explored on foot. Taxis wait outside Stazione di anta Maria Novella. Located in Florence's city center in a 19th century neo classical palazzo, the Carolus Hotel is set about one kilometer from the Duomo, the Uffizi Gallery and the Ponte Vecchio. The refurbished hotel has subdued décor, with light pine furniture and airy public spaces. Its 53 guestrooms overlook the city and feature parquet floors, air conditioning and modem Internet connections. Guests of the Carolus Hotel can hire baby equipment, or make use of laundry and dry cleaning facilities and room service. The hotel's staff is multilingual and is on hand to offer guests advice on booking tours, restaurants and trips into the Tuscan countyside. Florence Airport is about ten kilometers away and can be reached in about fifteen minutes by taxi, and about twenty minutes by the ita/Ataf service Fly by Bus service between the airport and Santa Maria Novella railway station. Traffic is restricted in the city centre and parking is expensive, so the center of Florence is best