(insert map)

We had heard of Florence’s crowds and the late night bars and restaurants and decided right away to stay away from city center. We’re really glad we did. Not only is it way more expensive in the city, but there’s a real charm to the residential areas of Florence that the hustle and bustle of the tourist areas just don’t have.

Our flat was in the Oltrarno area of Florence, across the river Arno from the city center. (get it? Literally “over the Arno”) We loved it there, and would highly recommend it for nesting. There’s still tourist sites there, but you can quickly lose yourself in quiet little streets with homey little restaurants and wave to your neighbors while they hang out laundry. You’ll find grocery stores and little shops with necessities that tourists don’t need or want. It’s here that you’ll find the family-run gelato shops that keep their wares in covered tins the old fashioned way, and you’ll stumble on little booths selling lampredotto – their famous tripe and anchovy sandwiches. (maybe you’ll like it more than we did…) Oltrano is known as being the craftsman and artist area, and you still can occasionally find tiny shops where people make leatherworks, books, paper, jewelry, and mosaics by hand.  Your local bakery may save you your favorite pastry every morning if you make it a habit. (and they are very habit forming, indeed!) And when locals ask you where you’re staying, and you say Oltrano, they will smile and say, “ah, you’re learning about the real Florence.”

That being said, there are other areas that would be suitable for nesting as well. We liked the area just east of the city center, both south but especially north of the Arno. There is a lovely park along the Arno to the west of the city beyond the train station and it would be nice to stay around there as well. Just be aware that if you go out of walking distance from the city center, the buses are often very crowded, especially during tourist season and along the routes that tourists might take.

We got our flat through Home Away. It was very simple – not especially beautiful, (especially the stairwell) but very functional and absolutely fine for our needs. We actually grew to love it. Our apartment had the typical long shutters over all the windows that shut out every speck of light for sleeping, which was wonderful, and our bed was very comfy, which was by far the most important thing. The kitchen was tiny, with a miniscule little oven, but I managed to cook whatever I needed to, and we had a wonderful little pizzaria right around the corner for when I didn’t feel up to it. I became a lot more Florentine doing the laundry, hanging up my clothing on the back balcony like all my neighbors. And while the flat itself was very simple, within fifteen minutes I could be sipping coffee by the Arno next to the Ponte Vechio. And that was beyond wonderful.

We seriously considered living in the countryside instead of within the city. It’s a very attractive option. Tuscany is spectacular, and there are lots of lovely little places to rent, even within old castles or palaces, with magnificent views of the countryside. You could choose to live on the grounds of a vineyard and wake up each morning to amazing views of the mountains, bathed in that golden Italian light. If you’re looking for peace and quiet, away from the crowds, this just might be for you. We saw some wonderful places while we were there. But for our needs, we were happy we decided to live within the city, near to all the action.