Car Rental Return (or pick up) at Firenze Santa Maria Novella station underground garage

This is excellent info...returning a rental car is always stressful...these detailed directions will be helpful!

Thank you so much Roberto.

Thank you so much for posting this recent changes for car rental return in Florence. The instructions are perfect and clear. I did a reservation with Europcar through Auto Europe using the BORGO OGNISSANTI location for pick up and return. When I received the confirmation the return location is for P. DELLA STAZIONE 58R PARK GARAGE. I called Auto Europe customer support and they confirmed the new return location which in our case is perfect because we are going to take the train to Venice. I told them that my main concern was the ZTL zone and violations but they told me I should not have any problems following the rental car instructions. Although we are picking up and returning during Sunday days, I am still concern of the Florence ZTL. I did a Google search for additional info about how to get to this new location and your post was the first one to show up. I want to confirm that your directions to the P. DELLA STAZIONE 58R PARK GARAGE will not create a ZTL violation.

Thanks again for all your previous and current posting about Florence ZTL and excuse my paranoia with the Florence ZTL.

I would add a single advice to Roberto's excellent instructions, that is: have some buffer time. The traffic lights at the intersection of via Jacopo da Diacceto and via Alamanni are programmed to give green lights to trams coming from two different directions, so often cars will be left queueing and maybe several minutes (at peak times, many minutes) will be lost.

Thanks to Roberto for this information. And thanks to juanrm030658 for topping this.

We will be returning a car to Firenze SMN underground parking station, and we will be coming from Siena. Roberto, I am wondering why you recommend setting our navigator to go to Piazza Gaddi first? Why not set the navigator for P. Della Stazione 58R Park Garage? Seems like that would be easier but maybe there's something I don't know.

Thank you so much!

I am wondering why you recommend setting our navigator to go to Piazza
Gaddi first? Why not set the navigator for P. Della Stazione 58R Park Garage?

I'm sure you can and you will still reach your destination through the same Piazza Gaddi route. At least if you come from Siena.

The reason of Piazza Gaddi is because the first time I posted these directions it was to lead people to the Garage Europa on Borgo Ognissanti, where the rental return used to be, and in that case, coming from Siena the navigator, if set directly to Borgo Ognissanti, would send people through the more challenging route through Porta San Frediano and the Vespucci Bridge, a route that would get some people confused and often ended up inside the ZTL on either Borgo San Frediano, as they failed to make the turn to Via Sant'Onofrio or they would accidentally turn right on Lungarno Vespucci after crossing the bridge. Sending people to Piazza Gaddi first, avoided the possibility that Google Maps would send a driver through Piazza Vettori >> Porta San Frediano.

Also Piazza Gaddi reminds me of this movie. And I like to make Americans experience the thrill of driving in the same circumstances as Chevy Chase.

Thanks to Roberto for posting the link to the route from Piazza Gaddi to the SMN underground parking. We too will find it useful next month.

HOWEVER, when I follow the route on Street View to the intersection of SS67 and Via Jacopo da Diacceto, I can see a ZTL sign on Via Jacopo da Diacceto immediately after turning off SS67. From the information on the sign it seems there may be exemptions sabato and domenica, and before 0830/after 1830 lunedi -venerdi. But maybe not, as there's also a sign displaying no entry 0-24, except for authorized vehicles.

Any advice Roberto can provide on this will be helpful.

Thanks.

The sign at the beginning of via Jacopo da Diacceto (nobody but the electronic navigators use the reference to SS67) says that access is forbidden, 0 to 24 hours, to light vehicles in the euro 1 pollution class, to cars and trucks in euro 1 and euro 2 (if diesel) classes, and euro 3/4 diesel cars and trucks are forbidden but only Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 6.30pm., but in cases of special authorizations. It is highly unlikely for hire cars to be so old to be classified in so low pollution classes (a ten years old car will be likely euro 6).

As lachera said, it’s a restriction for older more polluting cars. To be classified Euro 1 or Euro 2 the car has to be about 25 years old or older.

Cars produced in 2001 are already classified Euro 3.

Cars produced after 2015 are Euro 6.

lachera and Roberto...thank you for that explanation. It's very helpful.