Near Florence, among the four star business hotels in Prato, the Art Hotel Museo is also an excellent solution for tourist travel. Very conveniently reached from the super highway A11 Florence Mare, only 800 meters from the exit for Prato East, the hotel is fifteen minutes away by car from the center of Florence and 10 minutes away from the Amerigo Vespucci Airport of Florence Peretola.
For those who are visiting Prato for business, the hotel is conveniently near to Florence , and among the other hotels in the area, it is one of the most convenient from the super highway A11 Florence Mare, which allows for reaching both the city center, Campi Bisenzio and Pistoia quickly, as well as the Macrolotto areas where many companies are located.
By Plane
The Florence Amerigo Vespucci Airport is only 13 km away from the Art Hotel Museo. From the airport, take the CAP transfer service– Lazzi for Prato and get off at the train station. From here, proceed as described in the section By Train.
By Train
From the Prato Train Station, take the blue LAM bus line for Repubblica and get off at the Repubblica 1 stop. You’ve arrived: the Art Hotel Museo is 50 meters away.
By Car
From the super highway A1 (Rome – Milan), once you arrive in the vicinity of Florence, take the A11 Florence Mare and the Prato East exit. The Art Hotel Museo is 800 meters from the highway exit: follow the directions for the Pecci Contemporary Art Museum, and you’ll find the hotel at 50 meters from the museum.
Location
The Art Hotel Museo is a functional and comfortable four star hotel in Prato, perfect as a starting point for visiting the beautiful surrounding areas of the city: the green forests of the Val Bisenzio, the rolling hills of Montalbano with their vineyards, olive groves and Renaissance villas, the historical villages of Poggio a Caiano and Carmignano, much appreciated by Lorenzo and Ferdinando Medici, who built the splendid country homes “Villa Ambra” and “La Ferdinanda”; the "Luigi Pecci" Contemporary Art Center and the historic center of Prato.
The fascinating Pecc Center, an internationally recognized institution for avant-garde contemporary art, is located 50 meters from the Art Hotel Museo. The museum houses a permanent collection of works by important Italian and foreign contemporary artists and is an center for high level exhibitions, conventions and events that attract visitors from all over the world.
The historic heart of Prato, which can be reached in 10 minutes by bus or 5 minutes by car, provides an artistic itinerary known as the Passeggiata d'Arte (Art Stroll), a pedestrian itinerary that touches on the most beautiful and celebrated monuments in a pleasant stroll through the discovery of Prato’s masterpieces. The walk starts at the medieval Case Torri, and continues on to the Emperor’s Castle of Sveva origins; the Roman cathedral of Saint Stefano, the Duomo of the city with its characteristic white and green marble decorating the facade with the pulpit standing in the corner, a masterpiece of the great Donatello (the standing work is a reproduction, as the original piece is kept in the Duomo Museum), together with the frescoes by Paolo Uccello and Filippo Lippi. The lovely Palazzo Pretorio, in the Municipal Square, with the massive structure in red bricks and white stone from Alberese, a structure whose building spans diverse years. On the inside, the Civic Museum houses paintings and statues of rare beauty (from the Thirteenth to Eighteenth Centuries) from the Tuscan school. The Renaissance of Prato is represented by the Basilica of Santa Maria delle Carceri, a splendid votive chapel by Giuliano da Sangallo: here we also find white and green marble, and the perfectly balanced Brunelleschi-inspired interior is covered with white and gray, and the lovely windows were designed by Domenico Ghirlandaio. Neo-classic style from the 1600’s can be seen in the splendid Bacchino Fountain of the Municipal Square, in the Roncioniana Library and the Metastasio Theater, with its elegant chamber that boasts three stage levels on the interior and the original circular facade.
A stay for pleasure or for business at the Art Hotel Museo in Prato is also an occasion for trying some of the Prato’s cuisine, such as sedano alla pratese or potato tortelli. Chestnuts, mushrooms and honey are the typical products of the Prato hills and definitely should be tasted, and the same is true for the Biscotti of Prato, which inspired for the first time in Italy an authentic Biscotti Road. This delicious itinerary crosses over the hills and villages where you can find Brutti Boni, Zuccherini, Amaretti, Sassi della Calvana and Carmignanini offered for tasting by the more than 300 bakers in the area.