The best 7 neighbourhoods in Florence

Discover the 6 best neighbourhoods in Florence and find out which one is the best for you so you can land on your feet in Florence.

Ellie

5 minute read

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Updated on 16 Jul 2024

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Living

Located in the Tuscany region of Italy and famous for its one-of-a-kind blend of modern and historical, Florence has a lot to offer. The city hosts many different industries and two universities. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Florence is one of the best cities to live in Italy.

With its many neighborhoods in Florence, choosing the best neighborhood can be difficult if you aren’t familiar with the city.

To help you land on your feet in Florence, we'll compare some of the finest neighborhoods in the city and tell you why they might work for you.

The Duomo neighborhood is part of Santa Maria Novella, one of the city’s oldest districts. Located in the heart of Florence and hosting some of the city’s most prominent cultural landmarks, Duomo attracts tourists worldwide.

The quality of life in the Duomo neighborhood is among the highest in the city. It’s a limited-traffic area, with only authorized vehicles allowed to drive through it. Take a breath in this low-emission neighborhood!

What’s best: you’d be living within 5 minutes walking distance away from the most popular parts of the city. You can swiftly reach the further parts of the city thanks to the well connected public transport system.

Being as central as it gets in Florence, you’ll have a choice of a wide array of restaurants, supermarkets and leisure activity opportunities. Despite the neighborhood’s continuous modernization, you can expect to experience a small-town vibe.

The most common rental you’ll find in Duomo is a 1-bedroom apartment. Finding a studio or room to rent can be tricky here. The central location of Duomo makes it a little pricier to rent, but if you spend some time searching, you’ll find affordable options.

The average price you’ll pay for rent in Duomo is:

• Room € 620
• Studio €1,200
• Apartments €1,600

Located south of the Arno River, which splits Florence in two, the Oltrarno district is the city's most vibrant area.

Oltrarno has maintained its reputation as the artisans’ district throughout Florence’s century-long development. Despite the area’s liveliness as a result of the numerous bars, restaurants and nightclubs, Oltrarno is a quiet place to live in.

Something to keep in mind when looking for accommodation in Oltrarno is the narrow streets. Always try to live on the upper floors of the buildings to get some sun in your apartment.

Oltrarno is certainly one of the most popular places to live in Florence, which can make finding a place to live quite tricky.

The average price you’ll pay for rent in Oltrarno is:

• Room € 650
• Studio €1,200
• Apartments €1,750

San Marco is a residential neighborhood located north of the city centre of Florence.

The San Marco area boasts a high quality of life, with a local market and the wonderful botanical gardens of the University of Florence. It offers many possibilities for leisure activities and is well-connected to the rest of the city with public transportation.

In terms of accommodation, you’ll quickly realize that San Marco is a popular location for locals and internationals alike, so finding a place can be tricky. The prices here will vary a lot too, rooms are generally quite cheap, while apartments and studios are hard to find and pricey.

The average price you’ll pay for rent in San Marco is:

• Room € 620
• Studio €1,150
• Apartments €1,800

The Santa Croce neighborhood is one of few areas of Florence which has remained authentic to its historical heritage.

Located east of the city centre, the Santa Croce neighborhood borders the Arno River. The area has extensive options when it comes to shopping and relaxing. The low flow of tourists in the area makes the streets less crowded during the day. You should be ready for the streets to become rather lively during the night with the many bars and restaurants in the area. You’ll have plenty of public transport connections here, so don’t worry about making your way around.

Santa Croce is one of the cheaper neighborhoods in Florence, with plenty of available rentals. Regardless of whether you’d prefer to rent a room, studio or apartment— you’ll find something to suit your needs in Santa Croce without blowing the budget. Keep in mind the price of a 1-bedroom apartment in Santa Croce can vary from €1,150 a month to €2,000 a month, depending on the location and quality.

The average price you’ll pay for rent in Santa Croce is:

• Room € 570
• Studio € 950
• Apartments €1,500

Located on the south bank of the Arno River, the San Niccolò neighborhood is in the upscale part of the city. The area is famous for its delightful wine bars dotted across the narrow streets. The riverside location makes San Niccolò a particularly aesthetically pleasing place to live. Locals will often pop up their own picnics alongside the river to catch a sunset.

The neighborhood's upscale vibe means that everything, from rental prices to restaurant and bar prices, is more expensive than in the rest of the city. But you’ll soon see why when you take in the scenery and the very chilled vibes of San Niccolò. This area is well connected with public transport despite being so close to the city centre.

Notoriously pricey and exclusive, housing in San Niccolò can be hard to find. Private rooms are extremely rare, as are studios. Your best bet is to rent an apartment, but even then, you’ll need to give yourself plenty of time to grab an apartment here.

The average price you’ll pay for rent in San Niccolò is:

• Room € 650
• Studio € 1,300
• Apartments € 2,000

If you had to put a label on the Campo di Marte neighborhood, it would be “the sports neighborhood”. Situated in the northeast part of the city, Campo di Marte is home to the Artemio Franchi Stadium, where the city’s soccer team plays regularly. You’re guaranteed to hear the excitement of fans from time to time. The Firenze Campo Marte station will keep you well connected to the city centre via public transport.

As you’d expect, this area sees a lot of traffic, with soccer fans coming to watch games hosted in the Stadium. This can lead to some nuisance in terms of noise and occasionally in terms of crime. You’ll find a slightly elevated crime rate here as fans celebrate their win or loss by drinking alcohol in and around the stadium. That said, there’s usually more police around on these occasions, so it’s still safe— but something to be aware of.

One of the biggest advantages of living in Campo di Marte is the more affordable accommodation. While there aren’t many studios or private rooms to rent, apartments here are quite affordable. The occasional football fan interruption can’t take away from how pleasant it is to live peacefully and affordably outside the city centre.

The average price you’ll pay for rent in Campo di Marte is:

• Room € 600
• Studio € 900
• Apartments € 1,300

Florence’s low crime rate contributes to a safe living environment. Yet, you should keep an eye on your belongings when in a big crowd, especially during the peak tourist season. Apart from that, you can expect to have a safe living experience.

Despite its medieval Italian charm, Florence is home to many internationals, including students and professionals. Of course, you can expect to run into more expats in the central areas and around the university campuses. Although, there are also some in the suburbs of the city. You’re definitely not going to feel out of place, it is a good idea to have a basic understanding of Italian to make sure you’re never out of place.

Now that you have a better idea of what to expect from Florence’s top 6 neighborhoods, it's time to discover homes for rent in Florence!