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

Posted by (San Francisco Bay Area (USA)) on

The rental car return for several companies (maybe all) is no longer at the Interpark Garage Europa on Borgo Ognissanti.
Now it appears that you may be asked to return the car at the Firenze SMN underground parking station, where the Sixt rental return is also located..

These are the directions from Piazza Taddeo Gaddi to the SMN underground parking

Piazza Taddeo Gaddi is a good starting point for those coming from south of Florence (Siena province or Chianti) using the A1 FIRENZE SCANDICCI exit. Therefore set your navigator to go to Piazza Gaddi first, then use the above Google Maps directions.

If you are picking up at the same Firenze SMN underground garage (Sixt is there for sure), these are the reverse directions from the underground garage TO Piazza Taddeo Gaddi.

I suggest you use the Street View feature in Google if you want to see what the actual route looks like in pictures.

From the freeway exit (FIRENZE SCANDICCI) to Piazza Gaddi, or viceversa, you don't have to worry about anything (no ZTL) except make sure you don't travel on top of the lightrail tramway tracks (that would be something only Mr. Magoo would do), and make sure you stay under the speed limit of 50 km/h, because there is the infamous Speed Camera of Viale Etruria which reaches a record of about 1000 violations recorded every single day. The speed camera of Viale Etruria is located here approximately near the IP gasoline station, it is overhead and records speeds for about 150 feet in each direction. So pay attention.

Posted by
3278 posts

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

Thank you so much Roberto.

Posted by
12 posts

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.

Posted by
1779 posts

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.

Posted by
1764 posts

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!

Posted by
16255 posts

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.

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