I know this is a mixed bag,but I would like to know this info. The title could be a new movie!
1. I just bought a Garmin GPS with the intent of using it in Italy. The chip for Euro maps costs almost as much as the GPS! Not quite, but at about $200, I was shocked. Has anybody had any experience using one in Italy or other parts of Europe? One was included with my car rental in Paris two years ago and the results were so-so. Driving in Italy isn't so bad, but the navigation is a challenge.
2. Next subject. We will be in Florence in September. I'm considering renting a car just for a day to visit Chianti. The option is a tour company. One tour company I'm looking at charges about 125 euro per person in a party of six. If I go the car rental route, what is the traffic / navigation like in Florence? Would I be better off going to airport for the rental or even taking a train to one of the smaller towns on the outskirts to avoid the traffic / congestion?
3. My wife is dying to go to the Florence designer outlets. Not my cup of tea, but is it wothwhile? Best way /method of getting there?
1. I have not used my GPS in Italy yet, but this is why I bought it: to use it mostly there. Last September I could have saved a lot of detours and gasoline with a good GPS on board. By the way, my GPS (nuvi 670) had Europe maps preloaded. I checked some addresses, in Rome and Pienza, just to learn how it works, and the maps I received were very accurate.
2. Driving in Florence entails a good knowledge of the city and of all its traffic and parking by-laws, as a very interesting discussion proved it recently. Read through this topic for further edification.
3. The one designer outlet I know about is the Prada in Montevarchi, not in Florence. Do a search using the words "outlet Montevarchi" and you will find plenty of discussions on how to get there. You can also search our main site www.slowtrav.com with the same criteria. I tried there "Prada outlet Montevarchi" and there is also much information there. I wrote some of my impressions on finding and buying at the Prada outlet in my trip report, here.
Originally posted by CaWino: I know this is a mixed bag,but I would like to know this info. The title could be a new movie!
1. I just bought a Garmin GPS with the intent of using it in Italy. The chip for Euro maps costs almost as much as the GPS! Not quite, but at about $200, I was shocked. Has anybody had any experience using one in Italy or other parts of Europe? One was included with my car rental in Paris two years ago and the results were so-so. Driving in Italy isn't so bad, but the navigation is a challenge.
If you're GPS supports it I'd buy the DVD and not the card. Won't save you any money but the thought of a card going bad just bothers me.
It works but I got to say some times the routing is interesting. Maybe it's how I set the options maybe it's the software. The other issue is names. You'll be given something like Via Garbaldi when the GPS wants SS49 [making the names up]. If you've got a net connection you can use something like google maps to cross reference.
I think I would pick up a rental car at the airport. In the past I have picked up a car on Borgo Ognisanti but as I look at the ZTL limits, I think that Borgo Ognisanti is in Section D. I'm uncertain about the hours that the different sections of the ZTL are in force but I think it is from 7:30 AM to 7:30 PM. Perhaps someone from Firenze can help us out on the rules.
In any event, picking up your car at the airport will avoid this issue. Stazione Santa Maria Novella is not in any of the ZTL sections but I think the rental agencies are inside the ZTL.
If you haven't heard about the ZTL's in Italian cities, you should look at the posts about the fines people are receiving and be very careful about driving into Firenze, Rome, and Arezzo and maybe others. See FAQ: European Municipality Outsourcing-Parking Ticket in the Italy section.
Here's a map of the Florence ZTL boundaries.
Bill
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kim,
Driving in Florence is even more difficult as there are work in progress in several areas for future light tramways lines in suburban areas; sections of several streets are closed as works progress.
For example, today a short section of via della Scala got closed at the crossing with the viali. This meant rerouting something like twenty urban bus lines, moving the terminal stop of four of them in a cramped area on Il Prato, opening a new bypass in the work area around Porta a Prato and closing another one. It was the chaos, in spite of police agents being dispatched to help lost drivers to get oriented. My father - attending the same funeral service I quoted in another thread - did need about twenty-five minutes to go from Borgognissanti (car rental area) to Porta al Prato - this usually needs a couple of minutes driving. This local area problem is expected to last only a couple of months, other works are going to come in turn, this means that any GPS map is not expected to be absolutely exact for much more than a couple of months.
The map indicates that you're allowed to drive on the streets marked in yellow through the ZTLs, including part of Borgo Ognissanti. Still, you could worry about straying from the street, add construction to the mix, and you might just as soon avoid being in the area with a car.
Going back to the Garmin question, if you can still return your unit (don't know if you can), check into one of the 70 series which come with both maps included. Can be a significant savings. Note that Garmin's model numbering is odd, so that the 270 is not just the 260 with Europe, it lacks important features of the 260 (Text to Speech). I have the 370 and it seems to work well. All the garmin nuvi work off the same maps, so no matter how much you pay, you have the same issues with street names and such no matter how much you pay. Google maps is pretty good at taking any street address and translating into coordinates. Enjoy Neal
I'm not sure but what about Chuisi for a rental car. Is that workable. I know they have a rental car place at the train station and that would put you in the middle of Tuscany. You would just take a train from Florence and pick up and return the car there.
sandy
Posts: 26 | Location: Texas | Registered: 30 April 2004
I have used Metroguide in Italy which is Garmin's maps about two versions old and it had just about every street and road that I needed. A bike path form Somma Lombardo to Pavia was even on the map!
Posts: 564 | Location: Pittsburgh, PA U.S.A. | Registered: 16 December 2005
I have a Garmin Nuvi 300+ that I use in Italy and I'm not totally wild about it. I still prefer having a live human navigator with me. Sometimes the GPS works brilliantly and it seems uncanny. Other times, it just isn't quite precise enough. Directions like "turn right on via Roma" are misleading if what you need to do is bear right.
Worst to me is that if you miss a turn, the directions for getting you back can take you miles out of your way. (The GPS doesn't seem to know that in Italy, the U-turn is king.)
One problem I had with was that the pronunciations of Italian names were so far from being correct, I didn't recognize them. The next time I use it, I'll check to see if I can switch it over to an Italian speaker.
My Garmin is the nuvi 660 model. This was the #1 rated model in a recent Consumer Reports article. I got a very good deal on it on sale at amazon.com for $400. Returning it for a different model does not seem praticable.
Regarding the car rental: The airport option seems reasonable. I have never been to the Florence airport, but suspect it's much less congested and easier to navigate than centro. Taking the train to Chuisi is worthy of consideration except for the fact that it is much further South than the Chianti region that I would like to visit. I believe Chianti is east of Florence. Any suggested towns for car pick-up there, or do you think Chuisi is close enough?
Thanks for everyone's suggestions. Planning the trip is half the fun!
Originally posted by italiasoon: I have a Garmin Nuvi 300+ that I use in Italy and I'm not totally wild about it. I still prefer having a live human navigator with me. Sometimes the GPS works brilliantly and it seems uncanny. Other times, it just isn't quite precise enough. Directions like "turn right on via Roma" are misleading if what you need to do is bear right.
Worst to me is that if you miss a turn, the directions for getting you back can take you miles out of your way. (The GPS doesn't seem to know that in Italy, the U-turn is king.)
Check your settings. It's likely set to avoid U-turns.
I also hate the directions that basically say follow the road when I have no other choice.
As access/exit to/from Borgo Ognissanti area are a recurring question, I have tried to draw a chart with the easiest itineraries.
Please note that Borgo Ognissanti is ideally divided in two sections: the western one has free access, the eastern one is controlled by ZTL cameras - that are an issue, of course, if you are arriving and not if you are running away.
The green line is the easiest exit itinerary, and has no limitation. The yellow line is the easiest approach for returning the car. As long as you stick to the yellow line access is also unlimited.
The short red loop gives access for returning the car to the eastern section. Please note that as soon as you pass on the lungarno (the road along the river) past the Vespucci bridge, there is a camera that registers your plate number. You should access this section only when returning the car, only if you are sure that the agency is in the eastern section of Borgo Ognissanti, and be sure that the agency tooks the trouble to have the registration cancelled or a fine will be issued.
Please note that traffic patterns change frequently due to road works and GPS map can hardly be updated. Be sure to understand the itinerary. A major reworking of patterns in the whole zone is expected in few months, but likely it will not affect Borgo Ognissanti.
There are other access/exit itineraries but these are the easiest ones. Only, be sure to check as you drive as signs change and I cannot accept responsability
I think the Europcar office at 53/55R is in the red segment; the company should automatically notify the authorities of any car returned there, but you should check that they do. The Avis office is in the green segment; you'd be advised to follow the legal route there.
... 3. My wife is dying to go to the Florence designer outlets. Not my cup of tea, but is it wothwhile? Best way /method of getting there?
Grazie mille for any suggestions.
To get to the Montevarchi outlet 'village' just take the A1 south from Florence and turn off at Montevarchi and follow the signs (depending on roadworks 45mins to one hour). We have been there twice - last time three years ago. However, not having pencil waists we could not find anything to fit us - and my wife and myself are slim to average by UK standards. So you take your chances. Fine for our teenagers however.
If you travel further south on the A1, you will come to the Val di Chiana outlet village. Bigger and purpose built; also only 25 mins from Cortona - so you can have a nice day out. It is about one hour to one hour 20mins south of Florence (again time of day, roadworks etc.). Take the Bettole-Sinalunga turnoff.
Posts: 59 | Location: Tuscany | Registered: 08 April 2008
Originally posted by Andrew: I think the Europcar office at 53/55R is in the red segment; the company should automatically notify the authorities of any car returned there, but you should check that they do. The Avis office is in the green segment; you'd be advised to follow the legal route there.
FYI, the Europcar office is just to the west of Piazza Ognissanti, where the Westin Excelsior is.
It's odd because most of the other rental car offices are a block further west and there's a big parking garage where they stow their cars.
Anyways, they give you a map with some instructions on the route to take to return the car. It involves crossing Ponte Vittoria and then looking across Prato, then down Curatone, then one block along Lugarno Vespucci, and then turning left across Piazza Ognissanti to turn left onto Borgo and reach the office.
It seems some of this route is not along the yellow routes that you see for the ZTL map.
I guess they will report the plates? Don't know, I'll be returning tomorrow and asking.
Posts: 54 | Location: West Coast | Registered: 17 April 2008
Even though I plan to stay at the nearby Westin Excelsior, it is my impression that it will be easier to navigate (get out and return) by rental at the airport. Right or wrong?
But returning is a big hassle. They gave me a map with highlighted route back but I couldn't turn left onto Prato because of the construction.
So I ended up going way far north and then winding back towards Piazza Ognissanti. I'm sure I hit ZTL zones because I came up on one-way streets and there was nowhere to turn but enter a ZTL zone.
The route they drew makes you go east of Ponte Vespucci on the Lugarno, which is definitely a ZTL zone.
When I returned, they said they will take care of it. So I hope that's what they're used to doing, directing people into ZTL (although they have you cross the Ponte Vittoria) but with the plan to clear your plates.
But do they only do it for one ZTL zone or when they call in the plate, it applies to all the zones you may have tripped?
BTW, the Garmin will direct you right into ZTL zones. Some people at the gpspassion.com forums say they have customized POIs which you can load to highlight the ZTL but didn't get a chance to figure out how that works.
One thing I notice though is that in just about every other town, that ZTL sign does not have cameras on the other side. In Todi, it appears the enforcement consisted of policemen checking parked cars.
Still, all the accounts here and stories about photo radars had me paranoid about where I was driving, how fast, etc.
Posts: 54 | Location: West Coast | Registered: 17 April 2008
