Where to pick up a rental a car in Florence, downtown or airport?

I've not driven from that particular location, but Florence is relatively small and there should not be much traffic on a Sunday morning. I can't see going out to the airport just to pick up the car.

If you pick up your car in Florence just make absolute sure you do not drive in any of the restricted zones that Florence has cbs5. If you do you your rental will be photographed and much later you will be receiving communications from Hertz with a charge and then a citation from the City of Florence.

We drove from our Florence hotel (2 blocks from the Duomo) on a Sat morn, and there was not a problem. This was in the days before Google driving directions. Now I use Google driving directions and check with the people at the car rental for any temporary detours.

What LoveItaly says. Unless you know how to recognize and avoid the restricted zones, you will get an unpleasant and expensive surprise after returning, home probably more than one.

Here is a good bit of information from Slowtrav. If you Google "Restricted Driving in Florence, Italy" you will also find other good information websites cbs5.

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/driving/traffic_cameras_speeding.htm

We have rented from Hertz and picked up the car at their Florence location several times. The first two times, we got totally lost getting out of the city and on to the Chianti Road - 222. But the last time we had no problem - the Hertz people were very helpful and we had Google directions. LoveItaly's information from Slowtrav is very helpful - wish we had had it our first time in Italy!

Been there done that! But not at this Hertz location.

It runs about 20+ Euro to get from Florence center to the airport. If your family and luggage can fit into one taxi, I'd pay the money and pick your car up at the airport assuming there is no upcharge. It is a bit difficult to get out of the city(one way's, roundabouts, pedestrian and restricted areas) making the simple harder than it should be. At least from the airport it would be clear sailing to get to a major autostrada and not deal with the "surprise" ticket when you get home. Remember there are cameras watching your every move.

I guess it really depends on whether you have a great sense of direction, a GPS, or aren't easily rattled. Also if you choose to drive out of the city, www.gogglemaps.com allows you to see pictures of major turning points on your selected route which may be helpful if you have a good navigator. Good Luck and remember a lot of us have survived to tell the tale.....

Thanks - how about Villa Borghese in Rome? Difficult to navigate the directions?

I'm having a similar conversation with DH right now, except that we're picking up in Bologna, and dropping in Rome. (On a previous trip, we picked up a rental in Florence with no problem, so I would definitely do that again, though I don't know preciscely where your Hertz location is.)

As DH pointed out (I'm the driver, he's the navigator), it's a lot easier to get out of a city then into a specific destination within a city. Also, if you pick up at an airport, due to airport fees/taxes, the rental rate will be higher (for a pickup at the Bologna airport, as opposed to downtown Bologna, it will be $40 more, plus the cab fare).

We are having a longer "discussion" re dropoff. One time, we dropped off (out of our way) at the Rome airport, to avoid driving into the city - I really don't want to do that again (I felt like it was a waste of time). Rome is a difficult city to drive in, and I've seen various opinions about dropping off in the city. Right now, I'm negotiating (because I'm willing to drive into Rome) dropping off at a location on the outskirts, to the NE of the city, then cabbing in from there. Use google maps, or mappy.com, or both, to see what the route would be like if you dropped at a location near Villa Borghese.