If you’ve hung out with me—or, honestly, just spent 30 seconds in my presence—in the past two years, chances are you’ve had to listen to me blab about my wedding in Tuscany. The event is all I’ve been able to think about since we booked a date and venue (October 18, 2025, at a villa in a little town called Certaldo, if you were curious), and now that it’s over, I still don’t have any plans of stopping. Which is why I’m here to tell you all about the incredible Airbnb my family and I stayed at in Florence during the three days we spent there before hitting the road for our nuptials.
My now-husband and I had visited Florence a couple of times prior to this trip, so we knew it would be tricky to find a property large enough to accommodate my family of six in the compact city center. But being within walking distance of all the tourist sights was important to me, because this was everyone else’s first time experiencing the city, so I started scouring Airbnb listings for the perfect place in late 2024. I wanted to get the pick of the litter and find a spot worthy of such a monumental occasion—you only get one pre-wedding family getaway, after all. A few pretty apartments were in the running at first, but once I saw Luxury Blue River, a three-bedroom, three-bathroom apartment quite literally overlooking the Ponte Vecchio, I knew I had found the one.
When we finally arrived after months and months of anticipation, I was glad that I had put a ring on it and booked it when I did. My brother and his girlfriend arrived first and received the keys and a tour from the property manager, so my husband and I were able to go right up to the apartment when we got to town. After hopping out of the elevator, which was tiny but a game changer considering how many overstuffed suitcases we came with, we entered the front door, looked to our right, and were greeted by one of the most magnificent views I’ve ever seen. From massive, exceptionally clean windows, the Ponte Vecchio (Florence’s emblematic stone bridge built in 1345 across the Arno) and the Uffizi Gallery (a 16th-century Medici property turned iconic art museum) stared back at us, so close I felt like I could reach out and poke the historic landmarks if I tried hard enough.
The apartment could have been a shack and we would have been thrilled to stay there with that view, but the full-size kitchen, three plush bedrooms, large living space with comfy seating, and walk-in laundry room were all a cherry on top. The property was ideal for a group of three couples, like us, because the bedrooms were fairly equal in size. My husband and I took the main suite—we deserved it, we decided—which had the most square footage, an ultra-modern en suite bathroom, and a wardrobe large enough to fit all my bridal looks. The other two bedrooms were similar in design but slightly smaller, and while they did not have en suites, there were two other bathrooms in the apartment (three total), so each couple laid claim to their own lavatory. I will note that while two of the bedrooms had comfortable mattresses, the mattress in the middle room seemed to fold inward slightly—just something to keep in mind if you’re a particular sleeper.
Over the course of three days, my family and I saw so much of Florence, we now feel like experts. I’ll take some of the credit for that, because the Airbnb I so thoughtfully selected was in the ideal location to walk to every hotspot, just as I had planned. Palazzo Vecchio? Seven-minute walk. Boboli Gardens? Eleven minute walk. The Duomo? Thirteen minute walk. A sunset stroll across the Ponte Veccio? Literally just walk out the door. If you want to make the most of a trip to La Bella Firenze, consider this the perfect home base for proximity alone.
But what made this property truly special, especially during such a special time in my life, was the living room with the breathtaking view. When we weren’t out exploring the city or sleeping soundly, my family and I were couched in that central gathering space, windows cracked ajar for a hit of the early October breeze, marveling at the boats passing by on the Arno, throngs of tourists heading toward the Uffizi Gallery, and the historic shop windows dotting the oldest bridge in Florence. We invited friends and family who were in town for the wedding upstairs to marvel with us a few times, and I even did my hair trial in front of those glorious windows. While just an Airbnb to some, that apartment became a gathering place for loved ones and the backdrop to so many core memories made in the days leading up to our “I do’s.” I’d love to bring the whole squad back there one day—maybe for an anniversary, and definitely with a less white-outfit-filled suitcases.
