Hi there,

We are travelling from Florence to our accommodation in Greve, Chianti by car.

I have heard that it is best not to pick up a car in Florence..where would you suggest hiring a car from out of Florence? Would we need to get a train to a town and pick up from there? Or if we are simply picking up the car and leaving Florence would it be ok?

Thanks for your help.

If you are arriving by air, the airport rental pick-up is an easy exit out of the greater Florence area and the rental agency can be relied on for directions.

If you arrive by train, the rental agencies on Borgo Oggnisanti are nearby--a 10-15 min schlep. The agencies there will be able to direct you out of the city without violating the ZTL restrictions.
Don't deviate from their directions! Alternatively, you could shuttle ( 5 euro ) out to the airport to pickup the rental via the shuttle between the train station and the airport.

Have fun in Greve and don't miss the Cantina for wine tasting.

Thankyou! We are staying in Florence for two nights....then heading off to Greve, so would you suggest we just make our way to the airport and pick up hire car from there?

Cantina looks amazing - so excited !

The rental area at the airport was moved somewhat distant from the main building as there are building works occupying part of the main parking. So the airport may be convenient to drive from but not really convenient to reach. If you are arriving by train rent from the central agencies in Borgo Ognissanti area.

Thanks asps, we will already be in Florence as we are staying there for a few nights first. After a bit of research we have decided to rent a car from Borgo Ognissanti area and drive straight to Greve from there. Fingers crossed we don't get lost in the streets of Florence!

Drive straight from Borgo Ognissanti to Porta a Prato, at Porta a Prato turn right, then follow the viali till you reach the river on the other side of the city. Turn left, follow the river till the bridge (on your right) to A1 highway and SR222 to Greve.

rent a GPS..worth the money and it alerts you to all the speed cameras, too

I believe there is a Eurocar location on Via del Gelsomino, just south of Porta Romana. This is a 4-minute taxi ride from Ponte Vecchio. If you pick-up here, you'll be well outside of the city-center, and it's on the way to Chianti.

If you pick-up within the city center, you'll need precise directions to get you out of the city without breaking any rules.

Agree about the GPS, but note: Many rental agencies in Europe won't guarantee the availability of a GPS unit. You can request it, but there may not be one when you show up. Best bet is to update your smartphone for Europe.

(signed) Voice of Experience

Excellent thanks for the info. Totally forgot about smartphone, will do that instead. Thanks again.
Feeling really nervous about driving out of Florence!

We had the same concerns last year so we picked up the car at the airport. Very easy , just took bus to airport , picked up the car and were on our way.
We were staying in Florence, so we returned car to airport after a lovely day touring and took bus back.
If I remember correctly we just missed the bus back to Florence so we had to wait about 30 minutes for the next bus.

But we saved all the stress of driving in Florence

We picked up our car in Florence on Via Ognosanti. It was easy to exit the city to the autostrada heading
South. Enjoy Greve.

Hertz has a location at the Sansovino stop (outside the ZTL) on Tram line 1 (catch at the train station).

http://www.hertz.com/rentacar/locati...sp&eoag=FLRC70

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tr...enze_mappa.svg

http://www.gestramvia.it/orari.html

Hertz has a location at the Sansovino stop (outside the ZTL) on Tram line 1 (catch at the train station).

http://www.hertz.com/rentacar/locati...sp&eoag=FLRC70

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tr...enze_mappa.svg

http://www.gestramvia.it/orari.html