We will be arriving around noon on Saturday, April 8 at Florence's airport and driving to our accommodations about 45 minutes south of Florence. Is there a safe place to park cars with luggage showing inside them? The bags will not all fit in the trunk. It seems that is a big temptation for thieves. However, it will be a long time for us to go all the way to where we are staying and then back to Florence to get in a few hours of sightseeing.
Posted by
Firenze, Italy
1725 posts
Theft from cars is recently on the rise in Florence and it is not recommended to leave anything visible; some say, not even invisible things in the trunk (I was told, I do not know if really true, that some thieves use sensors to detect batteries in the trunk, that could mean valuable electronics). I would consider a relatively small private indoor parking that probably is better guarded at least during the day. There is one in via Alamanni, almost in front of the station, or several in the city center. - In the last twenty days I had two colleagues that had their windows smashed to steal trivial things left exposed; the cost of repairing the windows greatly exceeds the value of stolen things. It was in the Cascine area, in a reserved outdoor parking area watched by a security camera.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
7236 posts
You’ll want to be very careful driving in and out of Florence due to ZTLS
There are maps that indicate the ZTL zones (sorry don’t have link)
Study them and get clear directions or you’ll find nasty surprises in your mailbox when you get home.
Hopefully Roberto will see your post and offer his expert advice
Is this the only day you have to see Florence? Might be wiser to head to your lodgings and return to Florence another day using public transportation
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32365 posts
As the previous reply indicated, you need to be VERY careful when driving in Florence, due to the numerous Zona Traffico Limitato (ZTL) areas, many of which are enforced by automated cameras. You may find this website helpful - https://www.visitflorence.com/tourist-info/driving-in-florence-ztl-zone.html . Hefty fines will result from each pass through a ZTL area, and you probably won't be aware of these until several months after you return home.
Also note that each driver must have the compulsory *International Driver's Permit (IDP), which is used in conjunction with your home D.L.
Again as previously mentioned, hopefully Roberto, lachera or one of the other experts on the forum will be able to provide some "safe" parking suggestions.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16135 posts
This is one not far from the airport and on the way to the city center. If you select Europcar as your car rental company they use this garage also, therefore you might save some money over picking up your rental at the airport. Europcar calls this rental car pick up location FORLANINI. I used it a couple of times.
https://garagefirenze.it/en/firenze-nord-forlanini-street-2/
It’s located here:
Garage Firenze Nord – Garage Firenze
+39 055 417006
https://maps.app.goo.gl/afdX31HS3ziFMn9R6?g_st=ic
The light rail tramway T2 stop called SAN DONATO-UNIVERSITA is just steps away.
Another option not far from the above, on the way to the city center on the boulevard called Viale Redi, is below
https://www.garageimperiale.com/
Unfortunately the website seems to be in Italian only.
Located here:
Garage Imperiale
+39 055 332013
https://maps.app.goo.gl/c85EYgYqWn8z6qev6?g_st=ic
From this Garage you can also take the T2 light rail tramway to the city center. The T2 stop is across the Mugnone Creek from the Garage. The stop is called PONTE ALL’ASSE. From the garage walk right, then cross the bridge on the creek on your left and the tramway stop is there. It’s just a couple of stops after the UNIVERSITY stop mentioned above.
Both garages are closely guarded by videocameras and security staff. You won’t have to worry about safety there. They even offer luxury car surveilled parking and all kind of other services while parked (valet parking, delivery of the car the location of your choice, hand washing, tire services, EV rental, rental car, luxury car surveillance parking service, etc.)
Both are between the airport and the station in the city center, so you don’t have to enter anywhere near the ZTL (restricted traffic zone), they are easy to reach from the airport (5 min drive) and also to get out of town from when you are done sightseeing, besides being along the T2 light rail tramway line which connects the main station downtown to the airport.
They ain’t cheap (€24 for 4 hours to half day), but peace of mind is priceless, for everything else, including parking fee, there is Mastercard.