Florence Hostels Near the Duomo

Despite the fact that the old center of Florence is eminently walkable, there’s something to be said for finding a place to stay that’s just around the corner from the city’s most famous landmark - its gorgeous Duomo, or cathedral. One of the highlights of my first trip to Italy was that I could see the Duomo’s bell tower from my hotel room window - and the bells served as my alarm clock.
Now, you may not appreciate church bells waking you up in the morning (especially if you’ve enjoyed Florence’s nightlife the night before), but these hostels near the Florence Duomo have plenty of other redeeming qualities that make them well worth checking out for your stay in this Renaissance city. (And if the bells bug you, that’s nothing a good pair of earplugs can’t fix, right?)
Below, you’ll find a map of hostels in central Florence, with the Duomo in the middle, so you can see exactly where each one is in relation to the cathedral. Underneath the map is a brief description of each hostel.

Hostels in Florence Near the Duomo

Leonardo House
Leonardo House isn’t a big party hostel, but it’s a pretty inexpensive place to stay (especially given its location a minute from the Duomo), and if you’re traveling with a few friends you could share a room and end up paying hostel prices per person.
It’s on Via del Trebbio, close to the center of the action but on a quiet street just about equidistant from the Duomo and the train station.

Ostello Bello Firenze
Ostello Bello’s Florence hostel is on Via Faenza, between the San Lorenzo market and the train station, about ten minutes’ walk from the Duomo. It has dorms and private rooms, and with an average above 9 out of 10 from nearly 3,000 Hostelworld reviews, it’s one of the best-reviewed hostels in the city.

Emerald Palace
Emerald Palace is on Via dell’Ariento, the street lined with the stalls of the San Lorenzo leather market, so you’re a few minutes from the Mercato Centrale food hall and not much further from the Duomo. When I visited it was run by the same people as Emerald Fields, and you can read my review of Emerald Fields and Emerald Palace.

Archi Rossi Hostel
The last two hostels on this list are a bit further from the Duomo. But as I mentioned in the introduction, the old city center is pedestrian-friendly and it’s still an easy walk from the Duomo to both of them.
One of Florence’s most popular hostels is Archi Rossi Hostel, or Ostello Archi Rossi, on Via Faenza, about five minutes’ walk from the station. They’ve been in business for years, and when I visited, many happy guests had left messages all over the walls - the interior walls were almost entirely covered either with fantastic murals (many inspired by Florence’s artistic treasures) or fun graffiti.
Archi Rossi Hostel offers free WiFi and free coffee all day, and there’s a garden that serves as a common space. As well as dorms, there are private rooms for one to five people, and reception is staffed around the clock.
You can read my review of Archi Rossi Hostel to learn more about it.

PLUS Florence
PLUS Florence, on Via Santa Caterina d’Alessandria, is a big hostel-hotel hybrid about fifteen minutes’ walk north of the Duomo. What it has that nobody else here does is two swimming pools (one indoor, one outdoor), a sauna and a rooftop terrace. It has dorms and private rooms, and more than 20,000 reviews on Hostelworld.

photo by cloudsoup