Continentale
Getting there
- Planes The nearest airport is Florence (Amerigo Vespucci) – also known, confusingly, as Peretola Airport – which is about 20 minutes’ drive from the Continentale. A taxi will cost you €20; or, for €6, you can hop on the airport bus, which leaves every 30 minutes for Florence’s Santa Maria Novella train station, a short stroll from the hotel. Alternatively, you can fly into Pisa, (Galileo Galilei) Airport (a greater number of airlines fly here, giving you more choice) and take the direct train to Florence for €5 one way. The train journey will take about 45 minutes.
- Trains The hotel is within walking distance of Florence’s main train station, Santa Maria Novella, which can be found just behind the piazza of the same name. Trains go from here to Milan, Naples, Pisa, Rome and Siena, as well as Nice and Vienna. You can get to Rome in under two hours by high-speed train, and to Milan in about three hours.
- Automobiles Explore Florence’s winding streets and piazzas by foot, or (when your legs get tired) hail a taxi, or catch one of the bright orange buses that operate throughout the city centre. You can buy bus tickets in advance from vending machines or tobacco shops. If you do decide to drive – and a car will be essential if you plan to venture further afield into the surrounding countryside – the Continentale offers valet parking for a charge. For the ultimate in four-wheeled style, rent a vintage car in which to explore the Tuscan hills (see www.bellinitravel.com for more details).
Continentale 6r Vicolo dell'Oro, Florence, Tuscany, 50123
