First family trip to Italy - Tuscany stay question

Having a car in Florence is a nightmare, I believe most, if not ALL of it is ZTL (which means you can't drive there, and if you do, you will get a HEFTY fine, and you WILL pay it, beause the police add it to your car rental fee) There have been many, many posts on this board regarding these traffic fines. Maybe someone on here can advise you where outside the city limits you can
park a car. OR, you can do Florence first, (2 days) and pick your car up at the airport there, avoiding the dreaded ZTL, and then onward to your agriturismo. Florence is my favorite city in Italy, maybe all of Europe. The magnificent museums, churches, piazzas at night are all breathtaking. Don't try to do it in one day if at all possible.

Danielle, Regarding the ZTL areas (Zona Traffico Limitato), these are present in many towns in Italy, but few of them are covered with automated Cameras to the extent that Florence is. Many rely on more "old fashioned" methods of enforcement. As I recall, there was a post here not too long ago from someone that got "nicked" in Lucca also. When a ticket is issued, the authorities obtain information on the renter from the car rental agency, who charge an extra fee for providing this information. The fine is above that. The ticket is passed to a "clearing house" (European Municipality Outsourcing) and not typically received for many months, long past the period when it could be appealed. There's often a bit of a debate here on whether to pay these tickets or ignore them. That may no longer be as debatable, as European authorities seem to now be using local Collection Agencies in both the U.S. and Canada, and they're very persistent. By the time the ticket is paid, the cost is often much higher than the original ticket. One other aspect to mention is that for driving in Italy, EACH driver must have the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. These are easily obtained for a small fee from any AAA office (Passport photo required), and are valid for one year. Failure to produce an I.D.P. if requested can result in fines on the spot! There are also a few potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of when travelling by train. If you need further info on those, post another note. Happy travels!

If you stay at an agriturismo, you must have a car.
These are the options. If you choose to stay in an agriturismo the entire time in Tuscany and from there day trip to Florence, Lucca, PIsa, Siena, Chianti and various towns in between, you should choose an agriturismo that is between Florence and Siena reasonably close to the freeway that connect Florence to Siena. Based on what you want to visit, a little closer to Florence is better. Pienza is somewhat decentralized, since it's south of Siena and it's a distance to the freeway. From Pienza to Pisa or Lucca you are looking at 2 and 1/2 hours drive. If you stay closer to Florence you'll save half of the time since Florence is more central to all the places you may want to visit. Regarding visiting those cities by car, all of them have their historical center closed to the traffic (except for residents). All you have to do is park in a paid parking lot at the edge of the ZTL (there are plenty of parking lots) and visit inside the walls on foot. If you choose to split your time between an agriturismo and another location, you may be better off staying in Florence (without a rental car) and visit Florence, Pisa and Lucca using trains and buses. Then you rent a car, go to an agriturismo near Siena and visit Siena, San Gimignano, Volterra, Pienza, Monteriggioni etc (the smaller towns, most of which are btw Florence and Siena provinces) with the car.

We were there in Nov. I liked seeing Lucca but I don't know if I would want to stay 3 nights there. Driving in Florence is hard. I have driven in NY, LA, DC, Ireland and never ever had a problem. I did ok driving out of Florence but on our return, we could not find the rental office. Mainly because I thought the road was a pedestrian walk way. We wound up hiring a taxi to get us to the office. I also got stuck paying 4 Traffic Limit zone fines, driving around trying to find the rental office. If I had it to do over again, I would have listened to people's advice from this board and dropped the car off at the airport. Assisi, Sienna, and Florence were my favorite parts of Italy. I would chose those three over Pisa and Lucca.

..you WILL pay it, beause the police add it to your car rental fee) ..... That is an incorrect statement. When the ticket is presented to the rental company, they will charge your credit card with an administrative fee to provide your name and address to the police. It takes about a year for the ticket with the hefty fine to finds its way to your mail box. The rental company does not pay the fine for you and recharge you. I would be very careful of Carol's advice. Tried to review web site for creditability. Appears to be none. At best, it looks like a blog site where anyone can post an opinion or a rant. And it may be a hoax.

Thank you for all the helpful info everyone!

I would stay in 1 spot for the week and do your side trips. We stayed in Siena at this amazing family friendly agriturismo- Il Canto Del Sole and did all our side trips from there. It has a beautiful pool and game area on a huge piece of property the kids can play on. When you visit the bug cities you just need to remember to park out of the middle of them and walk in or take a bus. You will be fine.

It is also false information that driving a non-Italian registered vehicle will let you avoid traffic fines. There are EU-wide protocols and the ticket will find it's way to the registered owner, and if it's a rental agency they charge a fee and give your name to the Italian authorities. The Italian agency will send a bill and if you're European you'll pay it. If you're not, they have no legal recourse, but they may have an annoying collection person call you up. There are tax dodges that some Italians use that involve foreign registered vehicles and yachts, but it's not for traffic tickets.

8 or 9 years ago we stayed for a week in a villa outside Montevarchi on the edge of the Chianti area. We had a car and drove all over the region to many of the wonderful villages, but one day we just went into Montevarchi and took an early train into Florence. It was a perfect way to have both the peace of the country and to see a little of Florence, too. I love the trains in Europe and always try to include ways to have at least a short train journey when I am there. We also parked at the airport in Pisa and took the bus into town to the Field of Miracles for a brief sight of the tower. You really don't need to stay long unless you insist on going to the top. Personally, I am not a fan, but I know it is really important to some.