Getting around Florence

The honest answer to getting around Florence is that you'll mostly walk. The historic centre is barely a kilometre across — the Duomo to the Ponte Vecchio is about a five-minute walk, and you can cross the whole centro storico on foot in roughly twenty minutes — and most of it is pedestrian or limited-traffic anyway. So this guide is really about everything else: getting in from the airports, the handful of trips beyond walking range, and the one rule that catches drivers out (the ZTL).

A quick orientation. The Arno splits the city; the famous sights cluster on the north bank, with the Oltrarno and the Piazzale Michelangelo viewpoint on the south, linked by a row of short bridges. Two things you can't walk away from are the hills — the climb to Piazzale Michelangelo and parts of the Oltrarno — and the cobblestones, which are real and unforgiving in the wrong shoes. (All fares, lines, and hours below were current in June 2026; transport changes, so confirm on the official sites linked before you travel.)

Getting in from the airport

From Florence's own airport, take the T2 tram; from Pisa, take the train. Florence's Amerigo Vespucci airport (FLR, also called Peretola) sits just northwest of the city, and the T2 tramline runs straight from the terminal into the centre, ending at Piazza San Marco and reaching the Santa Maria Novella station area in about 20 minutes (Firenze Tramvia). A ticket is €1.70 — valid 90 minutes and good on the buses too — rising to €2.00 on 1 August 2026 (Autolinee Toscane). Trams run every few minutes through the day, so it's the default for most arrivals.

With luggage, late at night, or in a group, a taxi is the easy call. Florence sets a fixed fare from the airport to the historic centre — about €28 on weekdays, €30 on Sundays and holidays, and €32 at night (22:00–06:00), plus €1.20 per bag — so there's no meter to watch (Florence Airport). The ride takes around 15 minutes.

If you're flying into Pisa (PSA) instead, it's a two-step hop: the PisaMover shuttle links the airport to Pisa Centrale station in about five minutes for €6.50 (PisaMover), then a Trenitalia regional train runs to Florence Santa Maria Novella in roughly an hour for €8.60 (Trenitalia) — call it about €15 and an hour and a quarter door to door.

*€1.70 rising to €2.00 from 1 August 2026.

The walkable centre

Inside the centre, walking beats everything — it's faster than waiting for a bus and most of the core is closed to traffic anyway. Nearly all the headline sights sit within a ten-to-fifteen-minute walk of each other: the Duomo, the Uffizi and Piazza della Signoria, the Ponte Vecchio, San Lorenzo and its market, Santa Croce to the east, and the Oltrarno just across the river.

The bridges are all short and close together — the Ponte Vecchio is the famous one, but the Ponte Santa Trinita beside it gives the best view back to it. Crossing into the Oltrarno takes a couple of minutes. The only walk that earns its name is the climb to Piazzale Michelangelo, about twenty minutes uphill from the river for the city's best view. For what's worth the walk in each quarter, see the Centro Storico and Oltrarno walks.

The ZTL: don't drive into the centre

The single biggest mistake visitors make is driving into the historic centre — it's a camera-enforced limited-traffic zone, and you will be fined. The ZTL (Zona a Traffico Limitato) covers the whole centre, divided into sectors and watched by automatic plate-reading cameras at every entrance. It's in force Monday–Friday 07:30–20:00 and Saturday 07:30–16:00 (not on Sundays or holidays) (Comune di Firenze). On top of that, a summer-night ZTL runs from 2 April to 4 October 2026, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights from 23:00 to 03:00 (Servizi alla Strada).

The city doesn't publish a Florence-specific fine figure, but driving into any Italian ZTL without a permit is penalised under the national highway code at €83 to €332 (Article 7 of the Codice della Strada) (Codice della Strada, Art. 7) — and because each camera gate is a separate violation, one wrong loop through the centre can mean several fines at once. If your hotel is inside the zone, it can register your car's plate on the ZTL "white list" so you're not fined — but do it through them promptly and confirm it's done; don't assume.

The simple fix is to park outside the ZTL and walk or tram in. The best option for drivers is the Villa Costanza park-and-ride in Scandicci, right off the motorway, with 505 spaces and the T1 tram running from it into Santa Maria Novella in about twenty minutes (Villa Costanza). Otherwise, the Firenze Parcheggi (Fipark) garages — at the station, Beccaria, the Parterre, and Oltrarno-Calza among others — all have entrances just outside the gates (Firenze Parcheggi).

Trams and buses

For the few trips beyond walking range, the trams and city buses share one cheap ticket — just remember to validate it. Florence's network is run by Autolinee Toscane (AT), which took over from the old ATAF brand, with the tramlines operated by GEST. A single ticket is €1.70, valid 90 minutes across trams and buses, rising to €2.00 on 1 August 2026 (Autolinee Toscane). Buy it in advance from a tabacchi, a machine, or the AT app — it's €3.00 if you buy from the driver (Autolinee Toscane) — and stamp it in the machine when you board, or you risk a fine.

The two tramlines are quick and modern. T1 runs from the Villa Costanza park-and-ride through Santa Maria Novella out to the Careggi hospital; T2 is the airport line to Piazza San Marco (Firenze Tramvia). Buses fill the gaps the trams don't reach:

*€1.70 rising to €2.00 from 1 August 2026; validate on board.

Taxis

Taxis here don't work the way they do at home: you can't hail one in the street. You take a taxi from a rank — the station, the Duomo, Santa Croce, Piazzale Michelangelo, the airport — or you book it by phone or app. The city's two cooperatives answer on 055 4242 and 055 4390 (FeelFlorence), and the same cars are bookable through apps like appTaxi and itTaxi. Fares run on the meter except for the airport, which has the fixed price above; expect modest surcharges at night and for luggage.

As for ride-hailing: Uber operates in Florence only as Uber Black, a pricier licensed-driver service — there's no UberX or Uber Taxi (Uber Italia). For most people, an ordinary taxi from a rank or the app is simpler and cheaper.

Bikes and e-scooters

Bikes are a real option here; shared e-scooters are not — Florence has wound them down. The city's shared-scooter schemes are no longer operating, so don't plan on grabbing a scooter off the street any more. Shared bikes are alive and growing instead: RideMovi runs free-floating pedal and electric bikes across the city, and they're even free for holders of a public-transport pass (Comune di Firenze).

Two caveats. The historic centre's cobblestones are hard work on two wheels, and the pedestrian zones and ZTL limit where you can ride — keep to the lungarni and the cycle lanes rather than the packed central lanes. And under Italy's 2024 rules, any e-scooter you do rent privately requires a helmet and is capped at walking pace in pedestrian areas.

Beyond the centre: Piazzale, Fiesole, and day trips

The trips most visitors actually take out of the core are easy and cheap. For sunset at Piazzale Michelangelo, walk up in about twenty minutes or take bus 12 or 13 up the hill (Autolinee Toscane). For the hill town of Fiesole — Roman ruins and the best long view of Florence — bus 7 runs from Piazza della Libertà up to Fiesole's main square in about twenty-five minutes (Autolinee Toscane).

For day trips further afield, everything starts at Santa Maria Novella station, a ten-minute walk from the Duomo. Regional trains run from there to Pisa, Lucca, and Siena in roughly an hour to ninety minutes each — no car needed. To slot these into a longer stay, see the three days in Florence plan.

Accessibility and the cobblestones

Florence is walkable but genuinely uneven underfoot, and the city is honest about it. The Comune itself notes that the historic centre's narrow sidewalks and old paving "can present some objective difficulties" (FeelFlorence). The public transport helps: the trams have level boarding with no step, and the buses carry ramps and reserved wheelchair spaces. Accessible taxis can be booked in advance by phone, and disabled passengers get a fare reduction (FeelFlorence).

The city also runs barrier-free walking itineraries, the Kimap app for step-free routes, and free wheelchair rental at the station infopoint. Drivers with a disabled badge can use the ZTL free by registering with the city. Whatever your mobility, plan for the cobbles and the hills rather than against them.

What trips people up

A short list of the things that catch visitors out, all avoidable:

• The ZTL. Driving into the centre, or following a sat-nav straight through a camera gate, is the costliest mistake — park outside and walk in.
• Hailing a taxi. Standing on a corner with your arm out won't work; find a rank or call.
• Forgetting to validate. A bus or tram ticket isn't valid until you stamp it on board — an unstamped ticket is treated as no ticket.
• The wrong shoes. The cobblestones are beautiful and brutal; this is not a city for smooth-soled or delicate footwear.
• Underestimating the hills. The climb to Piazzale Michelangelo and the back lanes of the Oltrarno are steeper than they look — take the bus up if you'd rather save your legs for the view.

Now that you can get around, plan what's worth the walk. Browse Florence's top attractions → — or start with the one day in Florence plan and when to visit, all part of our Florence guides.