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Traveling to and in FlorenceGetting in Florence by planeThe airport is Florence (code FLR). It has good connections to the center of the city, which can be reached in about fifteen minutes by taxi. The Ataf-Sita "Vola in Bus" ("Fly by bus") service costs €4 one way, and makes the circuit between the airport and the central train station about every half an hour from 5:30AM to 8:30PM, then once an hour afterwards. Much cheaper flights to destinations throughout Europe can be found at Pisa airport (only a 5,20€ train journey from the center of Florence). Low-cost airlines which fly to Pisa include Thomsonfly, Easyjet, Ryanair, Transavia and HLX. Delta airlines flies from New York's JFK directly to Pisa. |
Getting in Florence by train
Local trains from other parts of Italy and express trains from around Europe arrive in Florence. The main station is Firenze Santa Maria Novella, on the edge of the historic old town. Other small stations are Firenze Campo Marte (near Florence Stadium) and Firenze Rifredi. If you take an Intercity train to Florence, you may need to change at Rifredi for another train to Firenze S.M.N.
Getting in Florence by car
Florence is connected by good highways to the rest of Italy. Cars aren't allowed in the small old town center, so plan on parking your car and leaving it for a while.
Parking is expensive. There's a cheap open air parking between the "Fortezza da basso" and "Santa Maria Novella" railway station. On Sundays it's free!
Getting around Florence by bus
Bus stops have clear, schematic labeling of the routes and are all named according to the street name or major landmark nearby. They do not always give an indication of bus times, however, so it is sometimes difficult to figure out how long it may take till the next bus arrives. Tickets must be bought in advance from Tobacconists or newspaper sellers, and are usually valid for one hour over the whole network, so that you can just hop on and off at will. They are valid for 60 minutes, and multiple day tickets are also available. Tickets are also available on the bus, sold by the driver, at an increased price (therefore, no more excuses in case of ticket control!).
http://www.ataf.net/ is the official website. It has maps and timetables.
Getting around Florence
Most of the major tourist sights in Florence are within easy walking distance of each other. Walking is not only an easy way to get around, it also offers the chance to 'take in' much more of the city life.
Much of the town center is blocked off to cars and anyway moving around in the city center by car is definitely useless and not advised. Parking is also almost impossible in the city center. A car can be useful only to reach some destinations just outside the city center, like Fiesole or Settignano, which are however also connected by bus service. Be advised that at many tourist destinations parking can be difficult and at least expensive. Firenze and surroundings were not built for cars... Motor-bikes and bicycles are common; pay attention to them since they tend to behave in an apparently disorganized but efficient way, which can put the unsuspecting car driver into trouble.
Some of the hotels actually provide their guest with free bicycles as well. There is also a bike rental service organized by the city. Bikes can be hired at several points in the city (and returned to the same place), among which the most convenient for tourists is located at SMN station (other locations are at all railway stations, but often with restricted opening hours). Bike shops also rent bikes and some of them organize guided bike tours in the countryside.
Taxis are available, but it's best if you have your hotel or the restaurant you are eating at call ahead. Taxis can be called by phone and the nearest is sent to you through the company's radio system. There is a waiting list, so it is difficult and uncommon to flag them down on the street.
- Based on work by David, Max, Ricardo, Stefano Pelli, TuscanyGuy, SteveG15, Clint Stevenson, margie chiechi, Celeste Mitchell, Ryan Holliday, Finn �rup Nielsen, Eric Polk, Simone Bravo, Colin Jensen, Evan Prodromou, Bujdos� Attila, Masha, Bob Tubbs, Mark Jaroski, Felix Gottwald, Paul N. Richter and Kasper Souren, Wikitravel user(s) Travelbubble, Paul123, Herrtodd, Brendio, PierreAbbat, InterLangBot, Nzpcmad, Hypatia, Pjamescowie, Infrogmation, Rspga49, Mark Richards, Huttite and RedBit and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel.
- Content is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0.
© 1997-2010 Enrico Massetti
TangoItalia - Food, Wine, Travel, and... tango in Italy.
Florence:
S. Maria Novella
S. Giovanni
S. Croce
S. Spirito.
Galleria Uffizi
The Duomo
Palazzo Pitti
Florence 2 days
Florence folklore
Florence history
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Art of goldsmith
Walk S. Croce
Florence climate
Traveling to/in
Siena:
Siena in one day
The Palio
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The land of Siena
Tthe Crete
Val d'Orcia
The Via Cassia
Walking Routes:
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Valdorcia a look
Territory of Murlo
Monteriggioni
Forest Berignone
Monte Oliveto
Belverde & Cetona
Poggibonsi
Castelvecchio
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Siena province
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Val di Chiana
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Piero Francesca
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Isola d'Elba
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