Florence's No-Traffic Zone
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| All eyes are watching you when you drive in Florence's no-traffic zone. |
After driving around and trying to park in Florence, you'll understand why Leonardo never invented the car. Cars flatten the charm of the city.
Don't even attempt driving into the city center. Florence has a traffic-reduction system that's complicated and confusing even to locals. Every car passing into the Zona Traffico Limitato (ZTL) is photographed; those that haven't jumped through bureaucratic hoops to get a permit are fined in the mail about €100 per infraction; if you get lost and cross the line several times...you get several fines. The no-go zone (defined basically by the old medieval wall, now a boulevard circling the historic center of town--watch for Zona Traffico Limitato signs) is roughly the area between the river, main train station, Piazza della Libertà, Piazza Donatello, and Piazza Beccaria.
Only drivers staying at a Florence hotel within the ZTL may enter the zone; the law is enforced daily 7:30-19:30.
Fortunately, the city center is ringed with big, efficient parking lots (signposted with the standard big P), each with taxi and bus service into the center. I just head for "Parcheggio Parterre," just beyond Piazza della Libertà (€1.50/hr, €18/day, €65/week, open 24 hours daily, tel. 055-650-5295, 600 spots, automated, pay with cash or credit card, never fills up completely). From the freeway, follow the signs to Centro, then Stadio, then P; at the elevator exit, you'll see a taxi stand and the bus stop for the #7, which heads to Piazza San Marco, the Duomo, and the train station.
You can park for free along any suburban curb near a bus stop that feels safe, and take the bus into the city center from there. Check for signs that indicate parking restrictions--for example, a circle with a slash through it and "dispari giovedi, 0,00–06,00" means don't park on Thursdays between midnight and 6 in the morning. If you park in the wrong place on a street-cleaning day, you'll get towed.
Free parking is easy up at Piazzale Michelangelo, but don't park where the buses drop people off; park on the side of the piazza farthest from the view. To get from Piazzale Michelangelo to the center of town, take bus #12 or #13.
For more parking information, ask at your hotel or go to www.firenzeparcheggi.it (website in Italian only).
Updated for 2008. For lots more information, check out our best-selling Rick Steves' Florence & Tuscany guidebook — or join us on one of our free-spirited Florence tours!