World City Guide

Getting Around

Public Transport
There is a comprehensive bus network run by Azienda Trasporti Area Fiorentina – ATAF (tel: (800) 424 500, daily 0700-2000; website: www.ataf.net). The bus network operates 0530-2400. Tickets cost ¬1 and are valid for 60 minutes, allowing the holder to change buses or make a return journey within the hour. Tickets are available for purchase at newsagents (shop signs with a capital T for tabacchi), most coffee bars at Box Ataf in Piazza Stazione and at automatic ticket dispensers. They are also available on board the bus but only between 2100 and 0600 and even then at a marked-up price of ¬1.50.

Travellers must validate their tickets by punching them in the machine on board the bus. A number of bus passes are available, starting with a three-hour pass for ¬1.80 and the 24-hour pass for ¬4.50 and rising to the more extensive two-day pass for ¬7.60, three-day pass for ¬8.60 and seven-day pass for ¬16. These are also available at newsagents, coffee bars and automatic ticket dispensers.

However, the best way for one to get around Florence is to walk. The city centre is compact and most of the sights are marked by the clusters of camera-wheeling tourists. Tourists should invest in a good street map, although getting lost in the cobbled alleyways is a pleasure in itself.

Taxis
Taxis can be hailed on the streets, although they rarely stop. It is better for tourists to hire them at taxi ranks (located outside the train station and at most tourist destinations) or telephone for one in advance. Taxis are operated by Radio-Taxi (tel: (055) 4242 or 4390 or 4499 or 4798; website: www.comune.firenze.it/tariffe/taxi/htm). The minimum fare is currently ¬5 but with a base charge of ¬2.50 and a running charge of about ¬0.80 per kilometre, this can mount up quickly. There are also additional supplements charged for luggage (there is a maximum of four pieces), calling a taxi, night-time travel or travelling on a Sunday. A tip of 10-15% of the fare is customary.

Limousines
Luxury cars, chauffeured by English-speaking drivers, are provided by International Limousine Service (tel: (041) 520 6565; fax: (041) 520 8396; website: www.limointernational.com) and the Florence-based Mundocars (tel/fax: (055) 598 644; website: www.mundolimousine.com). A Mercedes 200 costs just under ¬400 for eight hours of hire. Stretch limousines should be reserved in advance and cost around ¬700 for eight hours.

Driving in the City
With such a compact city centre, there is little point in bringing a car to Florence. Traffic in the city centre (centro storico) is severely restricted at all times, meaning that it is off limits to anyone who is not a doctor, a delivery man, a taxi driver, or anyone staying in one of the luxury hotels in the city centre. (Visitors staying in such luxury hotels are allowed to drive their car in for the purposes of parking only.)

For visitors making a day trip to Florence by car, the best option is to park in the guarded parking spaces where the cost is ¬1.50 for each of the first two hours, then ¬2 for each successive hour. Blue parking zones have a maximumum stay of two hours, while yellow parking spaces have a cost of ¬1 for the first hour and ¬5 for each successive hour. Sightseers determined to spare their pins but not their pennies, could try the underground car park at Piazza della Stazione, which costs ¬2 per hour for the first two hours, then ¬3 per hour. Otherwise, visitors should park at Parterre, near the Piazza della Calza, or Oltrana near Porta Romana, – where a tourist pass costs ¬15 for 24 hours as long as you are staying at least one night in the city and ¬55 for one week. Scratch and Park cards can also be purchased at outlets such as some tabacchi and pasticcerie (addresses given on website) which can be convenient if you have no small change. Information on parking in the city is available from Firenze Parcheggi (tel: (055) 500 1994 or 503 021; website: www.firenzeparcheggi.it).

Car Hire
Several major car hire companies have offices in the city, including Avis, Borgo Ognissanti 128r (tel: (055) 213 629; website: www.avisautonoleggio.it), Hertz, Via Maso Finiguerra 33r (tel: (055) 239 8205; website: www.hertz.it), and Maggiore, Via Maso Finiguerra 11r (tel: (055) 294 578; website: www.maggiore.it).

In order to hire a car, drivers must be at least 23 years old, depending on company policy. All drivers without an EU licence must carry an International Driving Permit. Despite the popularity of motoring holidays, car hire in Italy is expensive, costing around ¬225-700 a week. Basic insurance is usually included in the price with further insurance an optional extra, although the terms of this should always be checked.

Bicycle & Scooter Hire
To blend in with the cruising Romeos, visitors can hire a scooter or moped from Alinari, Via Guelfa 85r (tel: (055) 280 500; website: www.alinarirental.com), just north of the market place. Scooters cost from ¬8 an hour or ¬28 a day. The minimum age for renting a scooter or motorbike is 18 years. Outdoor types, fond of scaling the Florentine hills, can hire a mountain bike from Alinari, from ¬18 a day. The less hardy visitors can freewheel over the Ponte Vecchio on a more basic bike, with prices starting at ¬12 for a day.

Florence by bike, Via S Sanobi 120-122r (tel: (055) 488 992; website: www.florencebybike.it), also hires out bicycles and scooters. A 50cc scooter costs ¬23 for five hours, rising to ¬150 for one week, while mountain bikes cost from ¬3.70 per hour to ¬46.50 for three days and city bikes ¬2.70 per hour or ¬32 for three days.

Electric cars can also be rented in the city center from Elettrocarental, Via del Ponte Sospeso 8A (tel: (055) 714 854; website: www.sologiallo.it). One hour’s hire costs from ¬18, and hire for one day cost from ¬66.