The Real Deal Round-trip airfare and four nights' accommodations in Florence from $569 per person—plus taxes of up to $440.

When Depart on Nov. 26, 2008.

The Rose Garden, Florence, Italy (Digital Vision/Getty) [enlarge photo]

Gateways New York City; add $60 for Chicago, Miami; $180 for L.A.; $318 for Seattle; additional cities are available.

The Fine Print Breakfast daily and hotel taxes are included. Airport taxes and fuel surcharges are up to an additional $440 per person. Airport-hotel transfers are not included. Prices are based on double occupancy; single supplement is $104. Read these guidelines before you book any Real Deal.

Book By No deadline; based on availability.

Contact TourCrafters, 800/621-2259, tourcrafters.com.

Why It's a Deal According to a recent Kayak search, the lowest round-trip airfare between New York City and Florence, departing November 26 and returning December 1, starts at $715 including tax (multiple carriers). For an additional $294, TourCrafters covers airfare as well as the four-night hotel stay, breakfast daily, and all hotel and airport taxes and fuel surcharges.
Bonus: If you book and pay in full by November 15, you'll save an extra 10 percent.

Trip Details The Thanksgiving Special includes round-trip airfare on an Alitalia carrier and four nights' accommodations in Florence at Hotel Meridiana, a few minutes' walk from the heart of the compact city. (As we've noted on our blog, Alitalia is on the verge of collapsing; luckily, TourCrafters also works with major carriers like Delta and Air France.)

There are 76 rooms, decorated in shades of brown and green, with basic amenities like air-conditioning and satellite TV. The hotel provides Internet access, laundry service, and has a bar and an information desk where guests can book guided tours or rent a car. Florence's main railway station, Santa Maria Novella, is a little over a mile away; all of the Intercity and Eurostar trains stop there. For those arriving by car, garage parking is available right behind the hotel for a small fee.

You'll be relatively close to most sightseeing attractions. For example, the Duomo, Michelangelo's David at the Galleria dell'Accademia, and the Fortezza da Basso exhibition center are all less than a mile away.

To get to the Uffizi Gallery, by the River Arno, you can take a bus or walk the 1.2 miles from the hotel. Piazzale Michelangelo and the medieval Ponte Vecchio, the oldest bridge in Florence, are both a little over a mile from the Meridiana.

The same air/four-night package is available at several other hotels. For instance, rates start at $579 for Carolus Hotel, $591 for Villa Gabriele D'Annunzio Hotel, and $609 for Hotel Roma.