|
HOW TO TRAVEL IN THE CITY CENTRE AND ITS VICINITY
Florence is easy to visit by foot or by using the city buses,
which have frequent routes. The foreign tourist should know
that a single ticket allows the traveller to visit the zones
in the surrounding suburbs of the city (up to 15km from the
city centre).
Florence also has several bus lines - buses
are bright orange. Bus stops are marked with orange signs
displaying the route of the particular bus line. You can get
around the historic center of Florence on bus lines A and
B. These are small orange electric buses which can navigate
the narrow streets of Florence.
Bus tickets have to be bought before you get on the bus and
stamped with the stamping machine on the bus. Tickets can
be bought from newstands and bars displaying the ATAF sign
(the sign of the bus company in Florence). After the bus ticket
is stamped on the bus, it is usually valid for one hour, depending
on the type of the bus ticket.
The public transport in Florence reaches all the places where
the famous monuments are found and all the other tourist attractions.
The No.12 and 13 buses are worthwhile, as their routes travel
around the city in the duration of an hour, and the No. 7
bus which travels to Fiesole. Ataf, the Florentine Bus Company,
does not have a central bus station, but most of the buses
leave from the Santa Maria Novella train station. In order
to move around the city you may also need a taxi, but it is
advisable to only use taxis with authorisation. The principal
waiting areas for taxis are at Via Pellicceria, Piazza Santa
Maria Novella and Piazza San Marco.
Out of Town Transport
The train is a pleasant way to travel in Tuscany. The Ferrovie
dello Stato offers the possibility of travelling either
on the slow local service (trains which stop at every station),
on the rapid intercity or on the express service Eurostar.
The network which links the major cities is very efficient
whereas the smaller cities are more easily reached by coach.
There are in fact many coach companies which link Florence
to the most important Tuscan cities of art and also the
major European cities. The principal coach companies which
operate in Florence are Lazzi, la Copit, la Sita and the
Cap. Their information and ticket offices are located nearby
the Santa Maria train station. However, for those who don't
want to be tied to limiting timetables, it might be a good
idea to consider renting a car which although has higher
costs, gives the traveller much more liberty: Above all
for those who intend to visit not only Florence, but also
the other centres of artistic interest in Tuscany. ...see
more.
TRAVELLING BY TAXI
They can only be caught at taxi ranks which are signified
by a 'TAXI' sign. Usually the taxis charge extra for luggage
and travelling between 7pm amd 10pm, so ask the drivers
if there are extras before you caught the taxi.
When booking a taxi, the meter starts running as soon as
your booking is confirmed and the taxi comes to pick you
up. Walking to the nearest taxi rank in the day time might
be a better option.
The main taxi ranks in Florence are Piazza
Duomo, Piazza della Republica, Piazza Stazione, Piazza San
Marco, Porta Romana
DRIVING IN FLORENCE AND PARKINGS
The city has a large blue area (zona blu),
or pedestrian zone, and to get into the central
part of town, the area within the viali di circonvallazione
during the day one has to have special permission or be a
resident.
Your best bet is to park your car and use public transportation.
A number of years ago George Scithers, founder of Asimov's
Science Fiction Magazine and now Editor of Weird Tales, was
asked how to go about founding a new science fiction magazine.
His reply? "Don't." Not out of jealously, but because
it's a tremendous amount of work and the chances of success
are minimal.
He might have said the same thing had someone asked him about
driving in Florence. The city has a large zona blu, or pedestrian
zone, and to get into the central part of town, the area within
the viali di circonvallazione (the boulevards circling the
city) during the day one has to have special permission or
be a resident. There are two major exceptions to this grim
state of affairs. The first is the Santa Maria Novella train
station, which you can reach if you're going to pick someone
up or drop them off, or if you want to park in the station's
underground lot. It is centrally located, so this is not a
bad bet, but it's also not cheap. The second way to get into
town is to make reservations at a hotel that offers garage
service (or has a loading area where you can put your car).
Once you arrive you can leave your car in the space permitted,
but you can't drive it around.
This is during the workweek; on Sundays and holiday, and after
6:30 PM, anyone can enter the zona blu (except on weekends
in the summer, when the forbidden hours are extended). As
you might expect, a great many take advantage of this; traffic
frequently backs up and parking becomes quite difficult. Also,
there are some streets in the very heart of town, especially
in the section between the Duomo and Piazza della Signoria,
which remain closed to traffic regardless.
At this point, assuming you're driving into
town for the day, you may be thinking about leaving your car
outside the zona blu and using public transportation -- not
a bad option, actually, because the service is comprehensive
and almost all the bus lines intersect in one of two or three
points in the heart of town. However, again you will have
to be careful. The parking on many of the streets is set aside
for local residents; if you see a circular red-and-blue disk
with a red slash across it, and a little tag underneath it
saying eccetto... residenti con contrassegno, it means one
has to live in the neighborhood to park in that spot. Some
streets are one-side-reserved and the other not, so you may
be lucky.
Or you can park in a street-side lot (the
parking spaces are outlined in blue); get your ticket from
the parking meter, which will be mounted on the sidewalk or
in the middle of the lot. Unless there's a lot attendant on
duty. One thing to keep in mind with these lots is that they
charge from 8 AM to 8 PM, so if you arrive later, say to go
to dinner, you won't have to pay.
If you do park after 6:30 in the zona blu, or after 8 in a
lot, make sure that you move your car early -- before 8 in
the morning if you parked in a lot, or before 8:30 if you
parked in the zona blu. Otherwise you risk getting ticketed.
And, last thing: if you leave your car overnight, make certain
that it's not street-cleaning night in that neighborhood (once
a week, and you'll find signs saying what night -- Thursday
from 0-6 means Wednesday night). Otherwise your car will certainly
be ticketed and probably be towed.
If you think this is a tremendous hassle,
you're right. Indeed, your best bet will be to arrive in Florence
by public transportation (bus, train or plane) and wait until
the day you plan to explore the countryside or leave the city
to rent a car. If you must come by car, then you should make
reservations with a hotel that offers garage service, and
ask them how to get to their garage. Coming to visit friends?
Ask them for advice. A last thing: non-resident access to
hotels in the heart of town is limited to people who reside
outside Tuscany.
If your car is tagged Siena, or some other
Tuscan city, this is yet another reason to use public transportation.
Please visit firenzeparcheggi.it to
find your parking place in Florence.
|
