If you are flying into Florence, you have two airport choices:
Pisa International Airport (PSA), named after the scientist Galileo Galilei is located in Pisa to the west of Florence. It is the main airport of Tuscany serviced by numerous European cities and a transport hub for Ryanair.
Florence Airport (FLR) is called Amerigo Vespucci serviced by a number of European airlines. It is the closest airport just 4 km north-west of the city centre.
Taxis in Florence
Unlike in other places around the world In Italians cities you cannot flag taxis. You need to go to a Taxi rank or stand, they are located in most of the major piazzas.
You can call a taxi on the following numbers:
+39 055 4242
+39 055 4390
Or download the app IT TAXI
Florence taxis accept payment by card
The fares are calculated by meter with the following set basic fare:
Daytime fixed charge: € 3.20
Night-time fixed charge (from 22.00 to 6.00): € 6.40
Sundays and public holidays fixed charge from: € 5.10
Baggage supplement (max. 5 items): € 1.00 per item
Taxis to and from Florence Vespucci Airport: set fare of € 22.00 (plus baggage
supplements + extra fee for night or holiday travel)
Navigating Florence in a wheelchair
Unfortunately like many other cities with a long history, the historic centre of Florence may present difficulty for visitors with reduced mobility. Moving around the city from one place of interest to another in a wheelchair is not always easy for a number of reasons:
The city is old and the streets have developed over time, many of them are cobbled and uneven.
Sidewalks/pavement are narrow and often do not have an incline to allow wheelchairs to get onto them
Some piazzas and streets have steps which are not navigable in a wheelchair
Many of the museums and galleries in the city are in historic palaces which have not been adapted with ramps, although once inside most of the major attractions have lifts inside to allow visitors to access all areas.
To help those with limited mobility, a special app Kimap has been created for this purpose: Kimap shows the best routes through the city centre to avoid architectonic barriers for those with limited mobility or wheelchair users.
You can download the app on Apple Store >https://goo.gl/QG7MYH and Google Play https://goo.gl/NffMaF
Driving in Florence
You can easily get around Florence on foot or using the local bus system. Driving in Florence is not easy for locals and tourists alike. Florence is a historical cultural centre and therefore it was not designed for modern motoring – the roads are narrow and cobbled; parking is not plentiful and most of the historical centre is off-limits.
Many Italian cities and towns have driving limitations called ZTL zones (Zona a Traffico Limitato). Without the necessary permit (for residents and service vehicles and not included in car rental) most of the centre is difficult to get to. All vehicles without a ZTL permit are banned from driving in the city centre from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on weekdays, from 7:30am to 4pm on Saturdays and in the summer the ZTL is extended late into the evening.
If you intend to explore Tuscany by car, we suggest renting a car at the end of your stay in Florence as parking can be expensive and owing to the ZTL having a car in the city is largely redundant.
Parking outside Florence
The easiest and cheapest way to park your car is outside the city centre and use public transport to venture into the centre. These parking laces charge by the hour or by the day and are cheaper than those in the centre:
Via del Sansovino 53, is next to the tram stop Sansovino which will take you into the city centre
Villa Costanza on the A1, take tram 1 to Santa Maria Novella station
Galluzzo as you leave the A1 at Firenze-Impruneta or the Firenze-Siena road. From the main square you can catch bus 36 or 37 straight into Florence (10 min bus ride).
Via del Gelsomino 11 close to Piazzale Michelangielo
Firenze Impruneta (formerly called Firenze CERTOSA ) on the A1 Highway and the Firenze-Siena highway. Take bus 37 (20 min bus ride)
EUROPA
This parking lot is located close to Firenze Sud Exit on the A1 Highway. You can take a bus (#23, 33, 71, 81, 82, 85) and reach Florence city centre in 15-20 minutes.
Parking in Florence
If you do come to Florence with your car you will need to know where to park it. Free parking does not exist in Florence. On the edge of the ZTL zones there are car parks although in general the fees are quite high:
S. M. NOVELLA TRAIN STATION Located below the central train station of Santa Maria Novella. Its location is convenient, but it is one of the most expensive car parks in the city.
PORTA AL PRATO New parking behind the train station, ideal for anyone arriving from the Fi-Pi-Li.
FORTEZZA FIERA This is a large underground parking lot and is ideal if you are visiting Florence for a trade fair at the Fortezza da Basso or at the Congress centre located nearby. Florence central station is 10 minutes walking distance.
STAZIONE BINARIO 16 A small outdoor parking between the Fortezza and the train tracks behind Santa Maria Novella.
SAN LORENZO Beneath the Mercato Centrale in San Lorenzo. It is very central but not easy to get to and expensive.
PARTERRE This large parking lot is located in Piazza della Libertà outside Florence’s ZTL area along the main avenues. It has free shuttle services during holidays. The historical city centre is 20 minutes walking distance and 10 minutes by bus.
SANT’AMBROGIO Located by the market of Sant’Ambrogio underneath Piazza Ghiberti/Largo Annigoni. Located within 5 minutes on foot from Piazza Santa Croce and about 10 minutes on foot from the Duomo and Piazza della Signoria.
PIAZZA BECCARIA This small parking lot is located underneath the old Beccaria door. Located within walking distance from major Florence attractions and outside the ZTL area.
OLTRARNO This a small parking lot next to Porta Romana within the ancient walls of Florence. Pitti Palace and Ponte Vecchio are within 10 minutes walking distance, while the Duomo is about 20 minutes.
Florence (Firenze in Italian) is the capital of the region of Tuscany and is the birthplace of the Renaissance. Although we may think of Michelangelo and Raphael, the Renaissance proper predates these artists and Florence is THE place to discover the rich artistic and architectural history of a city that became the centre of a movement that become a period in time. The beauty of the city is that it is compact and much of it is pedestrian or has strict traffic rules. Majoe attractions are close to each other within ten or fifteen minutes walk. As you get further away from the historic centre neighbourhoods take on a distinctly different vibe and pace of lfe. The sheer amount of things to see and do in Florence is staggering, you could concentrate on just seeing palaces and not see them all.
Florence’s museums, palaces, and churches house some of the greatest artistic treasures in the world. The most popular and important sites in Florence include the Cathedral of Santa Maria in Fiore (the duomo) with its impressive dome and Baptistery. The city’s art galleries; the Uffizi, the Bargello, the Accademia and Pitti Palace boast the largest and finest collection of renaissance art in the world with works by the most famous of Italian artists including Leonardo, Botticelli, Lippi, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian and many more. The churches of Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce are just two of the most visited churches graced with astonishing art and architecture.
Aside from this the city has many fine piazzas and beautiful bridges; the most famous is the Ponte Vecchio which is raised on stilts and is a centre for silver and goldsmiths as it was in the past. If you tire of this there are wonderful outside spaces to escape the heat and the crowds on both sides of the river like the Boboli Gardens, not to mention some breath-taking panoramic scenes.
The whole region is famous for its wine, from Florence you can explore the various regions and small towns which produce renowned wines like the white Vernaccia from San Gimignano to the deep Red of Brunello di Montalcino. There are wine tours galore to satisfy every taste and level of interest.
History
The city was originally established by Julius Caesar in 59 BC as a settlement for his veteran soldiers, called Fluentia, because it was between two rivers it later changed to Florentia (flowering). Today, people from Florence are called Florentines and their professional football team is AC Fiorentina. Piazza della Repubblica today represents the epicentre of the Roman town where the two main streets intersected. It was the main route between Rome and the north, the settlement quickly became an important commercial centre thanks to the fertile valley of the river Arno
During medieval times Florence was a trading and banking centre and became the cultural centre of Italy and the renaissance thanks to the Medici family, one of Europe’s most important and influential noble families. Many of the museums today stem from the medici famiy’s personal art collections and the beautiful palaces were residences designed, furnished and decorated by the leading artists of the time. They governed the city and were the political and cultural leaders in the 15th century. Thanks to their education and connections they would spearhead the discovery of ancient texts, commission art and architecture that promoted the artistic rebirth of Florence and Tuscany. As bankers to the popes they exerted influence in many spheres, and in the 16th century a number of Popes came from the Medici family, they ruled Florence until the 1730s.
The extinction of the Medici dynasty in 1737 led to Tuscany’s temporary inclusion in the territories of the Austrian crown. It was ruled by the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty and from 1801 by the French Napoleonic client state Kingdom of Etruria and then annexed by France in 1808. The Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty was restored on the throne of Tuscany in 1814. Finally in 1861 Tuscany became a region of the Kingdom of Italy and for 6 years was the Capital of Italy.
Today Florence is a popular tourist attraction thanks to its artistic heritage and beautiful renaissance architecture, not to mention the wonderful food and wine of the Tuscany region.