I have read in a few places that cars are prohibited from major city centers in Italy. Where can I get more details on this--which cities, and what are the limits? I plan on renting a car in Italy and don't want any surprises. Thanks!

It's most cities historic centers. The limits are you simply can't enter the zones. They are permit only. In Florence, your hotel can notify the police if you need to drop your luggage. Traffic cameras snap your license number if you cross into the ZTL and the ticket is mailed after you return home. If you pass multiple cameras, you get multiple tickets.

You don't want a car for any of the major cities anyway. It's very expensive to park.

The one that likely to snag foreign drivers is ZTL - limited traffic zone.

Here is one of the many write-ups:

http://www.accessitaly.com/post/Driv...-uniforms.aspx

Here is one listing of the cities with ZTL. You notice that the list is quite long:

http://ztl-italia.blogspot.com/

One that gets many drivers is Florence:

http://news.comune.fi.it/muoversi/se...ervizi=Servizi

There may be other surprises depending on where you are coming from.

Here's the zone for Florence, but you will need to zoom in a bit to see the zone better. Click on autovelox on the left side to see where the cameras are. The cameras outside the ZTL are speeding cameras.
http://news.comune.fi.it/muoversi/se...ervizi=Servizi

If you are from the US, you need an international driver's permit which you can get at AAA.

And remdog, along with the International Driver's Permit which kybourbon posted about you do need to bring your US State driver's license also (assuming you are in the US) as the Permit merely translates the info from your state driver's license into 15 languages.

Here is the website from SlowTrav with lots of good information about driving in Italy along with what the various road signs in Italy indicate.
http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/instructions/index.htm

Have a wonderful and safe trip!

SO it sounds like having a car can be good--you can go to some out of the way places and travel on your own schedule--but it can also be bad--parking lot fees when you visit cities must add up pretty quick! Is there a happy medium somewhere? For example, travel by train to the big cities, and then perhaps rent a car for 2-3 days to see the Tuscan countryside? Other suggestions? I'd love to hear from people who have combined both car & train/bus.

You got it. For travel from city to city use the train, then rent a car to head into the countryside for a few days.

Florence is a good starting off point for exploring the rest of Tuscany, Umbria, etc. Some people (including me) report running into ZTL issues in Florence, so if you do rent from Florence you may want to just take a taxi to Florence airport (just outside town) and hit the road from there.

Some cities are served better by bus - Siena from Florence is an example. Otherwise you will find the Italian train system comfortable, fast, and quite convenient for nearly all city destinations.

But be aware that a car rental for fewer than 3 days is probably going to cost you the same as a car rental for 3 days, so you should plan car rentals for at least 3 days or you'll be paying a premium.

and i assume that if you rent from point A and return to point B, you're looking at a much higher rate as well?

"and i assume that if you rent from point A and return to point B, you're looking at a much higher rate as well?"

Maybe, but not necessarily. Last time I rented a few years ago there was no additional charge to pick up in Florence and drop off at Rome airport.

Many people report that autoeurope.com, or their sister co kemwel.com have the best rates. They are brokers and offer cars through co's like Hertz, Avis, and Europcar.

We rented a car in Florence last year to drive around Tuscany. We made one wrong turn by the train station and ended up in downtown Florence. What a nightmare!! Stay out of the major cities with a rental car. You do not need one in the cities. I drove in Manhattan for 4 years and never experienced what I did driving in Florence. Had to take some Xanax after to calm down! And, I just got a 30 euro ticket sent to me from a trip last September....hope there are not anymore coming!

We are staying in Castellani in Chianti this fall for a week. When we go to Florence for day trip(s),someone advised us to park at the train station in Florence. Or should we drive to somewhere close by, park and take the train into Florence? I certainly want to avoid the ZTL issues.

Most cities have pedestrian only zones. and you have to assume you can;t park on the streeet. If yuor hotel doesn;t have a garage (few do and they will charge) you need to assume a public garage at $30 to $40 per night. (Note: if you hotel is in a pedestrain zone they may gie you a permit to bring the car in to drop off or ick up luggage - but not to drive around.)

Just to be clear - ZTL is not the same thing as a pedestrian only zone. Many ZTL areas are regular car/truck streets, but a permit is required to drive there.

In Florence, the ZTL encompasses most of the historic center. And don't count on your hotel actually properly registering your car to drive permit you to drive into the ZTL either, even if they've told you "it's ok."

babish,

I suggest asking your lodging hosts about the best way to travel into Florence- bus or train. I am sure they will know the best options.

If you decide to drive, this link provides good info on where to park-

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/drivin...g_florence.htm

I have never paid a higher rate to drop a car off somewhere different from where I picked it up - within the same country.

"I plan on renting a car in Italy and don't want any surprises." - never gonna happen!

enlehman76 - more than likely that 30 euro was not the ticket but a service fee for the rental comapny to give your info to the authorities. People have been reporting that the actual tickets are running around 150-175 euros.

If you are going to go from Florence into the countryside, you either have to follow the directions for leaving town VERY carefully or take a bus to the airport and pick up your car there.

And enlehman76 is right: the Centro Storico (historic center) of Florence is a nightmare for a non-local driver. This is not an exaggeration. The streets are very narrow (built for carts and horses 700 years ago), they disappear into other streets after a couple of blocks, some are one-way, there are no parking spaces to be had, and to top it off, the only street signs are up on the second story of buildings, carved into a plaque. IF there is a street sign.

If you are headed to Rome afterward, return the car to Orvieto or Chiusi or the airport and catch the train the rest of the way. That way you don't have to drive into Rome, which is another whole story.