Getting around Florence
Central Florence is a twenty-minute walk from end to end, so the tram, the bus and the 90-minute ticket matter at its edges, and the car is the one thing the centre actively punishes.
- Ticket
- €2, valid 90 minutes, bus and tram
- Centre
- On foot
- Tram
- T1 Scandicci–Careggi
The UNESCO-listed historic centre of Florence takes about twenty minutes to cross on foot, from Santa Maria Novella station to Santa Croce, so public transport earns its keep at the edges: the airport, the hill of Piazzale Michelangelo, Fiesole and the towns around. One ticket covers buses and trams alike for 90 minutes. The car is the one thing the centre punishes, with a fine that arrives by post.
The centre is walked
Most of what people come for sits between Santa Maria Novella station and Santa Croce, and among it are the Duomo, the Uffizi, Ponte Vecchio and the Accademia. The walk across this compact centre takes about twenty minutes, which is why the rule in the old town is to walk and to keep the bus and the tram for the places that need them: the hill with Piazzale Michelangelo, Fiesole, the airport and anything beyond the historic core.
One ticket, ninety minutes
Buses and trams share one urban ticket, €2 for 90 minutes, sold at tobacconists, newsstands, ticket machines and the transport office next to the station, or paid for by contactless card or text message. Buy it before you board, because the driver sells it for €3. Validate it as you get on, since a valid ticket is required before boarding. There is no day ticket for the city network, so if you are staying a few days, count on one ticket per ride.
T1 and T2
Two modern lines run, and both meet at the main station. T1 (Leonardo) connects Scandicci with the station and the Careggi hospital, while T2 (Vespucci) links the station with the airport and, since January 2025, carries on to Piazza San Marco, which makes it the quick way into the northern, Accademia side of the centre. A ride from one end of a line to the other takes about twenty minutes, on the same cheap ticket as the bus.
Small electric ones and three numbers to know
Autolinee Toscane runs the buses, and inside the narrow centre it uses small electric minibuses on the C lines, C1 to C4. Beyond the centre three numbers matter to a first-time visitor: the 13 to Piazzale Michelangelo, which saves the long uphill climb from the river, the 7 to Fiesole, and the 37 to the Certosa del Galluzzo.
Santa Maria Novella
Santa Maria Novella is the main station, with both tram lines beside it, and the regional trains to Pisa leave from this big station, about 1 h for €9.80. A paper regional ticket must be validated in a machine at the station before you board. There is nowhere to validate on the train and an unvalidated ticket earns a fine, while an e-ticket bought online needs no validation. Siena is quicker by the direct 131R bus, which leaves from the bus station beside Santa Maria Novella.
The ZTL
The whole historic centre is a ZTL, a limited-traffic zone with cameras at the gates, and a car that enters without authorisation is fined by post. Sectors A, B and O are closed to unauthorised traffic Monday to Friday from 7.30 to 20.00 and on Saturday from 7.30 to 16.00, and open on Sundays. In the summer period, from April to early October, all five sectors close again on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 23.00 to 3.00. The city changes these hours from time to time, so check them for the month you travel. If your hotel is inside the zone, give it your plate before you arrive, because the hotel registers it and a passage counts as authorised if the plate is entered within about two hours. Every gate you cross is a separate violation. A satnav does not tell an active gate from an inactive one.
From the airport
Florence airport reaches the station by the T2 tram, while Pisa airport needs a shuttle and a regional train. The fares, times and the choice between the two have a page of their own.
Public transport
- Florence
- T2 tram to the station
- Pisa
- shuttle and regional train
Private transfer
- a driver meets you at arrivals
- booked ahead, late flights too
- costs more than public transport
Where to next
Mistakes everyone makes in Florence
→Five mistakes that cost time or a wasted ticket in Florence, and what to do instead.
San Gimignano · 38 km
→Walls with fourteen surviving towers out of what was once seventy-two, seen from the road before you even reach the gate.
How well does Florence suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
Nomadinho scores out of 100, the same ones behind “Where to go”.
If you like Florence
Three places with the closest scores, from any country.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Do you need a car in Florence?
No. The historic centre is a ZTL and the main sights are a short walk apart; a car helps only for places such as the Chianti wineries.
How long is a bus or tram ticket valid?
90 minutes, at €2, on one ticket for both buses and trams; from the driver it costs €3.
How do you get to Piazzale Michelangelo?
On foot, uphill from the river, or by bus 13.
Does a regional train ticket need validating?
A paper one does, in a machine at the station before boarding; an e-ticket bought online does not.
Ready for Florence?
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