hotel parking in Florence

Posted by tonylawrance22 on 02/20/14 07:33 PM

I've read the many, many warnings about driving/parking in Florence.

Here is our situation: We will be driving to Florence and staying in a hotel which offers free parking. They have told us they they will take our car's license number and register it and then we will be able to drive in the ZTL without getting a ticket. The idea is that we drive directly to the hotel and park the car and then we will be able to drive it out of the city when we check out (no additional driving in the ZTL).

Has anyone done this before? Is this how it works - they "register" your license # - and then you can avoid the dreaded parking police? Alternatively, has anyone done this and lived to regret it - i.e. they ended up with tickets when they returned home?

Thanks for any advice you can offer!

Posted by Ken

Vernon, Canada

02/20/14 07:44 PM

32405 posts

tony,

Based on comments that I've seen here over a period of several years, my impression is that hotels may or may not actually register your license number. Several people have reported here in the past that they were told by their hotel that the car was "registered", and yet they still received ZTL tickets several months after they got home. Of course, by that time it was too late to contest the tickets (an onerous process at best), so they were left to deal with them.

You mentioned one key point, and that's to drive directly to your hotel rather than wandering about the city, so be sure to plan on the most direct route.

I don't have a definite answer, but I'm sure Roberto or one of the others will have some comments to add.

Happy travels!

Posted by tonylawrance22 OP

02/20/14 08:34 PM

2 posts

Thanks, Ken! Not sure we want to risk this... Anybody else want to weigh in?

Posted by Roberto da Firenze ⚜

San Francisco Bay Area (USA)

02/20/14 09:26 PM

16238 posts

Yes,
The hotel is supposed to insert your lic. plate # in a special City of Florence website page. That is called the "Lista Bianca" (White List) of temporary access. The access is deemed authorized for the 3 hours preceding the moment you arrived to the parking garage (they must insert in the website the time you arrived at the garage).
However, the transit is allowed according the the shortest path to reach the garage. That means that you can't just enter from the opposite side of the city center and roam around the historical center for 3 hours before reaching the destination garage. I can help you determine how to get there safely and from which ZTL entry if you tell me the exact address of where you will be parking the car.
If between the ZTL entry point and your destination, you get stopped by a Municipal Police Officer (they have a white hat, sometimes shaped like the Coneheads if they are on foot or on bycicle), it is sufficient to verbally explain that you are going to that garage and show your reservation for the hotel/apartment.
However even if you show the policeman that you have that reservation the garage still needs to enter the number in the website to avoid the ticket.
Make sure the hotel doesn't forget to register your vehicle in the website. They have to do so within the next business day.