kc3305

We will be picking up a rental car in Florence on June 1 driving to SR222 and into Tuscany. It appears that most downtown rental car agencies are clustered near the Santa Maria Novella train station (not in the station) and the hotel we are checking out of on June 1 is quite close to the station. I know to avoid any downtown driving so I was wondering if it would be better to pick up and drop off the car at the airport instead of a downtown location. Additionally, after we drop the car off we will be taking the train to Milan out of SMN station. Thanks for any and all suggestions.

Dukey1

We picked our car up at the Hertz office which is a few blocks from SMN and frankly I am glad I had my phone GPS for walking directions or we might have been walking in circles.

Now, obviously you CAN DRIVE in parts of that area (otherwise how would any cars ever get there?) and we were easily able to drive in and out of Florence without problems in terms of pedestrian only zones, etc. And driving there wasn't any worse than a lot of other European cities we have driven in and out of.

RonZ

Read this about driving and driving restrictions, Florence a real minefield:

http://driventoit.blogspot.com.au/

jan47ete

Our apt was down the block from the train station and around the corner from the car rental office.

Picked up the car, I stood with car in front of apt while hubby got the bags, but although some type of no loading zone, no parking zone, no something zone, we felt since I stayed with the car we were OK. We got a ticket--6 months later.

Southam

The least stressful tactic might be to take a taxi from the centre to the rental car depot. It's conveniently near highways but there is a maze of local and express roads separating the depot from the airport. More economically, there are buses from the downtown to the airport and then a shuttle to the rental place. Either way, you're going to endure plenty of stress getting your rental car headed to the right highway to your destination.

NYCFoodSnob

It is perhaps easier to avoid ZTL issues by picking up your car at Peretola Airport. However, you will be traveling west, out of the way, when the 222 is just east of Florence. For some insecure drivers on a serious budget, an airport pick-up is the only way to play it safe.

If you are a very good driver, diligent with research, and a good map navigator (and I don't mean GPS), you should be able to figure out how to pick up and drop off a car at the train station, avoiding the ZTL zones.

Problems tend to arise when unexpected things happen while driving, and you find yourself forced onto a street that wasn't part of your driving plan. One wrong turn in the area around the train station and you can find yourself in a ZTL zone with camera.

Your hotel may be able and willing to help you secure temporary permission. It's worth asking. Otherwise, a lot will depend on your skills and how lucky you are.

Good luck.

kraines

I personally thought driving in Florence was a nightmare.....Don't think I would do it again.

Dukey1

There's a big difference between driving in and out of a city with ZTL's and driving around IN a city with ZTL's.

If you want to simply NOT have to worry about it AT ALL then pick the car up at the airport. This whole being a good map reader and all the rest of it is worthless when that ticket arrives "six months later."

carolll

Well, our tickets (2) arrived 11 months later!

That Hertz office on a July Saturday morning had a line of prospective car renters out the door and up the street. It took close to one hour for us to get inside the office and another 15 minutes or so to get to the desk. I don't recall whether the office's proximity to the train station means the renter pays an additional fee, the same as picking a car up at the airport. What I do know is we won't never ever return to that particular Hertz office on a Saturday.

Carol

joan

We did just what you're planning. I agree with Dukey - exiting Florence is much simpler than driving THROUGH Florence. We had no problems (it's been a year and a half with NO tickets yet). We drove to Montepulciano from there. Got awesome driving driections from an Italian local on TA(still got lost twice but it was FUN!) and ate lunch at the best place on our whole trip. If you want details, let me know and I'll post the directions here. (The directions tend to be from town to town versus route numbers. The routes are not clearly marked so you follow town signs.)

Happy navigating!

doug_stallings

I've rented in Florence as well, and it wasn't really much trouble getting out of the city. It's a pretty straight shot to the ring road out of town and to the Autostrada. Getting back (at night) was a more stressful experience, but we managed.

NYCFoodSnob

<i><font color=#555555>"It's a pretty straight shot to the ring road out of town and to the Autostrada."</font></i>

I mean no offense to Mr. Stallings, but if I had an assistant offering these directions, I would fire him. The OP isn't looking for an autostrada.

Florence is not Rome, it does not have a Grande Raccordo Anulare (A90) or "ring road."

From the train station to the SR222, there is no "straight shot." The actual route depends on the precise location of your parked rental car. Basically, you want to go to Viale Lavagnini (at the rear of the train station), driving towards Piazza della Liberta. Turn right on Viale Giacomo Matteotti and drive towards Piazzale Donatello. (Street name change.) Follow Viale Gramsci to Piazza Beccaria, and take Viale della Giovine Italia and cross the Ponte S. Niccolo. Follow Viale Donato Giannotti to Via Marco Polo, and take Via Marco Polo to the start of the SR222.

Once you do this route, it seems like a piece of cake or a straight shot, but there's nothing straight about it.

There are other ways to get to the SR222. From the train station, I happen to think this route is the easiest to avoid ZTL.

kc3305

Thanks everyone for the responses.

To answer the following..."If you are a very good driver, diligent with research, and a good map navigator (and I don't mean GPS), you should be able to figure out how to pick up and drop off a car at the train station, avoiding the ZTL zones.

I drive (average), my wife navigates (poor) and the limited time we have to research would rather be spent at something other than car rental pick up. So it appears from your responses we would be a disaster waiting to happen picking up in Florence much less dropping off. The current plan will be to taxi to the airport, pick up the car and drive to the SR222 (Greve) via the A1 and SP3 (46km, 53min per ViaMichelin. Open to any other input/suggestions. Thanks again.

NYCFoodSnob

kc3305, since you quoted me…

Average and poor are worrisome words to me for any novice driving in or near a major Italian city. I don't mean to scare any traveler, but Florence in particular is not kind to drivers unfamiliar with its roads and rules.

You're not going to like hearing this, but the car rental lot at Peretola Airport has moved in recent years, and getting onto the A1 from the lot is not as easy as most former users would lead you to believe. The lot is now on Via Palagio degli Spini (43°48'02.2"N 11°11'54.2"E).

You don't say whom you're renting from. You don't offer hotel info.

The major car rental companies represented at the train station park their cars in a large garage on Borgo Ognissanti (43°46'26.1"N 11°14'36.9"E). Borgo Ognissanti is a one-way street going west. It's easy to exit Borgo Ognissanti and avoid ZTL. Follow Borgo Ognissanti. Go through the first roundabout and continue west (straight) on Via Il Prato. Take Via Il Prato west until it ends in a fork. Turn right at the fork. Drive through Piazzale della Porta al Prato and enter the SS67 (Viale Fratelli Rosselli), which is just a large street. Viale Rosselli becomes a tunnel that goes under the railroad tracks. After the tunnel, Rosselli turns into Viale Filippo Strozzi. If you stay right, Strozzi turns into Viale Spartaco Lavagnini. Continue with directions I posted above.

Returning the car is trickier because of the one-way streets, and I don't believe you can return the car without entering a ZTL zone. I believe the car companies report your license number to the authorities on pick-up/drop-off days, which will protect you from getting a ticket. Whatever car rental company you use, they will give you directions on how to return the car safely to the garage. If you know the company, you can contact them and ask for these instructions ahead of time. You can post that information here, and we can help you further.

socialworker

We had *exactly* the same experience as Doug cites above...easy getting out of the city and bad coming back. However, that was before the really smartphones of today with driving directions (in 2000). And even at that, it was not the end of the world.... a few trips down streets that we were not supposed to go on, but we made it back to the rental place with no tickets and no mishaps.

While we had the car, we drove down 222 to Panzano where we stayed and then drove to various hill towns over the course of 3 days. Beautiful!

wesleymarsh

If you decide to pick up a rental car at Florence's airport, here is a map I created to get onto the A1 by passing directly in front of Florence's airport, driving from the car rental lot. There is another entrance to the A1 if you drive East to Sesto Fiorentino. I haven't made that map yet.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/133155...8/19898437135/