you want a peaceful and relaxing break

Not so great if:

- you want to do lots of sightseeing

- you want pre-arranged transport back from the wedding

HOTELS

Five Star

Villa Cora

http://www.villacora.it/it/

Westin excelsior