# Two nights in Florence, an hour and a half by train from Rome: dome, Vasari Corridor, Oltrarno and a cookery class

High-speed from Termini, the dome and the Vasari Corridor on the first day, the Oltrarno and San Miniato on the second and a cookery class in the market before heading back.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/tuscany/florence/itineraries/two-nights-from-rome-with-the-dome · Revisado: 2026-11-12

Dónde: Florence

Florence in a day from Rome leaves you feeling you have rushed. With two nights the pace changes: one day for the dome, the Uffizi and the Vasari Corridor above the Ponte Vecchio; another for the opposite bank, with its gardens, a square-side osteria and vespers at San Miniato; and a morning with your hands in the dough at the Mercato Centrale before the train back. Everything on foot, sleeping in the centre.

## How do you get there from Rome?

By high-speed train, Frecciarossa or Italo, from Roma Termini to Firenze Santa Maria Novella, in about an hour and a half. The station is in the centre: the Duomo is a ten-minute walk. By car it is about three hours on the A1, and the centre is a restricted-traffic zone: do not bring it.

If you are coming directly from Spain, you do not need to go via Rome: according to AENA there are direct flights to Florence from Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, San Sebastián and Asturias, and to Pisa from Madrid, Málaga, Seville, Valencia and Girona, among others. From Florence airport, the T2 tram drops you at Santa Maria Novella.

## Where to stay

AccommodationAreaWho it suits

Hotel DavanzatiBetween the Uffizi and the DuomoFamily-run three-star, daily aperitivo, rooms for four

Ostello Bello FirenzeVia Faenza, by the stationTight budget; private rooms with bathroom and dormitories

Hotel Palazzo GuadagniPiazza Santo Spirito, Oltrarno1505 palace with frescoes and loggia; near Boboli

## Where to eat

At midday on weekdays and Saturday, Trattoria Mario, beside the market. For Friday dinner or Sunday lunch, Il Latini. In the Oltrarno, Osteria Santo Spirito, also open on Sunday. If you take the cookery class, the tasting half replaces lunch on the last day.

## If you have one more day

Stay on Sunday afternoon at the Accademia or the Palazzo Vecchio, or head up to the Val d'Orcia in a hire car to see the Tuscany of the hills. If you return to Rome by the south, spend a night in Orvieto, on the same train line.

## El plan

### Friday · 08:00 · Train from Roma Termini
High-speed to Santa Maria Novella. Leave your bag at the hotel and walk to the Duomo.

### Friday · 10:00 · Brunelleschi's dome
463 steps to the lantern, with the Brunelleschi Pass and a fixed time. Entrance by the Porta della Mandorla, no backpacks.

### Friday · 12:30 · Lunch at Trattoria Mario
Behind the Mercato Centrale, with no reservations and shared tables. On Fridays there is chickpea soup and lampredotto, and in winter, salt cod.

### Friday · 14:30 · Uffizi and Vasari Corridor
Uffizi + Corridor ticket booked, €47: the gallery and, in the 16:35 group, two hours later as the booking requires, the 750 metres of the Medici passage over the Ponte Vecchio, ending at Boboli.

### Friday · 18:30 · Aperitivo and dinner at Il Latini
An aperitivo at Hotel Davanzati and, at 20:00, bistecca alla fiorentina at Il Latini, beside the Palazzo Rucellai. Reserve.

### Saturday · 09:30 · Boboli and Bardini
Combined ticket €15, only at the ticket office. Boboli first, with its amphitheatre and the Neptune fountain; then the Bardini, with the Duomo straight ahead. In winter the Bardini closes at 16:00.

### Saturday · 13:00 · Lunch at Osteria Santo Spirito
On the Oltrarno square, with a terrace. Gratinated gnocchi and half portions. Closed on Tuesdays.

### Saturday · 17:00 · Piazzale Michelangelo and vespers at San Miniato
Walk up for sunset and go into the basilica for the Gregorian vespers at 18:30. Free.

### Sunday · 10:00 · Cookery class at the Mercato Centrale
Fresh pasta, pizza or pastry, two to three hours, from €85, with a tasting and a glass of wine. Choose the Sunday one in the school's calendar.

### Sunday · 16:00 · Train back to Rome
From Santa Maria Novella, five minutes from the market.

## Consejos

### Book the Corridor as soon as you have a date
Groups of 25 with named tickets: it is the first thing to sell out.

### Ask for the dome time first thing
You are out before the heat and the queues.

### Check the school's calendar
It changes every month and weekend classes fill up.

## Cuándo no ir

### Monday
The Uffizi and the Vasari Corridor are closed, and Boboli on the first and last Monday of the month.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### How many days do you need for Florence?
With two nights you see the essentials without rushing; three let you add Pitti and the Accademia.

### Can you do it without a car?
Yes, and it is the best way: train from Rome and everything on foot or by bus.

### Where should you stay?
Between the Uffizi and the Duomo at Hotel Davanzati, by the station at Ostello Bello or in the Oltrarno at Palazzo Guadagni.

### What do you need to book?
The dome time slot, the Vasari Corridor, the cookery class and dinners.

## Dónde dormir without a car
- **Hotel Davanzati**: A family hotel in the very centre
The Hotel Davanzati is at Via Porta Rossa, 5, on the stretch that runs from the Mercato Nuovo to Piazza Santa Trinita. You have the Uffizi three minutes' walk away and Piazza del Duomo five; the Ponte Vecchio is round the corner. It occupies a 15th-century building and takes its name from Palazzo Davanzati, the museum of the Florentine house almost opposite, whose decoration inspires it.
It is run by a family. In 1969 the grandfather Marcello bought the old Teti inn and turned it, with his wife Velia, into accommodation for travellers. Today it is run by his son Fabrizio with his wife Patrizia and their sons Tommaso and Riccardo. It is a three-star hotel with no pretensions to luxury: what it offers is the location, the welcome and a few touches that are not usual in the centre of Florence at this price.
The rooms
It has rooms of all sizes. The single measures 14 m², the small and classic doubles 16 m², and the superior double 20 m², with an armchair that converts into a third bed. For families there are the superior triple, of 22 m², the superior quadruple, of 25 m², with a double bed and a double sofa bed separated by a wooden partition, the 30 m² junior suite and two connecting rooms of 27 m² in total. The suite, also for four, has a private terrace above the rooftops.
All have air conditioning and heating, a desk, telephone, a television of at least 32 inches, minibar, safe and wifi.
Breakfast, aperitif and services
Breakfast is a buffet, sweet and savoury, every day from 7:30 to 10:30 in the ground-floor lounge. Every afternoon at 18:30 they serve in the same room an aperitif with prosecco or wine, crisps and peanuts. Reception is staffed 24 hours and helps you book restaurants, museums and the theatre. They arrange transfers to the airport and the stations, and excursions to Chianti or the Cinque Terre with a family company.
Getting there and parking
If you arrive by train at Santa Maria Novella, the hotel is a walk of about fifteen minutes through the centre, or a short taxi ride. Note that to reach the lift you have to climb 26 steps from the door: ring the bell at the foot of the stairs and they help you with your cases. By car, the hotel has no parking. Use the affiliated garage with valet parking: €40 for the first 24 hours and €3 for each additional hour. The centre is a limited traffic zone.
- **Ostello Bello Firenze**: A hostel with hotel rooms
Ostello Bello Firenze is at Via Faenza, 56, in the San Lorenzo district. From Santa Maria Novella station it is about five minutes' walk: leave the station and turn right. You have the Mercato Centrale and the basilica of San Lorenzo a step away, and the Duomo a short walk.
It is a hostel, but not only bunks. It has private double and twin rooms, family rooms with a double bed and two singles, and shared dormitories of 2, 6 and 10 places, as well as women-only dormitories. All the rooms, including the shared ones, have their own bathroom with shower. Each bed has a USB socket beside it, and there are lockers and a safe.
What is in the price
With the room you get a welcome drink, wifi, the shared kitchen with free pasta, fruit and vegetables to cook, and water, tea and filter coffee at any time. Also soap, earplugs, hairdryer, iron and computers. The evening activities, such as the quiz or karaoke, are free.
You pay separately for the buffet breakfast, the aperitif, towels, padlocks, laundry and the smart luggage lockers, which work 24 hours. Before check-in time you can leave your bag at no cost.
Common areas
Reception and the bar are open 24 hours. It has a rooftop terrace, with views of the dome of the Medici Chapels, and a garden with a barbecue. There are areas to work on a laptop, board games, table football, table tennis, musical instruments, a cinema room and a book-exchange shelf. There is air conditioning.
Getting there
It is the most practical accommodation if you arrive by train or from the airport: the T2 tram from Peretola reaches the Santa Maria Novella station area, five minutes away. By car it makes no sense: the centre is a limited traffic zone and the hostel offers no parking.
- **Hotel Palazzo Guadagni**: Sleeping in a palace in the Oltrarno
The Hotel Palazzo Guadagni occupies a Renaissance palace of 1505, built for a silk merchant, on one side of Piazza Santo Spirito, in the Oltrarno. It is the great neighbourhood square of the far bank, presided over by Brunelleschi's basilica of Santo Spirito. The Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens are a few minutes' walk away, and the Ponte Vecchio a slightly longer stroll.
The hotel keeps the air of a Florentine house: high ceilings, some with frescoes, terracotta floors, fireplaces in certain rooms and bathrooms with Vietri tiles.
The rooms
There are five types. The classic double, of 20 m², looks onto the square. The superiors with a view, from 20 to 30 m², face the Pitti Palace, the Duomo or the church of Santo Spirito, and some are reached only by an interior staircase. The deluxe doubles, from 25 to 40 m², have high ceilings and large windows, and several have frescoes and a fireplace. The deluxe with balcony, of 40 m², has a sitting area and a balcony over the square. The family room, of 40 m², joins two double bedrooms with one bathroom and faces the inner courtyard: it sleeps four.
The website does not publish the official category, the number of rooms or the check-in and check-out times; ask when you book.
The third-floor loggia
Upstairs, on the third floor, is the Loggia Roof Bar, a terrace with views of the city and the hills. It is open every day from 12:00 to 22:00 and serves light food, afternoon tea and an aperitif. It is wise to book a table, especially at sunset.
Getting there and parking
From Santa Maria Novella station, by taxi it is about 10 minutes and about €20, or by buses C3 or C4 to the Santo Spirito stop and five minutes' walk. From Florence airport, by taxi about 25 minutes and about €30, or by the T2 tram to Santa Maria Novella. By car, the hotel is inside the limited traffic zone: guests enter by Porta Romana and give their number plate at reception on arrival. You park in a nearby garage with valet parking, at about €35–40 a day.

## Dónde dormir if you're flying
- **Hotel Davanzati**: A family hotel in the very centre
The Hotel Davanzati is at Via Porta Rossa, 5, on the stretch that runs from the Mercato Nuovo to Piazza Santa Trinita. You have the Uffizi three minutes' walk away and Piazza del Duomo five; the Ponte Vecchio is round the corner. It occupies a 15th-century building and takes its name from Palazzo Davanzati, the museum of the Florentine house almost opposite, whose decoration inspires it.
It is run by a family. In 1969 the grandfather Marcello bought the old Teti inn and turned it, with his wife Velia, into accommodation for travellers. Today it is run by his son Fabrizio with his wife Patrizia and their sons Tommaso and Riccardo. It is a three-star hotel with no pretensions to luxury: what it offers is the location, the welcome and a few touches that are not usual in the centre of Florence at this price.
The rooms
It has rooms of all sizes. The single measures 14 m², the small and classic doubles 16 m², and the superior double 20 m², with an armchair that converts into a third bed. For families there are the superior triple, of 22 m², the superior quadruple, of 25 m², with a double bed and a double sofa bed separated by a wooden partition, the 30 m² junior suite and two connecting rooms of 27 m² in total. The suite, also for four, has a private terrace above the rooftops.
All have air conditioning and heating, a desk, telephone, a television of at least 32 inches, minibar, safe and wifi.
Breakfast, aperitif and services
Breakfast is a buffet, sweet and savoury, every day from 7:30 to 10:30 in the ground-floor lounge. Every afternoon at 18:30 they serve in the same room an aperitif with prosecco or wine, crisps and peanuts. Reception is staffed 24 hours and helps you book restaurants, museums and the theatre. They arrange transfers to the airport and the stations, and excursions to Chianti or the Cinque Terre with a family company.
Getting there and parking
If you arrive by train at Santa Maria Novella, the hotel is a walk of about fifteen minutes through the centre, or a short taxi ride. Note that to reach the lift you have to climb 26 steps from the door: ring the bell at the foot of the stairs and they help you with your cases. By car, the hotel has no parking. Use the affiliated garage with valet parking: €40 for the first 24 hours and €3 for each additional hour. The centre is a limited traffic zone.
- **Ostello Bello Firenze**: A hostel with hotel rooms
Ostello Bello Firenze is at Via Faenza, 56, in the San Lorenzo district. From Santa Maria Novella station it is about five minutes' walk: leave the station and turn right. You have the Mercato Centrale and the basilica of San Lorenzo a step away, and the Duomo a short walk.
It is a hostel, but not only bunks. It has private double and twin rooms, family rooms with a double bed and two singles, and shared dormitories of 2, 6 and 10 places, as well as women-only dormitories. All the rooms, including the shared ones, have their own bathroom with shower. Each bed has a USB socket beside it, and there are lockers and a safe.
What is in the price
With the room you get a welcome drink, wifi, the shared kitchen with free pasta, fruit and vegetables to cook, and water, tea and filter coffee at any time. Also soap, earplugs, hairdryer, iron and computers. The evening activities, such as the quiz or karaoke, are free.
You pay separately for the buffet breakfast, the aperitif, towels, padlocks, laundry and the smart luggage lockers, which work 24 hours. Before check-in time you can leave your bag at no cost.
Common areas
Reception and the bar are open 24 hours. It has a rooftop terrace, with views of the dome of the Medici Chapels, and a garden with a barbecue. There are areas to work on a laptop, board games, table football, table tennis, musical instruments, a cinema room and a book-exchange shelf. There is air conditioning.
Getting there
It is the most practical accommodation if you arrive by train or from the airport: the T2 tram from Peretola reaches the Santa Maria Novella station area, five minutes away. By car it makes no sense: the centre is a limited traffic zone and the hostel offers no parking.
- **Hotel Palazzo Guadagni**: Sleeping in a palace in the Oltrarno
The Hotel Palazzo Guadagni occupies a Renaissance palace of 1505, built for a silk merchant, on one side of Piazza Santo Spirito, in the Oltrarno. It is the great neighbourhood square of the far bank, presided over by Brunelleschi's basilica of Santo Spirito. The Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens are a few minutes' walk away, and the Ponte Vecchio a slightly longer stroll.
The hotel keeps the air of a Florentine house: high ceilings, some with frescoes, terracotta floors, fireplaces in certain rooms and bathrooms with Vietri tiles.
The rooms
There are five types. The classic double, of 20 m², looks onto the square. The superiors with a view, from 20 to 30 m², face the Pitti Palace, the Duomo or the church of Santo Spirito, and some are reached only by an interior staircase. The deluxe doubles, from 25 to 40 m², have high ceilings and large windows, and several have frescoes and a fireplace. The deluxe with balcony, of 40 m², has a sitting area and a balcony over the square. The family room, of 40 m², joins two double bedrooms with one bathroom and faces the inner courtyard: it sleeps four.
The website does not publish the official category, the number of rooms or the check-in and check-out times; ask when you book.
The third-floor loggia
Upstairs, on the third floor, is the Loggia Roof Bar, a terrace with views of the city and the hills. It is open every day from 12:00 to 22:00 and serves light food, afternoon tea and an aperitif. It is wise to book a table, especially at sunset.
Getting there and parking
From Santa Maria Novella station, by taxi it is about 10 minutes and about €20, or by buses C3 or C4 to the Santo Spirito stop and five minutes' walk. From Florence airport, by taxi about 25 minutes and about €30, or by the T2 tram to Santa Maria Novella. By car, the hotel is inside the limited traffic zone: guests enter by Porta Romana and give their number plate at reception on arrival. You park in a nearby garage with valet parking, at about €35–40 a day.