Day trip to Florence

G

gepol

New member
Hi all,

I will be travelling from Modena, for a day trip into Florence, on the last days of October by car.

From what I have searched, the best thing to do - to see the most of the city- is to take the Hop-On Hop Off buses, unless you advise me otherwise.

The question is, if you can help me, is where to park the rented car, closest to any Hop-On Hop Off stations, as to walk the littlest possible, as I do have a child with walking difficulties.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Regards

George
 
park in Piazza Beccaria or Piazzale Michelangelo

Ciao George,

I think the red double decker sightseeing bus would be perfect for a day trip to Florence and with a child with walking difficulties. Florence is not big but it does require walking and with the hop on, hop off possibility of the bus, you can limit the walking and make it much easier for your family to see all of the main sights in Florence. Up until the end of October the buses still pass every 30 minutes, in November their schedule changes to "winter".

If you want to buy your tickets ahead of time you can do it here:
http://www.visitflorence.com/florence-tours/florence-sightseeing-bus-tour.html
The best place to park is in the Piazza Beccaria parking lot (paid). The bus stop is right outside of the underground parking area along the main "viale di circonvalazione".
Otherwise, the bus also passes through Piazzale Michelangelo and there is free parking space right on the open square but it is often full. I'm not sure, though, if there are time limits for the parking spaces.

Hope you enjoy your trip to Florence. Let us know if we can be of further assistance.
 
Thanks very much Lourdes, I have a million questions more, but I guess I will find my answers reading "Discover Tuscany" site.

Thanks again, keep up the good work :)
 
parking in Florence

dear adminstrator. I am going to visit Florence on a day trip too. Your suggestions regarding parking was quite useful. I will be coming from the direction of Siena so Pizalle Michaelanglo is an easy place to get to, but if its full can u suggest some parking lot in the south of town? As I do not want to enter the restricted zone. Also do u suggest to come to Florence on a Sunday or a week day? Can u suggest a nice cheap restaurants that locals go to?

Thanks
 
Parking in Florence

Dear boyracer,

First of all let me say that parking is quite expensive in Florence. In Florence and surroundings there are only parkings spots on payment. There are two kinds of parking:
- white-striped parking: these are only for residents and you cannot park there.
- blue-striped parking: these are for everyone and you can park there. The cost is per hour and goes from 1.00 to 3.00 Euro per hour.

Since you are coming from Siena, I suggest you park right off the Superstrada Firenze-Siena at Firenze Certosa. There is a free parking (on your left heading to Florence) there and you can take bus 37 to Florence city center. You can buy tickets on the bus and cost Euro 2.00 per person.

Otherwise if you want to drive closer to Florence you can park in one of the following places (always looking for blue striped parking):

  • Piazzale Michelangelo, as you suggested. From there you can easily walk. it is about 30 minutes walking from Ponte Vecchio and the Uffizi Gallery. You can even take bus 13 to reach the center.

  • Piazza Beccaria. It is near Lungarno and is an underground parking that is within 20 minutes walking from the Duomo.

You can see here a parkings' map in Florence. Unfortunately information are in Italian.

On Sundays most of the parkings are free of charge and there is not much traffic in Florence. Most of shops in the city center are opened, as well as restaurants and museums. So, yes it can be a good idea coming on Sunday.

Regarding restaurants. Well, eating in Florence is not cheap. For Florentines a cheap restaurant to eat Tuscan food, costs about 20-25 Euro per person. I don't know if this meets your budget.

The better area to eat is Santo Spirito in the Oltrarno area. There are many osterias and trattorias. Behind Palazzo Pitti for example, there is I 4 Leoni Restaurant , located in Piazza della Passera. The food is good and is not too expensive. Otherwise I can suggest you eat at Paoli Restaurant, near Piazza della Signoria, in via dei Tavolini.
What is not missing in Florence, are certainly restaurants and places where to eat!

I hope it helps planning your day trip to Florence.

Have a nice day :D
 
dear Valentina

Thanks for all the information. I try and go on Sunday (I think there is no restriction that day) And try and park in Pizale michaelangelo as the other parking areas seem to be north of the river and might be difficult to cross.

The other place u mentioned Certosa Can u mention a name of a Road I can park so I will look for that road or can I park actually in the main road or shall I park in the small road off the main road?

Thanks
 
Parking in Certosa near Florence

Dear boyracer,

The parking in Certosa is right at the end of the exit of A1 Motorway, as well as the Superstrada Firenze-Siena. Both end at a roundabout. It is a proper parking lot, I'll try to explain its position.

When you are at the end of the Superstrada Firenze-Siena and arrive at the roundabout, you are in what is called Firenze Certosa. Follow directions for Florence (second exit from where you're arriving). As soon as you pass out of the roundabout, you will see on your left side a parking lot a bit below the road. From the roundabout, this is just about 50-80 meters.
The bus stop (Florence direction) is on the opposite site of the parking entrance so you'll need to cross the road.

I don't suggest you park on the street there since there is a lot of traffic and police are often passing.

I hope this helps. Don't hesitate to come back with other questions :D
 
Thanks for your answer, is the parking lot at Certosa free? I looked at the map just to confirm is this parking lot on the road called Via cassia??

In your opinion would I find parking easily on Sunday say 10-11 am in Pizale Michaelangleo or should i just park in Certosa? My concern is that I might have to wait a long time for the bus to come.

I am very grateful for all your help.
 
Parking in Certosa near Florence

Dear boyracer,

The parking lot in Certosa is free and is located along via Cassia. Its Google Maps references are 43.720887,11.223519 - corresponding to the address Via Cassia 80 Impruneta, Firenze. On Google Map you won't see the parking since it was built just recently. From there, you can take bus 37 whose scheduled to pass by there every 30 minutes on Sundays. From there it takes about 20-25 minutes to arrive to Florence's central station.

Piazzale Michelangelo is always busy, from morning to night. Both Florentines and tourists alike crowd the parking spots there. Unfortunately, it isn't easy to say whether you'll be able to find a spot there on Sunday morning, I suppose you can try and cross your fingers. :D
If you don't find a spot at the Piazzale, you can drive back and look for a parking spot (always within blue stripes) along the street in the surroundings. I'm sure you'll find something closer than the Certosa spot :)

I hope this clear your doubts.
 
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