My Ripley-inspired stay in Florence’s most glamorous apartments

It is one of eight newly opened apartments spread across a four-storey, late 19th-century abitazione (home) in Le Cure, a tourist-free residential neighbourhood 15 minutes’ stroll from the centre of the city. The others, two to three-bedroom spaces, are named 2am, 2pm, 3am, Mezzogiorno, Mezzanotte — you get the idea — and belong to the luxury travel company This Time Tomorrow, run by partners with a background in finance.

These are more than just swish holiday rentals. Instead, think a city stay with an on-site “curator” (in our case, the charming Eric Veroliemeulen), whose job it is to magic up unusual experiences according to individual tastes.

Inside This Time Tomorrow

First though, the accommodation. For myself and my 28-year-old son there’s a spacious salon and two bedrooms. Venetian-style terrazzo flooring mixes with lofty ceilings embellished with dainty frescoes. Mushroom-toned walls are enlivened by a grand 18th-century tapestry, moody old master paintings and contemporary works on paper, while lustrous fabrics adorn mid-century modern furnishings. Add to these a small modern kitchen, white orchids, and a thoughtful picnic basket stuffed with wines, salami, biscotti, pasta, ragu and cheeses — all you need, in fact, for a late-night nibble — and so far, so very spoiling.

You may, like me, find the company’s brand name somewhat pretentious, but actually the conceit makes sense. Both in Florence, and in This Time Tomorrow’s forthcoming collection of Marrakesh apartments, the focus is on taking the hassle out of all those “what shall we do that’s different and exclusive, and how shall we do it” queries that inevitably arise from people planning a city break.

To that end, before my arrival I received a let’s-get-to-know-you list of offerings. One page asked me: “How are you getting out and about?” There followed spaces to tick, suggesting: “By foot, I want to stop and explore at every opportunity; by Vespa, some designs have never been beaten; by Ferrari. Andiamo!” No prizes for guessing my preferences.

A terrace at This Time Tomorrow

However, rather than in a Ferrari or on a Vespa, generally we travel on foot, and in the odd taxi, and spend three action-packed days mixing culture with winery tours and garden visits (all booked for us), alongside so much scoffing and drinking that even my foodie son is left raiding the washbag for Rennies.

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And yes, there are fun surprises. We arrive on a gloriously sunny day, Veroliemeulen whisking us up to the rooftop terrace where lunch is brought in from Ristorante Cuculia, and dreamy views towards distant Fiesole pinprick the horizon. Halfway through a delicious squid ink cannelloni stuffed with baby octopus ragu, the air erupts to the sound of the Brindisi chorus from La traviata, as in walks the opera singer Maurizio Marchini. This is one of the available experiences, Serata Lirica: a Private Opera Encounter (from £1,035 for a group).

I confess, I normally dislike serenades while I eat, but the singing here has a certain poignancy: Marchini kept Italy’s spirits buoyant during Covid when he famously sang Nessun Dorma from his balcony. “I wasn’t working, nobody was working, I felt it was the one way I could help,” he tells me.

This Time Tomorrow has eight apartments

Later, I view the other apartments. Varying in size, they share the look of 1am: plush dusty-toned velvets, art deco chandeliers, damask curtains and ultra-modern marble bathrooms mixing with statement contemporary furniture. The interior designers, RecDi8, have got the timeless-luxury look spot on, but there are areas where style takes precedence over substance — no make-up mirrors in the bathroom, for example — and when we do opt for a midnight snack, the kitchen shelves are set so high that even my tall son struggles to reach the plates.

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However, quite the loveliest is the smallest residence: the duplex attico, named 3am. Chatting to Pierre Ferland, the Canadian founder of This Time Tomorrow (who lives between Barcelona and Hong Kong), I’m surprised to learn that this was tacked on to the existing abitazione. “When it was sold to us, we had to do some major structural changes, including adding on that extra level,” he says. “Obviously the biggest challenge for our architect [Francesco Donnaloia from SpaceStudio] was bringing in air conditioning, new plumbing and new electricity without damaging the frescoed ceilings. And there were nice surprises — particularly the terrazzo flooring we found under old glued-down carpets.”

There are plans to open residences in what Ferland describes as “secondary European cities” — Porto, Marseilles and Bordeaux, for example, where beautiful old buildings are less pricey and immersive experiences can be more imaginatively off piste compared with what you would find in capital cities.

One of the dining rooms

All the experiences can be tailored and might be somewhat impromptu: having a chat with an artisan over coffee after visiting her studio, or inviting an artist to visit your residence to show their works; sometimes musician friends of the owners come to play free of charge. Other options range from a simple cooking class (£85pp) to having a museum to yourself after hours for a thousand times that cost.

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One of our highlights is an exclusive tour of the private residence in the 15th-century Palazzo Antinori. The Renaissance palace, completed in 1469, was bought by Niccolo di Tommaso Antinori in 1506, and his descendants, now a celebrated wine-making dynasty,still use these enormous chandelier-lit salons. Stuffed with family photos, handwoven rugs and gilded sofas, they also have vast windows that give tantalising glimpses of Giotto’s exquisite bell tower.

Later, there’s a further treat: a private lunch in a top-floor dining room. The palazzo also has a public café, Cantinetta Antinori, downstairs where exquisitely cooked dishes include prawns with shaved fennel, beignets of ricotta with parmesan and spinach, and delectable guinea fowl, all accompanied by velvety Antinori wines (mains from £25; cantinetta-antinori.com).

Stays with This Time Tomorrow are all about spoiling treats, yet there’s no pressure to do anything. You could, of course, simply snuggle down in your apartment and relax, and on our last night we do exactly that, sitting with chilled beers on our balcony, enjoying the last warmth of an April evening. The dusky air is effervescent with darting swifts and from the distance comes the sound of gossiping neighbours. It’s a moment of pure simplicity, when, just for a while, we almost feel part of the neighbourhood.

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Louise Roddon was a guest of This Time Tomorrow, which has two nights’ self-catering for four from £1,218 (thistimetomorrow.io). Fly or take the train to Florence

More off-radar things to do in Florence

Private art tour

Gain insider knowledge of the city’s rich artistic heritage with a private tour led by Jeremy Boudreau, the head of history of art at the British Institute of Florence (three-hour tour for two from £385; britishinstitute.it). His lively historical walks go beyond the usual must-do’s of the Duomo, Uffizi and Palazzo Vecchio. Instead, choose from a range that includes following in the footsteps of Edwardian Anglo-Florentines including DH Lawrence, Arnold Bennett and Harold Acton. Stops take in the English Cemetery where Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Arthur Hugh Clough are buried, and the Old England Store, suppliers of expat essentials including marmalades, waterproof raincoats and English biscuits.

Springtime gardens

Giardino Bardini

ALAMY

The Boboli Gardens are gorgeous, but the lesser-known Giardino Bardini in the quieter district of San Niccolo is unmissable in springtime (entry to both gardens £9pp; villabardini.it). The long wisteria pergola here is dazzling, with peachy views through the blossoms towards the Duomo and Ponte Vecchio. Afterwards, you could book a private tour of the Bardini gallery with the archive expert Dr Lynn Catterson. Her knowledge of Stefano Bardini, the biggest dealer of Renaissance art, is entertaining and full of intrigue (two-hour tour for two from £407).

Shop for perfume

Ponte Vecchio

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All the residences at This Time Tomorrow are fragranced with Salis, a gorgeous room perfume from Erbario Toscano. You can snaffle up a bottle from its shop by the Ponte Vecchio (from £24), or immerse yourself in an olfactory tour of the company’s exquisite range. The Iris Muschiato eau de parfum was inspired by the dreamy Giardino dell’Iris, above the Piazzale Michelangelo (£107; erbariotoscano.it).

Winemakers and vineyards

Medici Villa di Lilliano

Female winegrowers are on the increase in Tuscany — witness the new urban Vigna Michelangelo managed by the all-female team behind the Tuscan producer Donne Fittipaldi, whose first wines will appear in 2027. Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Chianti is Diletta Malenchini’s villa and small vineyard, the Medici Villa di Lilliano. Exclusive tours of this dreamy historical family home, including the 400-year-old wine cellars, miniature chapel, gardens and tastings, cost £214 for two (medicivilla.com).

The sprawling Antinori winery in Bargino, 20 miles south of Florence, was entered into the World’s Best Vineyards Hall of Fame in 2022, so slots to visit this architecturally innovative space are booked months in advance (90-minute tour and tasting £50pp; antinori.it). This Time Tomorrow can arrange a private tour of the vast winery, historic collections and contemporary art installations here, including tastings of the exquisite Bramito della Sala chardonnay, tignanello and solaia in a glass room suspended over the barrel cellars. An alfresco lunch follows in the romantic wisteria-clad Ristorante Rinuccio, with gorgeous views over the soft hills (private tour for two £214, including lunch).

Le Cure neighbourhood

Don’t overlook Le Cure, named after the curandaie washerwomen who cleaned laundry in the River Mugnone here. The neighbourhood is tourist free, highly local and full of individuality: think Farringdon meets Firenze, with grand abitazione mixing with family butchers and bakers. Stop for ice cream at Badiani Gelateria (established in 1932), visit tucked-away churches such as the wonderfully named Madonna della Tosse (the Madonna of the Coughs), then mooch around the daily food market at the Piazza delle Cure. Here, stalls selling fresh fruit, olive oils, cheeses and vegetables mix with fishmongers and a tripe stand offering stuffed buns crammed with sliced cows’ stomach. There’s also an idyllic community park, the Giardino dell’Orticoltura, with a glasshouse worthy of Kew Gardens. Fed up with fine dining? Next door to This Time Tomorrow is Alfredo’s, an unpretentious family-run trattoria that has been in business since the 1920s. Come for home-style pastas such as pappardelle al cinghiale di maremma, with wild boar (£12) and bistecca alla fiorentina (from £4 per 100g; alfredoristorantefirenze.com).

Where else to stay

The Place Firenze hotel

The Hoxton will be opening a Florentine branch of its distinctive hotels late in 2024. Split across a late Renaissance palazzo and 1980s modernist building on Via San Gallo, rooms will include bathtubs on terraces with views of the Duomo (room-only doubles from £128; thehoxton.com).

Meanwhile, new to the centre is the Place, a 20-bedroom luxurious townhouse in Piazza Santa Maria Novella. Airy interiors mix with frescoed ceilings and mid-century furniture, while some rooms have stunning views over the Duomo. There’s a terrace for food and drinks overlooking Santa Maria Novella, and its restaurant, the Kitchen & the Bar, serves modern twists on Tuscan favourites (mains from £29, B&B doubles from £612; theplacefirenze.com).

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