Parking a rental car in Florence
 

I will have a rental car for three days from Siena, mostly for day trips around the countryside. Are there any convenient places to park a car around Florence for a day visit? Some specifics would help.<BR>Will be paying for the car for the full three days so I would want to use it rather than take a train or bus from Siena which seems to be the popular wisdom around here.

We had a car in CAstellina and when we went to Florence, we drove north on the highway (I forget the number) and at the first Florence exit parked in a commuter parking lot at the end of a bus line that went into the main bus station. If you can get a good map of Florence showing bus routes, you could probably figure it out.

the easiest parking for Florence is Piazzale Michaengelo. It is a guarded pay parking lot with a great view over the center. You go down a combination of roads and steps and are right by the Ponte Vecchio.

Hi'<BR> Just follow the signs for the train station and there is a large underground parking lot under the station. You can walk any where from there. The road will go around the city for the most part so you won't have to worry about driving into the city proper.

We have the same situation and I have been trying to figure out what to do. I think our hotel offers some in a private lot but I am sure it costs more. So to compare costs, how much is the public parking, and how secure? Or should I just go with the hotel parking arrangements. Thanks for your help.<BR>HELEN

Does anyone have specific directions from Siena to the parking at Piazzale<BR>Michaengelo?

After spending the last two summers doing tuscany in a rental car, my experience says park for free within the shadow of the Uffizi. To be exact, on the Pitti Palace side on the river, there is ample free parking. We have been to Florence 4 times for day trips and never had a problem finding a spot,don't be afraid.

Allan, can you give more specific directions of how to get there?

Uh, Seth, this thread is 8 years old. Any information from it is suspect. And there's been lots of recent posts from people who, having inadvertently driven in central Florence in the ZTL or locals-only zone, have received tickets in the mail months later. (The rental car company outs you and charges you for the service.)

I have fond memories of beautiful bus rides into Florence from a base in the countryside.

Mimar - thanks. I'm looking at parking at the Pizzale Michelangelo. I've heard it's free. we're staying 15 minutes walk from there and have a rental car coming from Rome. Any suggestions as to where to park?

Is there a special reason you're renting a car to get from Rome to Florence? The train from city center to city center takes just 90min and is effortless.

If you're visiting the countryside then a rental car is a good idea, but you won't want a rental car in Rome or Florence proper.

What J62 said! But if you really need that car since you really want to go to the countryside from Florence (which is not such a good idea either, since going out of and into town is very time-consuming in Florence, where there is plenty of traffice), then you can find precise maps of Florence online where every single lane is designated who may park there and who not. As far as I remember, you're correct that parking on Piazzale Michelangelo is free, but I would check with those maps.

Without knowing your itinerary precisely, though, it might be the best solution to go from Rome to Florence by train, stay put in Florence as long as you wish to explore the city, and explore the Tuscan countryside afterwards from another base, i.e. take the rental car only when leaving Florence for the countryside.

franco is right -- don't use a car in Rome, from Rome to Florence, or in Florence. You won't need it and if you stumble into a ZTL it will cost you big-time!! (Hundreds of $$) And the traffic is fierce -- also big-time -- which is a headache you don't need on your vacation.

If you are determined to bring a car I would park near Porta Romana, south of the river. there is a garage there, or if you are lucky, maybe parking a side street on the hill above the Porta. Look it up on Google Maps and plot your driving directions from the place you are starting. it's about a 10 - 15 minute walk directly to the Ponte Vecchio.

try www.viamichelin.com.

you can put in starting and end points, get directions, consult maps re parking, etc. etc.

However, there is a good reason why eeveryone is saying "don't do it".

i would leave my car in siena at the railway station and go on the train. the bus has to flog its way through the self-same traffic you are trying to avoid, and ends up at the bus station right next to the train station so there is no sdvantage once you get there. [if going in the other direction there is because the bus stops in siena much closer to the centre than the train does.]

have a good trip!