Driving in Italy in October, and wondering how best to tackle Florence. Easy to drive in? Or a bit of a nightmare traffic-wise?

Often when we visit big cities for the first time, we stay somewhere nearby and get public transport in.

If we did this, where would people recommend. Some other postings on the forum right now mention Fiesole. I've also heard mention of Greve. Also Poppi.

Any recommendations? Thanks...

You cannot drive in the historic center of Florence. There are ZTL (limited traffic zones) in force. Cameras take shots of licence plates; your car rental agency will charge you a fee for disclosing who you are; you will get a ticket in the mail months later (perfectly legal; they have a year to issue a ticket).

There is local bus service to Fiesole. Greve is less well connected. Poppi is too far away and in a different province.

Hi

Well, we did manage to drive out of Florence at least but I would recommend that you have a GPS if you give it a try Here is my Florence trip report with pictures http://gardkarlsen.com/florence_italy_travelogue.htm . We also had a few days in Tuscany with a rental car and this is the trip report http://gardkarlsen.com/tuscany_italy_travelogue.htm

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

We drove into Florence last Oct. It was a bit of a challenge only due to not knowing road closures and the correct address. Check my report titled "Italy Trip Report Sept 07 with side Trip to Bosnia, Croatia and Slovenia" Day 17.

Our solution, which worked out well, was to drive to the Piazzale Michelangelo (free parking and beautiful views) and walk down into town.

Try a hotel right outside the city, for example:


http://www.villapoggiosanfelice.com/Villa.asp?l=In

Hi T,

If you plan to drive to Piazzale Michaelangelo, the no. 12 and no. 13 buses will take you into town.

See www.ataf.net

We stayed in Castellina in Chianti, parked our car in Greve and took a bus directly into Florence. Couldn't have been easier. We were told to buy our bus tickets ahead of time in town, but I think you could pay on the bus, just more. Definitely check that out for sure first. You can also park in Panzano and pick up the same bus there.

Really enjoyed spending time in Castellina and Greve.

Thanks, Greve & Castellini seem like possibilities. If we drive in, the Piazzale Michelangelo sounds like the place to park the car and walk from. We enjoy walking, and October shouldn't be too hot.

We looked at Pistoia too - a less touristed town, apparently. Hotel prices seem more reasonable than elsewhere. Has anyone stayed there?