First time visitors guide to Florence, Italy

How to get to Tuscany | Flying into Florence Airport | Flying into Pisa Airport | Electricity | Money | Getting around Florence | Health | Telephone | Safety | Emergency Numbers

The past twenty years have seen some significant efforts in Europe to bring all the countries into line with each other. Since the signing of the treaty of Rome way back in 1957, right up to the single European currency in 1999, Europe is becoming more of a single unit. However there are still cultural and practical differences when travelling from one country to another, and this guide seeks to provides some orientation for people visiting Italy for the first time, and some specific information if you are intending to visit Florence.

Arriving in Tuscany

Flying into Florence Airport

Florence has its own airport called Peretola, and Meridiana flies direct from London Gatwick in just under 2 hours. If you book well enough in advance we've found it cheaper to go with Meridiana than Ryanair (once you add in all the extras for flying cheap such as trains and taxis to Pisa). If you fly in to Florence during daylight hours, you can expect to see the Duomo and enjoy amazing panorama's over the city. Upon arrival a shuttle bus will take you to the main train station of Santa Maria Novella, in approximately 20 minutes. A taxi into town will cost approximately 25 Euro's. All the major car hire firms operate out of the airport.

Flying into Pisa Airport

Easyjet and Ryanair both fly into Pisa Airport from a range of destinations in the UK - including London Stanstead - in approximately 2 hours.

Onward by train
The Italian rail network, TrenItalia, provides a regular train shuttle to Pisa's main station where connections can be made to trains running at regular intervals to Florence. A journey time of 90-120 minutes should be allowed, and it will cost no more than 6 Euro's each way. Something to bear in mind is that the train option involves quite a lot of walking, and while there are lifts at Pisa to change from one platform to another, it can really be quite hard work if you're moving around in the heat. Back in Pisa airport to purchase tickets you will need to go right when you come through customs and, in a nice twist of Italian humour, the train platform is at completely the opposite end of the airport (left)! Before you board the train look for yellow boxes on the platform where you will need to validate your ticket before starting your journey.

Onward by bus
As the airport is right next to the motorway, it's actually worth the 16 euro return ticket to take the Terravision bus. The service runs regularly and stops at the main train station of Santa Maria Novella, before going to Florence airport. Journey time 90 minutes. Tickets can be purchased in the main foyer of the airport.

Onward by car
If you are renting a car you should be aware that the rental hall is not in the main airport building. To get to it you need to exit the airport on the right where there is a shuttle bus that will take you to the car rentals area. All major car hire companies have a presence there. From the airport there is direct access onto the FI-PI-Li (Firenze-Pisa-Livorno) motorway, and it will take approximately 80 minutes to arrive in Florence. In the summer months there are periodic traffic updates in English on the radio station ISO radio, FM 103.3.

Alternative points of entry to Tuscany include Bologna Airport (Forli for Ryanair) and the major international hubs of Malpensa and Rome. For all the hassles of the other routes, and for those coming from the UK, we always try and fly with Meridiana.

Electricity

Italian electric current is 220 volts, 50 cycles alternating current. In a nutshell, if you're coming from the US (100 volts, 60 cycles) you'll need converters. If you're coming from the UK, you'll just need to bring a travel plug. There are lots of different types of sockets in Italy, depending on the age of the building. But generally they are of the two pronged (common) or three pronged (for domestic appliances, fridges etc) typologies. The best thing to do is pickup a travel adapter and, we always take a four plug adapter so we can plug everything using one international adapter (PC, camera charger, phone charger etc.).

Money in Italy

Since 1999 Italy has been in the EURO, although given half the chance most would wish for a return to the Lire. There are an abundance of ATM's and I've never experienced any problems drawing money on my Lloyds TSB Visa card and neither have my friends from the US*.  Banks are open in the morning from 0830-1300 and some open in the afternoon from 14:30 for an hour. The main branch of Florence's primary bank, the Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze, can be found in the centre. This is the best place to change money and perform any bank related actions such as cashing in travelers cheques.
* In July 2009 the Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze was taken over by another bank. As part of this process the ATM system was changed. It has not been possible to draw money out of these ATM's since this period. Therefore, if you experience problems withdrawing money from cashpoints in Florence, it is suggested that you try to use the ATM's of banks such as Banca Toscana, or the Postamat (which you will find outside the post offices).

Language: If you're thinking about how you are going to get on with the language once you are here, then there is really little need for concern. Florence is an international city and most shops and historic monuments will have a person on hand that speaks English, French, German, Spanish, Portugese, Polish or Russian. Florence has a huge number of Italian language schools and many of these also run cultural courses. I think a fun thing to do if you are planning on being in Florence for more than a week is to take on one of the many cultural courses that are run by these language schools. It could be an art history course, or it could be a Tuscan cooking course (the ones run by the language schools generally cost much less than the bespoke ones, that can literally cost 1000s of euro's!). I think it's something that could be enjoyed by single travellers or even big families, and be very worthwhile.

Getting around Florence

Bus
Florence has a reliable and extensive bus network. The best place to find out about the exact routes available is to ask your hotel's concierge. You can also consult timetables at the mainline train station, Santa Maria Novella. Tickets for the buses can be purchased in Bar Tabacchi's (look for the “T” signage outside of shops). There are two types of bus ticket available: a single ticket (una corsia) or ticket with four rides included (quattro corsie) and the cost is between one and four Euro's. It's worth checking to see if there are any special rover tickets for tourists.

Taxi
Taxi's are reliable but can be expensive. To request a taxi, you can call 0554242. They will provide you with the taxi's name (such as Napoli dodici) which you will be able to see over the front wheel arch of the taxi when it arrives.

Car
Like London, the centre of the city operates a limited access during the main part of the day. However, if you have a hotel in the centre they will complete a form and submit this to the relevant body to allow you to move freely in and out of the centre. Parking is a premium anywhere in the city, there are few parking spots and there is a fixed cost of 1 Euro for the first hour, and then 2 Euro's for each subsequent hour. Check with your hotel that they have an agreement to allow you to come into the centre of town, and also check the prices of parking at the hotel, as daily rates can vary significantly.

Bicycle and Scooter
By far the best way to get around the city, although in the summer months it's not exactly easy to do with all the tourists. Try Florencebybike for further information.

Health

Having lived in Florence for more than ten years, I can say that I feel completely comfortable with the medical services in the city. The main hospital, Ospedale Careggi, is famous throughout Italy, and is so big it is almost a city unto itself. While for children, the Meyer Hospital is the finest in the country.

Telephone

No problems finding a network to connect to in Italy for a UK mobile. If you're going to be here for a long period it might be worth spending 15 Euro's to purchase a sim card which you can then top up either in Bar Tabacchi, or by buying a recharge card. Public phone booths are available throughout the city although nearly all of them only accept a Telecom card that can be purchased from a Bar Tabacchi for 5, 10 or 20 Euro's

Safety

Like anywhere in the World that is a tourism hub, Florence has its fair share of street crime. This is largely small theft and pickpockets, but in the summer months a number of international students that come to enjoy the city have fallen foul, largely with alcohol playing a role in the problem. As long as you remain alert, and don't go out with your wallet in full view and bags open, you shouldn't have any problems.

Emergency numbers in Italy

I still haven't worked out how many different types of police and emergency services there are in Italy. Everytime I think I've seen them all, there's a new one. This list of numbers, deals with the main ones you might need to call if you have problems during your visit.

112 - Carabinieri (local police)
113 - Police (state police)
115 - Fire service
116 - A.C.I. (Italian Automobile Club) roadside assistance.
118 - Ambulance