Room with a View Filming Locations in Florence
Did you love A Room with a View and want to walk in Lucy and Charlotte’s footsteps through Florence? In this post I'll take you through every Florence filming location I visited, with my own photos and practical tips for seeing them yourself. And at the end, I've added a section on planning your actual Florence trip, because the locations are all walkable and it would be a shame to visit them without knowing a few things first.
The movie of E.M. Forster's 1908 novel, “A Room with a View” came out in 1985. It was prime time for us Gen X romantic dreamers! James Ivory’s film stars Helena Bonham Carter, the beautiful, relatable proxy for us. She tried to follow expected traditions but then realized her possibilities beyond society's expectations.
Oh, and the excitement of actual male frontal nudity! Such a funny and shocking scene.
Some quotes resonate with me still, “At the side of the everlasting ‘Why' is a Yes and a Yes and a Yes”! and “One doesn't come to Italy for niceness…one comes for life!” My friends and I saw this probably a dozen times in the theater when it came out. It embodies hope, passion, self-realization, and possibility!
On a recent trip to Florence, I made a point of visiting as many of the Room with a View film sites, as I could. Please check them out below!
Hotel Degli Orafi
The “Pensione Bertolini” where Lucy and Charlotte stayed is fictional, but the building is real. It was originally called Quisisana e Ponte Vecchio, and it is now the Hotel Degli Orafi refurbished in the 1990s and sitting right on the Arno near the Ponte Vecchio.
Starting one-night rates for this hotel in June 2026 ranged from $282 (through a Booking.com deal) – $357 (hotel's own website). You can also book their “Room with a View,” a room with a terrace overlooking the Arno and the Ponte Vecchio! I believe you need to contact them for rates for that room.
The location alone would justify the price. The film connection is priceless, as an old American Express ad would say.
Even if you're not staying here, the rooftop bar DISOPRA is worth a visit. We went mid-weekday afternoon and had it entirely to ourselves. The views across the rooftops to the river are exactly what you came to Florence for. I ordered an iced coffee and received approximately three-quarters of an inch of coffee and one ice cube. 😄 But the views were well worth it!
Also, check out the amazing breakfast room in the photo below!
In case you're craving a hotel a bit away from the tourist center, check out where I stayed while I was in Florence, Hotel David. It was reasonably priced, with a fab apperativo every evening which we had for dinner many nights on our stay, saving some $!
Piazza Della Signoria
This is Florence's main city square, and it's where Lucy witnesses the stabbing that sends the movie into its second act. The Neptune Fountain is right there. The Palazzo Vecchio, which still functions as Florence's city hall, frames one side. The Uffizi Gallery (features “The Birth of Venus” painting) anchors another. It is, in other words, not a square you stumble past. It's the center of everything, and you'll probably end up here twice whether you mean to or not.
Standing in it, you understand exactly why Ivory filmed here. It's a square that feels like something is always about to happen. In the movie, something does.
Practical note: The Uffizi Gallery, which adjoins the square, requires advance booking. Do not show up and assume you'll get in. Book the Uffizi before you leave home.
Loggia dei Lanzi
After the stabbing, Lucy sits on the steps of the Loggia dei Lanzi, shaken and clutching her photographs. It's one of the most memorable scenes in the film, and the Loggia itself is one of the most underrated spots in Florence.
It sits right on the Piazza della Signoria, adjoining the Uffizi, and it's an open-air sculpture gallery that you can walk into for free. Perseus holding the head of Medusa is in there. So are a number of other sculptures that would be the centerpiece of any other city's museum. Florence just has them outside, in a hallway, free to look at. The city's relationship with its own art is beautiful in its casualness.
Sit on the steps where Lucy sat. Nobody will stop you. It's a genuinely lovely place to pause and collect yourself, especially if the square is busy and you need a moment.
River Arno
Lucy – “I thought we were going to see the Arno.”
Charlotte – “The signora distinctly wrote “south rooms with a view and close together.” Instead of which she has given us north rooms without a view and a long way apart! Tsk. We must hurry and get dressed, dear, or we'll miss our dinner on top of everything else.”
Luckily, thanks to the Emersons, they do get a room with a view, and there are many shots of the Arno throughout the Florence portion of the movie.
The Ponte Vecchio is the most famous bridge and worth seeing, though it is also extremely crowded and lined with jewelry shops. (I asked many locals about the jewelry shops here and they all said they are legit, and not tourist traps. Not sure if they are all in on a scam to pull the wool over us tourist's eyes, but I did end up buying a pretty ring there and I love it for the memory!) The Ponte Santa Trinita, a few bridges west, is quieter and offers a better view of the Ponte Vecchio itself. That's the one I'd walk for the photograph.
Piazza di Santa Croce
Lucy wanders here and bumps into Mr. Emerson, who offers to give her a tour. Given what eventually happens between them all, it's a significant meeting place.
The Basilica di Santa Croce itself is the real draw. This Franciscan church dates to 1295 and contains the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli. It is considered one of the most important churches in Italy, it's simultaneously as a great church, a national mausoleum, an art museum, and an architectural landmark… all in one building. A bargain!
Important caveat: check opening times before you go. It was closed the day we visited. I will not pretend this wasn't crushing. Check the website, confirm the hours, and if you want to go inside, note that there's an entry fee. Worth it. Just don't do what I did!
Piazza della Santissima Annunziata
Miss Lavish and Charlotte admire the Equestrian Monument of Ferdinando I here, and it's worth noting that this is one of the less-touristed squares in Florence, which makes it a pleasant surprise. You're not fighting crowds to look at it.
On the square is the Ospedale degli Innocenti, an orphanage that operated from the 1400s through the 1800s and is now the headquarters for UNICEF's research and advocacy work for children. The building is considered one of the first examples of pure early Renaissance architecture, designed by our old pal, Brunelleschi.
This square is a five-minute walk from the Duomo and most visitors walk right past it. Don't. It's quieter, more human-scale, and gives you a sense of Florence that the main tourist circuit doesn't always offer.
How to Do This as a Walking Tour
Here's the good news: all of these locations are within easy walking distance of each other in central Florence. You could hit every single one in a half-day, and you'd pass most of them on any standard Florence itinerary anyway.
A sensible order, even without a Baedeker:
- Start at the Hotel Degli Orafi near the Ponte Vecchio
- Walk along the Arno to orient yourself
- Head to the Piazza della Signoria and the Loggia dei Lanzi
- Then cut over to Santa Croce,
- Finish at the Santissima Annunziata on your way back toward the Duomo.
The whole circuit is roughly two miles on flat ground. Florence is very walkable. Wear shoes you can actually walk in. I say this as someone who once wore the wrong shoes in Florence and spent the second half of the day regretting it in ways that are not worth detailing here. 😩
Use the map at the below to plan your route. Google Maps will try to send you through various small streets, which is actually fine. Getting a little lost in Florence is not a problem. It's basically the point.
Final Thoughts from a Room with a View Fan
It was so much fun to visit these sites from one of my favorite movies of all time! I hope to visit the England filming locations at some point in the future. Please let me know in the comments if you have visited any other Room with a View filming locations!
Check out this post for all of my tips for a first visit to Florence!
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