Hotel Helvetia & Bristol, built in the later part of the 19th century, was the hotel 'par excelence' for Florentine and English gentry. Host in the past to the Tuscan Macchaioli painters as well as De Chirico, playwright Pirandello, and atom-splitting Enrico Fermi. The hotel has received prestigious awards and recognitions for its decor and for the elegant interior design of its rooms.
Hotel Helvetia & Bristol is in Via dei Pescioni, which is a short parallel street of Via Tornabuoni (maybe the most elegant shopping street in Florence), in front of the Strozzi Palace (a very beautiful and famous renaissance building), a few meters away from the Piazza della Repubblica and about 5 minutes walking distance from the Duomo.
The attentive staff oversees the rather cushy accommodations outfitted with marble bathrooms, large firm beds and heavy curtains. Most rooms have at least one antique work of art on the fabric-covered walls, and all are well insulated from the sounds of the outside world. The large 17th-century canvases add an air of dignity to the plush sofas of the lounge, while the Winter Garden bar/breakfast room is tricked out with trailing ivy and a splashing fountain.