Five-star Two MICHELIN Keys Viale Machiavelli, Florence
Villa Cora
A neoclassical villa above the Boboli Gardens, built by a banker for his bride when Florence was capital of Italy, with a heated pool under old oaks that stays open all year.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.
- MICHELIN
- Two Keys, 2026
- Built
- Late 1860s, for Baron Gustave Oppenheim
- Renewed
- Reopened in 2010 after renovation
- From the airport
- About 20 to 25 minutes from Peretola, our estimate
The hotel
A wedding present on Viale Machiavelli.
In the late 1860s, while Florence was capital of Italy, the banker Baron Gustave Oppenheim had this villa built for his young wife, Eugenia Fenzi. Pietro Comparini and Giuseppe Poggi drew the neoclassical shell; Edoardo Gioja did the interiors in Carrara and Siena marble, Murano glass, ebony and Aubusson silk. The marriage failed, Oppenheim left the city, and the villa was sold. Empress Eugénie, widow of Napoleon III, later owned it.
Egidio Cora bought it in 1894 and gave it his name. His son Giuliano, a diplomat, received guests such as Enver Pasha and Akihito of Japan, who gives the Imperial Suite its name. The villa became a hotel in the late 1960s and reopened in 2010 after a renovation. It joined The Leading Hotels of the World in 2016. Today it has a spa, a roof terrace bar and a heated pool in the garden, open all year.
- The pool Heated and open all year, in an Italian garden of centuries-old oaks looking towards the Boboli Gardens.
- Bellevue Roof Terrace Drinks on the roof of the villa, above the Oltrarno.
- Into town The centre is about twenty minutes on foot, and a free shuttle runs guests to and from it.
Rooms & suites
Eight ways to stay.
Rooms run from Classic to the Imperial Suite, with duplexes and family rooms between. Interiors keep the villa's marble, frescoes and antiques.
- On two levels Duplex Rooms laid out over two floors.
- For families Family room Larger rooms for parents and children, with cots on request.
- Signature suite Imperial Suite Named after Akihito of Japan, a guest of the Cora family.
Dining
From the garden to the roof.
Venues as listed by the hotel. Shown for information.
- Le Bistrot Restaurant The hotel's dining room
- Santa Garden Cocktail Club Cocktails In the garden
- Bellevue Roof Terrace Drinks On the roof
- Il Salotto del Santa Lounge The villa's sitting room
Good to know
Before you go.
- Arrival Check-in from 2 pm, check-out by noon. Parking is free.
- Children Welcome. Cots on request, and breakfast is free for children up to nine.
- Pets Accepted, with a cleaning fee per stay.
- Spa The spa has a sauna, a Turkish bath and treatments, with a gym alongside.
Getting there
Flying to Florence.
Florence Peretola is about 8 kilometres away, 20 to 25 minutes by car through the city, our estimate. Business jets land at Peretola too; larger aircraft use Pisa or Bologna, each roughly an hour from Florence by road, our estimate.
- Nice 45 min
- Olbia 50 min
- Geneva 1 h 00
- Paris 1 h 30
- London 1 h 55
Questions
What guests ask first.
- How many MICHELIN Keys does Villa Cora have?
- Two, in the 2026 MICHELIN Key selection for Italy.
- Is the pool at Villa Cora heated?
- Yes. The outdoor pool is heated and open all year.
- How far is Villa Cora from the centre of Florence?
- About twenty minutes on foot, and the hotel runs a free shuttle to the centre.
- Can SkyCourtage arrange the flight to Florence?
- Yes. We arrange Business and First Class seats on scheduled airlines and private jet charter to Florence, with one final price, our margin included. The hotel is booked with the hotel or through our booking partner.
Also in Florence
Other hotels worth the trip.
- Four Seasons Hotel Firenze A Renaissance palazzo with frescoed ceilings in the Gherardesca Garden, with an outdoor pool and the starred Il Palagio.
- Villa La Massa A Medici-era villa on the Arno in some twenty-two acres of park, open from late March to early November, with a shuttle to the Ponte Vecchio.
- Hotel Lungarno Run by the Ferragamo family on the south bank, with Picasso and Cocteau in the lounge and the Ponte Vecchio framed from its restaurant.
- Brunelleschi Hotel A private museum of the building's history, a top-floor view of the cathedral, and the two-star Santa Elisabetta inside.
- The St. Regis Florence A palazzo first planned by Brunelleschi, with some rooms looking onto the Arno.
- Grand Hotel Minerva Redesigned by Carlo Scarpa in the 1950s, with a rooftop pool open in the warm months.
- Collegio alla Querce A sixteenth-century farm that became a Catholic boarding school, now 83 rooms about fifteen minutes by car from the Duomo.
- Portrait Firenze Thirty-seven rooms and suites on the river beside the Ponte Vecchio, rated Five-Star by Forbes Travel Guide in 2026.
- Hotel Savoy Olga Polizzi did the interiors, and the trattoria downstairs, Irene, is named after Lady Forte.
- Hotel La Gemma Thirty-nine rooms near the Duomo, with Luca's, holder of a MICHELIN star, on the first floor and a Biologique Recherche spa.
- Sina Villa Medici, Autograph Collection An early nineteenth-century palazzo where the monastery of Sant'Anna once stood, its garden and pool shared with Harry's Bar The Garden.
- Il Salviatino A fifteenth-century villa of 39 rooms looking down on the city, with its spa in the old greenhouse and a shuttle into town.
- COMO Castello Del Nero A twelfth-century castle in the Chianti hills, with a COMO Shambhala spa.
- The Place Firenze Suites on the square in front of the basilica, with one MICHELIN Key and a bar and restaurant serving through the day.
- Hotel Bernini Palace While Florence was capital of Italy, deputies and senators met in its frescoed Sala Parlamento, now the breakfast room.
- Helvetia & Bristol Eleonora Duse stayed here on her visits to Florence, and its Winter Garden restaurant was a meeting place for writers.
- Villa La Vedetta A villa on the hill of Piazzale Michelangelo, with an outdoor pool and a restaurant of its own.
- Villa Le Maschere A villa resort in the Mugello hills whose wellness centre includes a Turkish bath.
Staying at Villa Cora?
Book the room, then the flight.
Rates and availability come from the hotel itself. For the journey to Florence, a Business or First Class seat or an aircraft of your own: tell us the date and we come back with one final price, our margin included.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.