We're driving into Florence from Tuscany in late October planning to spend two nights there and wondering how we handle access to a hotel. We know we can't get into the central city without a permit from the hotel but we're trying to figure out what we do with the car after we get to the hotel and where is the best place to stay to minimize the hassle of getting in and finding a place for the car.

Welcome to Slow Travel Talk. If this is a rental car, would it be an option to return it when you get to Florence, and start a new rental when you leave?

There are some parking garages. There is a multistory garage a block or so north of the Mercato Centrale and I think there is a parking garage under the main train station. You'll probably pay a lot for parking while you are in Florence. I would ask the hotel what they recommend. Whatever you do, make absolutely sure the place you are staying has the ability to register your vehicle for the ZTL exemption.


Bill

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Originally posted by Andrew:
Welcome to Slow Travel Talk. If this is a rental car, would it be an option to return it when you get to Florence, and start a new rental when you leave?

We plan to go on to Venice by car.

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Originally posted by adeleb:

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Originally posted by Andrew:
Welcome to Slow Travel Talk. If this is a rental car, would it be an option to return it when you get to Florence, and start a new rental when you leave?

We plan to go on to Venice by car.

I will check comparative rates from keping the same car or rerenting.

I would agree that returning the car and renting again may be your best bet. How many days will you be in Florence? The train station is convenient and relatively easy to find since there will be signage for it but it is very expensive. Also, if you plan on going straight to Venice the trains are much easier and less expensive than a car. You don't quite get the same experience but the cost and hassle is less.

Here are the parking garages and rates listed in Firenze-online.com

Parking in Florence

In Florence there are many payment parkings located in every part of the city.
Here the main parkings in Florence:

* Parterre Parking
* Fortezza Parking
* Viale Pieraccini Parking
* S. Ambrogio Parking
* Santa Maria Novella railway station Parking
* Viale Europa Parking
* Oltrarno Parking
* Beccaria public square Parking

Nearly all the parkingare open all the days for all the day.

* The hour rate is of average 1,50 €
* Daily subscription about 18,00 € (NOTE:I have seen some information indicating some places are as much as 40€ per 24 hrs)
* Daily subscription (only for the night) (from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m.): about 11,50 €.
* Weekly subscription 24h: about 65 €.
* Monthly subscription 24h: about 120,00 €.
* Monthly subscription (only for the day): about 75 €.
* Monthly subscription (only for the night) from the 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.: about 40 €.
* Subscription 'Street Cleaning', from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., 1 day for week, for 1 month: about 10 €.

Unless you are planning to also use the car in Venice (which is quite unlikely), consider returning the car on arrival in Florence and getting to Venice by train. For intance, on your last day in Florence you could take the trin that departs from Florence (Santa Maria Novella station is right in the middle of the center) with the 10.38 am train that pulls into Venice (Santa Lucia station, straight in front of Canal Grande) at 1;17 pm (right on time to alow you to have an early lunch on board, either at the trains' restaurant or bringin picnic with you). Standard adults' tariffs are 32.30 euro per person on second class and 48.50 euro first class, both including seat reservation.

Thanks for all the advice. I'm not sure we want to pass up the drive from Florence to Venice; it holds some memories but we will consider returning the car in Florence and going on by train. I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has driven to a hotel in Florence and kept their car.

I have done so by using hotels that have parking. One is Scilla which was €16 per day at the time. Another was either Davide or Michelangelo and was in the park below Piazzale Michelangelo somewhat to the left if you are facing PM from the centro. That one is easier to reach and to leave via car, but more of a walk to the centro.

Mind you, it was MY car and not a rental car. Nowadays I always train in unless going to the airport area. Florence is killer for parking, but even worse for getting photographed entering a no-entry area during the no-entry period instead of the 22 minutes per day one is allowed to enter.

We've done this twice. It was a lot cheaper for us to keep the car for our 2 nights in Florence and use the parking recommended by the hotel/apartment.

We drove up to the hotel, unloaded the luggage, I went to check in and get details re: parking, then DH took the car to the garage down the street.

At the apartment we did the same thing, but the lot was a bit further where we had to park. (5 min. walk from apartment).

Try and get good instructions getting in/out of Florence so you keep out of the restricted areas.

Hotel was Pitti Palace Hotel and apartment was Il Carmine.

Thanks Judith and Chiaro. We're going to look at various alternatives that will allow us to drive from Florence to Venice -- Finding a way to keep our car or two rentals. We'll take a look at the hotels you recommend for keeping the car.

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One is Scilla which was €16 per day at the time.

Judith, did you mean Hotel Silla? We stayed there several years ago and kept a car in their parking garage (for an extra fee although it was so long ago that I recall it being not more than 10 euro). However, this was before the strict ZTL laws, so I am not sure whether you are still able to drive there without difficulty. It is on the Oltr'Arno -- is that under ZTL?

- Roz

Roz, that's the area, and if you can get through the cop at Porta Romana, the rest seems easy, or if you come via the area below Fiesole, there is a way not to enter ZTL. OTH, when I asked them how to drive to them, they worked it all out.
The other hotel is nearby, but further from the centro in the same direction. That has no ZTL connection.

In 2006 I drove into Oltrano and parked in front of Casa Pucci near Santa Maria del Carmine. Mrs. Pucci "registered" our vehicle with the authorities and gave us a parking permit to put on the dash. I didn't use the vehicle during the three days we were in Florence.

I even checked about turning the vehicle in, but because I had a multi-week rental, it was cheaper to keep it than to have two separate rentals. This was a 9 passenger Fiat Ducato, so rates might be different for other vehicles.

Bill

In the link that Fibonacci provided, there is a link http://www.firenzeparcheggi.it/ on the lower part of the page to the source describing the parking facilities and the parking rates. If you click on that and then choose "Parcheggi di struttura," the list of parking facilities is displayed. By clicking on each facility, a photo and a map that shows the surrounding area is displayed. You might find the maps helpful.

Thanks.

Even if you just drop your luggage off at the hotel, they will register your licence so you don't get a ticket.

But ask the hotel for their rates too!
Make life easy!

Sometimes it is easier to stay where they have great parking and easy access to the hotel and get around florence by foot.
It is an easy walking town.

During our 3 days in Florence, we just parked the rental car outside the city walls with many others and left it for 3 days. This was a long time ago (1997!), but we had no problems. We were very careful to leave NOTHING in the vehicle, and even left the glove box hanging open so thieves could see there was no reason to break in. (If there's a light that stays on, you wouldn't want to do this and drain your battery.)

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Originally posted by adeleb:
We're driving into Florence from Tuscany in late October planning to spend two nights there and wondering how we handle access to a hotel. We know we can't get into the central city without a permit from the hotel but we're trying to figure out what we do with the car after we get to the hotel and where is the best place to stay to minimize the hassle of getting in and finding a place for the car.

I regularly park around Piazza Ghiberti. Very convenient and the ZTL nonsense only applies between 11 pm and 4 am at the weekend. Near to synagogue and san croce. Also very convenient for a great restaurant - Cibreo.

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Originally posted by Kimby:
During our 3 days in Florence, we just parked the rental car outside the city walls with many others and left it for 3 days. This was a long time ago (1997!)

Exactly. Now all places along the city walls have metered parking. Interestingly, places are metered also by night and also for residents - both occurrences at the same time are rare in Florence.

I was thinking about renting a car from the Pisa Airport and driving to Florence where we will be for 15 days in August. The landlord said that the closest parking garage to the apartment is Parcheggio Beccaria. She also mentioned that free parking in the city probably wouldn't be too hard to find during that month but I don't want to chance it or get a ticket. I did notice that a lot of people have mentioned Piazza Michelangelo for good free parking. Not sure how far that is from where we are staying on Via Oriuolo.

Does anyone know how difficult it is to find either Piazza Michelangelo or Beccaria from the Pisa Airport? I'm not afraid of getting lost...just don't want to end up in a prohibited zone.

I would want to rent for 24 hours. Does this say that rental is 160.00 euros/month for 24h?

I see that Fibonacci listed the prices but I believe those have changed since posting in 2008. Also firenze-online website's parking page has an error.

Parking at Beccaria should be 18 euro per day. Parking at Piazzale Michelangelo should be free, but it is a bit out of town, on the top of a hill - not the most practical place. You need a bus to get to/from there, you can walk downhill but I would not try the uphill walk in the heat of August.

Finding the Beccaria parking would not so difficult. But it is not so close to via dell'Oriuolo, let us say 10/15 minutes walking.

BTW, if you just have to get from Pisa to Florence, you should better take a bus or train from Pisa airport to Florence railway station, and then a taxi to your apartment. It would be way cheaper than a car and less an hassle on the Florentine side. Having a car in Florence is an hassle to the residents, let alone to visitors.

Basically, there are no free parking places in the city center (places for residents only) and in semicentral areas (free for residents and metered for others). On Sunday there are no restrictions but on working days this is checked fairly often. While in August it may be easier to find a place anyway, I would not bet leaving a car for a long time without paying. So a parkhouse like the Beccaria one is likely your best choice.

Any advice on best location to drop off a rental car in Florence coming from Tuscany area? Is the location on Via Borgo Ognissanti sound good? Not sure ZTL restrictions apply getting to this location. Want to drop off rental car then taxi/walk to hotel. Thanks much.

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Originally posted by itarchivarius:

Finding the Beccaria parking would not so difficult. But it is not so close to via dell'Oriuolo, let us say 10/15 minutes walking.

BTW, if you just have to get from Pisa to Florence, you should better take a bus or train from Pisa airport to Florence railway station, and then a taxi to your apartment.

Yes, you're correct... the landlord did say that Beccaria was about a 15 min. walk but she said that it was the closest to dell'Oriuolo. Is this correct? Do you know of a closer one?

Also we want to rent a car to do day trips out of Florence. Thought we'd have more flexibility with a car than train and also it would be more feasible since we are 7 people.

No, the Beccaria parking house is the closest one. If needed, the Parterre parking house is larger, never fills up, and only marginally more distant.

If you have to unload your baggage, check if the landlord will give you a ZTL access authorization, as the area is restricted. Getting to via dell'Oriuolo with a car is a maze of one-way streets.

Why don't you specify when making a booking that you wish for car parking to be included in the price.

The drop off in tourists coming to Florence with the recent economic crisis in Europe, and particularly those from the UK markets, gives the visiting tourist a good advantage. Speak to the hotel directly, play one off another and you'll simplify your stay

Itarchivarius - thanks so much for all your help!

Helpytuscan - we're not staying at a hotel but renting an apartment and I feel the price of the apartment is very reasonable. But I hadn't actually thought of that idea!

quote:

Originally posted by itarchivarius:
No, the Beccaria parking house is the closest one. If needed, the Parterre parking house is larger, never fills up, and only marginally more distant.

You mentioned the Beccaria parking was closest to Via Dell'Orioulo as did the landlord yet when I mapquest it...it seems that the Parterre parking garage Via Madonna della Tosse is closer to the apartment (1.6 kilometers vs 3.5).
Now I'm confused!

As the bird flies, I have measured on Google Earth 900 meters (Beccaria) against 1300 (Parterre). It depends on which side of via dell'Oriuolo you are, but Beccaria is still a bit closer.

Hotels in the residential area just beyond the city, easily accessible by public bus, often have free parking. I can recommend the following two (which I use for family and friends when they come):

Florence Inn just beyond Bagno a Ripoli: modern decor, new hotel, bus line slightly infrequent but has pool, excellent price (75 euros per double room right now!), funky bar on site, ample free parking.

hotel villa gabriele d'annunzio which is near me in coverciano. Has free parking and pool, decor in a clean tuscan style. I have relatives staying next week for 125 euros for the double. Bus 10 every 20 minutes; Bus 17 every 8 minutes. Good bar/pasticceria "Cesare" nearby; close to supermarkets and local shops if you want to picnic. I like this place a lot.

Thanks arttrav but I've already booked an apartment. We are 7 people, so it is more feasible to rent an apartment than to book a hotel. Got a really good deal too for 15 days right on Via Dell'Oriuolo. While it looks very basic from the photos, (not posh at all) it will suffice for us. We really don't spent too much time inside other than a little winding down at night before bed and maybe a few dinners cooked in. Thanks again!