Florence

Previously home to royalty, this neoclassical villa, situated on an elegant 19th-century boulevard in one of the city's most exclusive districts, has always been a place of luxury. Antique furnishings abound and bedrooms are exquisitely decorated, each with its own distinct style. During the summer months, dinner served by the floodlit pool in the hotel's grounds rounds off a magical stay. Accommodation ranges from singles to the hotel's spectacular imperial suite. Built near the Boboli Gardens in 1750, retains the opulence of the 18th and 19th centuries. The decor of its remarkable public and private rooms runs the gamut from neoclassical to rococo and even Moorish and reflects the splendor of such former guests as the empress Eugénie, wife of Napoléon III, and Madame von Meck, Tchaikovsky's mysterious benefactress.