Venue, Travel, and Accommodation
Venue
A European base for international education and research, the Monash Prato centre is located in the beautiful historic centre of the city of Prato.
Prato is the perfect place to experience Italian culture and enjoy life as a local. Located in central Tuscany with ample opportunities for travel
Accommodation
See the Monash Prato centre site for a listing of hotels, apartments, and other accommodations types.
New options for accommodation are becoming available each year, so be sure to review the various options before making your booking. Also, for the first-time attendees, note that Prato is a small town so it can be worthwhile to secure your accommodation early.
There is also a growing number of accommodation options in Prato on airbnb and Booking.com.
Getting to Prato
Florence airport is the closest airport to Prato. It is small and only 15 km away from Prato, so it's easy to catch a cab on arrival.
However, as Rome has more flights and connections, you may prefer to fly into Rome and transfer to a high-speed Florence bound train. These long-distance Italian trains are reliable and comfortable, and allow you to relax and see the countryside. The trip to Florence takes 2-3 hours.
On arrival at the Florence station, change platforms to catch one of the regular Florence-Prato trains, then disembark at Prato Porta Serraglio station, a 20-30 minutes ride and an easy 5-minute walk from your accommodation. Due to the small one-way streets in Prato central, taxi access can be tricky.
See full details of travel options at https://www.monash.edu/prato/about-us/how-to-get-here.