How to get around Florence
Florence is a city made of narrow streets, monumentale squares and great palaces and intimate gardens. The historic center, the most fascinating area, is a maze of medieval alleys where it is easy (but very nice) to get lost. The historical area is closed to most traffic, while outside of it the city is chaotic and busy like any modern city. So understanding how to get around Florence can be complicated or confusing for travelers who visit the city for their first time.
- Plan a DIY trip to Florence
- Here are my best tips for visiting Florence, Italy.
Here is a simple guide to transportation in Florence, in order to help you move around in the best way, and choose the transport that suits best for your travel.
How to get around Florence without a car
Probably your gate to the city will be the main station of Santa Maria Novella. It is a key point for travelers: here are flowing all the trains, many bus lines and the tramway. A few meters away (in Largo Strozzi, about 5 minutes walk from the train station) there is the bus stop for those buses connecting Florence with other cities (such as FlibBux) and those riding from and to Pisa Airport.
From Santa Maria Novella station you can move around in many ways:
Getting around on foot
Florence is not as big as it seems and the historic center is small enough to be entirely visited on foot. Walking is not only the cheapest way to get around Florence. It’s also the one that allows you to appreciate more details and the atmosphere. Almost all of the streets of the center are covered in cobblestone, with slabs of pietra serena, the typical local gray stone with which many Florentine buildings are built. I advise you to wear comfortable shoes and leave your heels at home!
Public transportation in Florence
Public transportation in Florence is mostly used to move in and out from the historic center (you don’t really need it to get around the center, is small enough to be walkable). Buses are often crowded and always late, but the tram is working much better.
There is a unique ticket for both buses and trams, it costs 1.70 euro and can be bought at tobacco shops. there are also vending machines in piazza San Marco and at tram stations. Recently a new payment method has been implemented: you can now pay directly on board tapping your credit card.
To know everything about how buses and trams work, read my blogpost about public transport in Florence.
By bus
If you do not want to move on foot or maybe you want to reach areas far from the center, you can count on buses covering every neighborhood of the city. By bus you can also reach the village of Fiesole (line 7) and some other villages outside the city limits.
Buses run until about 11:00 pm (with variations depending on the lines)
By tram
The tramway so far has only two working lines:
- T1 connecting the station of Santa Maria Novella with the suburb of Scandicci
- T2 connecting the Santa Maria Novella train station with the Peretola Airport
More lines are under construction.
Trams are operating until 2:00 am.
How to get around Florence: by bike
Cycling in Florence is a pleasure, especially during the warm season. It’s also very cheap, because you can hire a bike for a few euros a day. Many bike rentals also offer electric bikes, or you can use the bike sharing service aka MoBike public bicycles. For using them you need to register and download the app that will let you unlock the bikes.
There are some bike lanes in Florence, but not nearly as enough as us Florentines need. Bike lanes are mostly running around the center (not inside of it), and connecting the center with the outskirts.
When the historic center is packed with people can be hard riding a bike, and you might have to get off and push the bike until you’re out of the crowd.
Are you a bike lover? Check the best bike tours in Florence!
Bike and e-bike sharing
Since a few years Florence is dotted with orange bikes. They are the shared bikes by Mobike, and are both regular and electric bikes. The regular ones are really heavy and in summer is way too hot for them, I start sweating after 10 seconds. The electric ones are just perfect.
Those bike are quite basic but solid, safe and cheap. To unlock and ride them, download the Mobike app and connect it with your credit card.
Remember to check the fares and the area on the map where you can park the bikes. You will be charged of an extra fee for parking in the wrong areas.
Shared E-scooters
Yes, we now have electric shared scooters too! There are three companies in Florence, TiMove, Bit Mobility and Bird.
Just like for bike sharing, download the app, connect your credit card and check the map to find your bike.
By taxi
There are a lot of cabs in Florence (they are white), but Saturday nights and during big events they’re never enough! Certainly they are quite expensive: a journey of a few kilometers in the center can cost between 10 and 20 euros, depending on the number of luggage, if it is a public holiday or if the night rate has been taken.
Taxis can be called on the phone (but do not accept reservations) or through the app IT TAXI.
There are two taxi companies in town, and their phone numbers are:
- +39 055 4390
- +39 055 4242
Cabs can also be found at the taxi stops located in the main squares (piazza della Stazione, piazza Santa Maria Novella, piazza Santa Croce).
- You can also book your airport taxi on Booking.com.
Getting around Florence by car
Getting around by car in Florence is complicated due to traffic, the peculiar viability of the historic center and the chronic lack of public parking lots. But it can also be very expensive, if you enter the LTZ without the necessary pass. But if you want to do it anyway, with your own car or with a rented car, I suggest you to choose a hotel in Florence with parking, or leave your car in a private parking. In both cases you will be given a temporary pass for the center’s LTZ.
- Need more info about car rental in Florence? Here it is!
- My best tips for parking in Florence
