The most helpful hotel in Florence

The Hotel Nuova Italia in Florence, Italy

Hotel Nuova Italia

The Nuova Italia is run by an exceedingly helpful extended family—the matriarch, Canada-born Eileen Viti, visited Florence as a tourist herself, fell for the baggage boy at the hotel where she was staying, and the rest is Florentine hotel history. The hotel lies on a street near the train station and San Lorenzo market, and is packed with simple comforts.

Though the rooms are fairly basic and modern, they stand out because the owners really sweat the details: It was one of the first three hotels in all of Italy to install mosquito screens, and the windows themselves are triple-paned (though the early morning rumble of carts heading to market still manages to filter through). The walls are packed with framed art posters, and the desk staff (often family members) can tell you secrets about visiting Florence that even the tourist office doesn't know.

Via Faenza 26, off Via Nazionale

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