How much money to bring with you to Florence and what to expect from a city with some of the highest prices in Italy. This article will help you optimally plan your budget on the trip, and also contains some practical tips on how to save. In particular, we will talk about the prices of hotels, private housing, supermarkets, travel, as well as the cost of excursions and tickets to attractions.
Hotels
Florence is popular with tourists almost all year round, and therefore there is no need to speak about seasonality: the borders between high and low seasons are very vague, and the price difference, as a rule, is no more than 20-30%.
If you still note the peak, then it falls on September-October, as well as the period of Christmas and New Year holidays. In winter and in the first months of spring, a hotel room can be rented the cheapest.
It is better to look for a hotel closer to the historical center and attractions
In order not to waste time and budget on travel in transport, it is better to look for a place of residence closer to the historical center, where all the significant sights of the city are located.
In the summer, a 3-star hotel in such a place will cost about 70-100 euros per night. If you look at housing closer to the outskirts, you can meet 50.
A good "four" in the heart of the city will cost from 120 euros. Well, a room in a 5-star hotel is at least 200 euros.
You can save a lot of money by tracking sales on booking sites. The benefit can be up to 70% of the usual room rate. A list of current hotels with such offers in Florence is given below.
Apartments and private housing
The hotel is not the only option for an overnight stay in Florence. Today, more and more tourists prefer to stay in the apartments of local residents. Moreover, finding apartments is not a problem at all. The easiest way to do this is through the Airbnb service.
The choice of housing is very diverse. Preferring privacy, they can rent whole apartments. For example, in the warm season it is quite possible to settle in a cozy studio for two in the center of Florence for 70-90 euros per day.
Well, if you are not afraid of the prospect of living with a local family, you can rent a separate room in the house and even a sleeping place in the common room. At the same time, you will save a little budget: accommodation with neighbors will cost from 30 euros.
Find apartments in Florence is not a problem
However, there are some peculiarities worth knowing about. Usually, apartment owners charge a one-time cleaning service fee. It can be symbolic, or it can be 15-40 euros. Plus, from above, the commission of the service itself will be added.
Therefore, if you need to spend one night in the city, this may not be the most advantageous offer: the longer the lease, the cheaper the actual cost of housing. Moreover, most hosts offer discounts if you rent an apartment for at least a week.
A small bonus for readers who are not yet registered on the Airbnb website: by registering at this link, you will receive a coupon of up to 35 euros, which you can pay on the website when you book.
It is not necessary to use it immediately; you can apply a discount at any time throughout the year from the moment of registration. You can read more about Airbnb, impressions and reviews in this article.
Supermarket Prices
To know how much money to bring to Florence, it would be useful to inquire about food prices.
Prices in Italian supermarkets are almost the same everywhere
The good news is that the prices in Italian supermarkets do not depend on the tourist attractiveness of the city and are plus or minus the same throughout the country.
BlogoItaliano recorded a separate video about what you can buy for 15 Euros in a supermarket in Rome, which will help you to formulate expectations from Florence.
Prices in restaurants and cafes
Florence is one of the most visited cities in Italy, and this also left its mark on the restaurant industry. The price tags in local establishments are by no means low, ahead of these indicators, except that prices in Venice.
In the evening, a traditional aperitif can come to the rescue (or simply happy hour), when in addition to a glass of alcohol you get a plate of snacks or unlimited access to the buffet. Depending on the institution, a drink can cost 7-15 euros.
A full dinner in a good restaurant with wine for two will cost approximately 70-100 euros.
In the evening, a traditional aperitif can come to the rescue
If you try, you can find secret places where the check will be only 20-30 euros. But these are no longer restaurants, but family trattorias and osteria, where the main audience is urban residents.
In search of such magical establishments, you need to turn off from the noisy streets somewhere deeper and away from the center.
We advise you to satisfy your hunger during the day in some diner or coffee shop, paying about 10-15 euros for this. A cup of espresso, like everywhere else in Italy, costs 1 euro with a penny. More expensive - in rare cases. A slice of pizza in a pizzeria - 2-3 euros.
Public transport
The main form of transport in Florence is the bus. A single ticket for it costs 1.20 euros (if you buy from the driver - 2 euros). It allows you to make transplants within 90 minutes of composting.
If your route involves a large number of movements around the city, then it makes sense to buy a special card for 10 or 21 trips (10 and 20 euros, respectively). There are also tickets for 1, 3 and 7 days: for 5, 12 and 18 euros (2018).
Bus - the main form of transport in the city
Transport from airports
Most often people come to Florence by train from Rome, Milan or Venice. But there are travelers who arrive by plane.
The city is served by 2 airports: Peretola (Amerigo Vespucci), which is 10 km from the city center, and Pisa Airport (Galileo Galilei).
About how to get them to their hotel in the city, BlogoItaliano wrote in separate articles:
- Florence Airport and how to get to the city center
- Galileo Galilei Airport and how to get to Florence, Pisa and other cities of Tuscany
Taxi prices in Florence
With a taxi in Florence, everything is very difficult, and getting lost in pricing is nothing to do. There are a number of nuances.
In particular, a landing fee will be charged: 3.30 euros during the day, 6.60 at night and 5.30 on weekends and holidays. At the same time, the minimum cost of the trip is 5 euros during the day and 8.30 at night. On weekends - 7 euros.
Also added to the tariff is 1 Euro for baggage and another 1 Euro for the 4th passenger in the car. Plus, the fee for each kilometer beyond the tariff is from 0.98 euros.
Rent a Car
Demand for car rental in Florence is especially high in the summer months. A day's rent at this time will cost at least 40 euros. Closer to winter, prices are noticeably reduced - you can enjoy the scenery of Tuscany while driving a car for 20-25 euros per day.
In addition to the cost of rent, do not forget to budget for fuel costs, as well as parking and toll roads.
Rental car prices in Florence from Rentalcars for 10 days (2018)
For an hour in the parking lot in the center area you will have to pay 2-3 euros, and the current gas prices can be found on this site.
To save on car rental, it is better to select a car through a specialized service for comparing car rental prices. The most popular in Europe is Rentalcars. Compare car prices and pick up a car in a few clicks on this page.
Tours and tickets for attractions
A visit to Florence is simply unthinkable without excursions and museums. According to the density of attractions per capita, the capital of the Renaissance firmly holds the first place in the world.
Prices for individual excursions in Florence are standard for the whole of Italy. The services of a licensed guide here will cost from 50 Euro per hour and usually do not include the cost of tickets to museums.
Thus, a standard 3-hour walk around the city in the company of a guide will cost about 150 Euros. In this case, there may well be several people. The price does not change from this.
You can clarify the current program and cost of excursions with the guide of Natalia, about whom BlogoItaliano wrote a separate review (e-mail of Natalia email protected) A list and description of the most popular excursions in Florence can be found in this article.
Finally, in Florence, a huge number of museums. Some of them can be visited on a single ticket, but for most, entry must be paid separately. The most complete list of museums to which you can purchase tickets online can be found on this page.
- Uffizi Gallery: Florence's most popular museum.
- Academy Gallery, featuring a statue of David by Michelangelo
It is especially worth purchasing tickets to museums in advance, where you can lose a lot of time in lines at the entrance. The most significant of them are the Uffizi Gallery and the Academy Gallery. Links to purchase tickets in them are given below:
In conclusion, I would like to say a few words about the BlogoItaliano route through Florence. This is a turnkey solution for travelers who want to reach the maximum in the city without overpaying for expensive excursions.
This is a detailed step-by-step plan of visiting Florence in 1 day, where you will find the most basic sights, their prices and opening hours, restaurants and cafes recommended by the guides, an online map on which everything is marked. Information on free city audio guide, which can fully replace the tour.
The route allows transfer online cards in your smartphoneto use it by tracking your location using GPS, even without the need for an internet connection.
This route will save you a lot of time in preparation for the trip and make it easy to cover all the most important.
More information about the route in Florence and other major cities of Italy can be found on this page.
Before your trip, we recommend that you sign up for a free BlogoItaliano e-mail course, from which you will learn a lot of useful information in order to better prepare for your trip to Italy.
Save this article to your social network to easily find it in the future. Indeed, during a trip, information about prices in Florence and these valuable tips will come in handy more than once.
