Can someone advise if I drive into Florence for a day trip, where is the best place to park my rental car safely?

S

Hi S,

Look at www.mappy.com and www.viamichelin.com

The parking lots are shown on the maps.

Piazzale Michelangelo.

Easy to reach from the south of town, without having to get into city traffic. Free. Panoramic view of the Florence skyline. Walk to the center in 30-45 minutes.

There is bus service also from the historical center to Piazzale Michelangelo and back. It is either #12 or #13. Enjoy beautiful Florence!!

We are also considering parking at Piazzele Michelangelo for the day while in Florence. How often does the #12 and #13 bus run? Our first stop will be the Accademia, which I know is on the northern side of Florence. How long of a walk would it be from Piazzele Michelangelo? If we took the bus instead, should we take #12 or #13 and how much time should we plan for that to take?

Thanks!

Hi See,

For buses in Florence, see http://www.ataf.net/

Both those buses follow the same circular route, but in opposite directions, mostly avoiding the center of Florence. You would probably have to ride them all the way back to the train station to get really close to the Accademia. Check the route map at the link provided.

You might walk down the hill and across the center to the Accademia in 30-40 minutes, and the bus might take the same amount of time depending on the traffic.

If you're only spending a day in Florence and you're parking at Piazzale Michelangelo, I'd take a taxi to your first destination rather than spending time waiting for and riding around on buses.

If parking at Piazzale Michelangelo, I'd walk down and take a bus or taxi back.

Don't know where you're coming from, but have you investigated a bus or a train into Florence instead of driving? That usually works better.

Thanks all. I have looked at the train and or bus into Florence, but we are staying more out in the countryside than in a town. So we'd have to add on additional time to get to somewhere with a train or bus. We figured we wanted to see Piazzale Michelangelo anyway, and the driving directions don't look bad to get there, so I think that is what we are going to do. We just need to make sure we plan enough time at the start of our day, and weren't sure the best/fastest/easiest way into the town from that parking area.

Would like to confirm what Mimar mentioned. We stay in a Villa in Bucine (which is roughtly 50 miles south of Florence). After our first drive, we always took the train.

STORY ~ 6 friends were traveling together. One car drove to Florence and parked. The parking charge was about 35E. We also drove but parked on the street. We did get a ticket (about 30E) but was less than the parking garage. Actually, we never paid the ticket so was much cheaper than parking garage. After that first driving experience, we ALWAYS drove to train station for easy trip into Florence.

We are headed back in May!