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Visiting Florence

View of Florence skyline from Viale Michelangelo, taken in May 2010 Florence is easy and fast to reach thanks to a dual carriageway (RA 03) that is just 3Km out of San Casciano. You have many options at your disposal to reach Florence centre: using only your car, car and bus or tram, coach only. Keep in mind that once you will be in Florence you probably won't need to use the local bus service to move around the city. Florence is a small city, so using the ATAF bus service can usually be avoided if you are not in a hurry or elderly. The bus service could be useful to save you time on some occasions.
We suggest you to plan places to visit, take your time, and explore the city by feet.

More details about transportation inside the city of Florence.

Weekly closing for most Florentine shops is Monday (some just the morning) and obviously Sunday. Small shops are mostly closed at lunch (12:30 or 13:00 to 15:00 or 15:30, some till 16:00). Closing time is usually 19:30 or 20:00.

By car

Going in Florence by car is fast, the only problem could be the traffic inside the city, the parking (you will have to pay at least 1.5 euro an hour) and the ZTL, a zone with limited access.

If you don't dare about Florentine traffic and parking cost, locate car parks on a street map prior to your departure so you won't loose time in the search of one. Coming from Galluzzo, there are parking spaces with parking meters in the Porta Romana area (in the square, along Viale Petrarca, along the walls entering from Piazza della Calza).

Remember that you cannot enter ZTL with your car unless you have an authorization by Polizia Municipale (also called vigili urbani), which they give only for very limited reasons. The web site of the municipality of Florence has got information about driving in Florence.

Car + bus (car to Galluzzo and then ATAF bus)

If you don't want to use SITA coaches and you prefer going by car, you can drop the car into some toll or free parking just outside the city, in Galluzzo, and then take an ATAF bus (number 36 or 37) to the centre of Florence. We would not suggest this choice as reaching the centre using SITA will take less time. Instead it can be a good choice if you go dining in Florence, as the last SITA bus departs at 21:00 while ATAF bus service still operates till midnight. Please note that ATAF night line 68 that used to substitute lines 36/37 after 20:00 has been recently dismissed.

Car + tramvia

A good alternative, mostly preferred by people living in San Casciano, is reaching the tramvia line in Scandicci. There is a frequent (every six minutes) tram service going from the town of Scandicci to Florence centre. Leave San Casciano by car and reach Scandicci in about 15 minutes, then park the car in a free parking lot near Villa Costanza stop and get the tramvia LineaT1 to Florence centre (Alamanni Stazione stop).

There are free parkings nearby the stops Villa Costanza (end of line), De Andre (Via Sassetti, could be full on Wednesday morning), Resistenza.

Public transport only (BuSITAlia)

The coach service between Florence and San Casciano is operated by BUSITALIA, formerly SITA prior to 2012 (and still referred as such by people).

Buy tickets, go to the Autostazione (bus terminal) below Viale Corsini where the trips start or wait at one of the Busitalia bus stops along the roads. The coach will take you to Florence within 22-35 minutes (more details here) depending where you get down. You can choose to get down at the entrance of the centre, in Porta Romana, to visit Boboli, Pitti and Oltrarno; or drop off at the end of the trip in the heart of Florence, few metres away from the central railway station. By the way, Florence centre is quite small, from Piazza Porta Romana to Duomo is just 20 minutes walk, across the most characteristic Florentine streets of Oltrarno. From Porta Romana you could also take an ATAF bus (line 12) to reach Piazzale Michelangelo with its great panoramic view of the Arno river crossing Florence and then go by foot down to the town centre.
ATAF is a different company from Busitalia/SITA so you need to buy tickets before getting on the bus.

The trip of Busitalia's coaches ends (and starts) in the very centre of Florence, few metres away from the main train station Firenze Santa Maria Novella.

The difference between SITA/BusItalia and ATAF

ATAF is the bus service inside the city of Florence, while Busitalia is one of the coach services that connects Florence to nearby towns and villages. SITA service has been renamed BUSITALIA since the end of 2012 and it's the coach operator for the Florentine Chianti area, while ATAF serves the city and the suburbs of Florence. Those companies use different tickets, so you cannot use an ATAF ticket in a SITA coach.