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Renting a car in Florence

Hi,
I will be travelling from Rome to Florence by train and then renting a car to drive to Tuscany and back to Florence, and leaving to go to Venice by train.
Where is the best location to rent a car in Florence ?
I was hoping to rent it near the train station but I've been reading about the dreaded ZTL zones and just a bit afraid of getting fines when driving out/back the Rental place because of the ZTL zones..

Thanks

Posted by
3812 posts

As there are ZTL areas in almost every italian village/town/city you'd better google image ZTL signs.
If I were you, I'd pick the car up in Borgo Ognissanti road and drop it off at Florence airport.

Borgo Ognissanti is a one way street not far from SM Novella station: to avoid the ZTL you should just drive straight till you are out of Florence. Try it on street view.

Posted by
5697 posts

We rented at the airport for just the reasons you stated -- won't know for months whether we got any ZTL violations in our travels, but we avoided any in Florence!

Posted by
1832 posts

I did not find driving out difficult from the rental offices on Borgo Ognissanti ; the major companies have an office on that street. Basically you are inside a ZTL when you pickup the car and you just drive street taking no turns until you are funneled onto the main artery around town outside of the walls at that point.
I suspect driving back in is more challenging though and believe you return to a slightly different location so exact directions would be critical.
Personally I would drive the car to Venice and return there after your time in Tuscany. Rental costs will be the same, will save you time and dropping off at Piazzale Roma is easy, why bother driving back to Florence?
tip: be mindful of your speed on the bridge over to Venice, virtually the entire bridge has speed cameras.

Posted by
6 posts

Thanks for the info.
From Florence we are heading to San Gimignano where we will stay for 4 days and drive around.
Is there a place outside Florence I could rent the car (in between Florence and San Gimignano ) ?
It seems that I could rent a car in Sienna but that seems a bit more south.
Any suggestions are welcome
Thanks

Posted by
1832 posts

Not really, you are best off renting in Florence. Driving out from that city location by the train station really is not bad.

In Italy you can return anywhere within the country usually without any added costs (airport locations often have a premium) so if you don't wish to drive all the way to Venice (even though that will likely save your hours) I am sure you could find a drop off location somewhere in route not far from a train station other than Florence

Posted by
32408 posts

One other point to note is that each driver listed on the rental form will require the compulsory International Driver's Permit which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. You can easily obtain an IDP at any AAA/CAA office for a small fee.

Posted by
6 posts

Thanks for the information .
Yes driving to Venice makes sense.
From your info it appears that the best way is to rent the car in Florence (Borgo Ognissanti) and drop it in Venice (Piazzale Roma) ..
But the Piazzale Roma seem to have an additional coast of $50 euro .. how about returning it to the Venice Mestre Station , is it hard to get to ?
Also in Florence would it be easier to rent from the Airport or the train station (Borgo Ognissanti) ?
.
Thanks again

Posted by
16313 posts

Rent from Borgo Ognissanti. The airport will cost you about $40-50 more in airport rental fees plus about $30 in taxi fare from the city center.
I find it weird that dropping off at Piazzale Roma should carry an extra $50 fee over Mestre. That is news to me. Please check the consolidator website www.autoeurope.com and compare both drop off locations with the various deals offered (Europcar and Hertz are generally cheaper, both are located at Borgo Ognissanti in Florence and Piazzale Roma in Venice).
If you really have to pay $50 extra for Piazzale Roma, then yes, drop it in Mestre. You have to pass by Mestre to reach Venice, and all rental offices are near the Mestre station. From there you need to catch the train to Venezia Santa Lucia station. Be aware that if you choose to take a taxi from Mestre to Piazzale Roma instead of the train, then your $50 will be mostly gone in taxi fare, therefore you might as well drive to Piazzale Roma yourself and pay the extra drop off charge (if it really applies).