We are renting a car tomorrow from the Hertz office at Borgo Ognissanti,37 in Florence and want to drive to Greve in Chianti and on to Siena on 222. We have good maps and I've requested a GPS, however when I Google Maps the route, it looks very confusing. The directions hardly use the 222 designation, instead listing road names and multiple roundabouts, which make us apprehensive. Can anyone offer any guidance or, hopefully, reassurance? Grazie!
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
I can't offer any reassurance, but I can say that in Italy, the route numbers are hardly used except on your maps (you won't see them much when actually looking at signs while driving). So, you navigate by next town. To use a US example, when driving around Washington, DC, you have to know that "Baltimore" means north and "Richmond" means south (the words "north" and "south" are often omitted). That's how roads are signed in Italy, except on smaller roads, you won't have heard of most of the towns. Hence the reason many here strongly recommend a GPS. If you don't get one (or if it fails you), be sure to have detailed paper maps and a navigator who can find the city names on them.
Posted by
HENDERSON, Nevada, United States
91 posts
Try using viamichelin.com and print out those maps and directions. I find them much easier to use for Italy than Google. good luck!
Posted by
Rochelle, IL
263 posts
Always know the town ahead. Use that as a guide on the roundabouts. Example, if the third exit is Greve, take the third exit. We used printed Google directions from the airport to Panzano, which took us through Greve, and did not get lost. Don't panic over the roundabouts, remember whoever is in them has the right of way...and be careful. The roads are narrow, curvy and none seem to be marked with names. Have fun
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16236 posts
Are you going through Ferrone or Grassina? Don't worry you can ask for directions and people will help you