We're flying into Venice in October, spend a few days then train to Florence (seen it twice so just want countryside, wineries, etc. this trip) then on for the next two weeks to tour the countryside so we want to rent a car, but want to skip big cities to the extent possible on this trip. We want to see Pisa, Lucca, Volterra, Chianti region, Cortona, Montepulcino, Assissi, Orvietto & returning the car to the Rome airport. Where is the best place -- downtown Florence, Pisa, Lucca, etc. to pick up a rental car and why do you prefer that location? Thanks for your suggestions based on experience.
Posted by
Oregon
111 posts
Based on experience of driving in Florence, I would avoid it. You can get to either Lucca or Pisa town centers by direct train from Florence in 1.25 hours (with more direct departures headed to Pisa). If you take the train to Lucca and spend the night there, that might allow you to pick up the car a day later.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16238 posts
Since you will arrive to Florence via rail, you should probably stay in Florence a couple of days and visit Pisa and Lucca from Florence (by train). A car in Lucca or Pisa is rather useless since the historical center of those two cities is verboten to cars and are both easily reachable by train from Florence. You could even stay in Lucca a couple of nights if you wish.
A car will definitely be useful to go to the other places you mentioned. Those towns and villages also have traffic restrictions in the city centers (ZTL=Limited Traffic Zones), but the car is still useful because they are small and have more limited and less frequent public transportation options.
When you are done visiting Florence, Lucca and Pisa, you could rent a car and visit the rest.
If you rent from Florence, the downtown rental locations are all on Via Borgo Ognissanti. I marked it with A in the map below.
To head to the Chianti follow the itinerary to B. This itinerary is totally ZTL safe.
If you decide to go to Lucca/Pisa by train first and stay there, in that case the Pisa airport would be the location for the rental cars in the area. Not sure if Lucca has any major rental car companies, maybe AVIS and EuropCar.
Here is the itinerary from the Florence pick up to the area near the start of the Chianti Road (SR 222). Driving in Florence is not any worse than Lucca or Pisa. But avoid rush hour in any big town (late mornings btw 10 and 12 are good).