Creative Commons licensePhoto by flickr user joe@italianadventure.com

Florence is one of the most expensive cities in Italy in which to lay your head, but this is compensated for by the sheer variety of what is on offer. There is also a merciful lack of the chain hotels present in so many tourist-orientated destinations these days. We have divided the best of the city's accommodation into two lists: Hotels; and Guest Houses/B&Bs. If you require full facilities and services (porters, 24-hour room service, a bar and maybe a restaurant, laundry and so on), you are probably better off in a hotel; if however you prefer something less hard on the pocket and more personal, homely and in many cases atmospheric, then there are a handful of extremely charming guesthouses or b&bs from which to choose. There are many others, of course, but you should beware of many of them: sparsely furnished rooms and formica topped tables are often the order of the day. Take our advice and stick to these tried and tested gems. The order by which the hotels are listed bears no reflection on our preference.

Written by Nicky Swallow