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Renting a car in Florence to drive in Tuscany

Posted by (Glenwood Springs, CO, USA) on

Ciao all~

My sister and I will be in Italy in two weeks. We are renting a car in Florence to drive for a couple of days in Tuscany and then returning the car to Florence, and taking the train for the remainder of our stay in Italy. I am very unsure about driving in Florence (picking up and returning at the airporto), I'm OK about driving in Tuscany, not in the city. She is very confident about driving anywhere. Has anyone picked up a car and then returned it to the airport? Are we likely to encounter those "tourist do not enter zones"? She is the free spirit and I am the worrier (probably obvious). I just need for this trip to be special and free of stress, as I so need a vacation, and it is also my 50th birthday! Thanks for any insight, ideas, etc. Ciao!

Posted by
6898 posts

As long as you can see the ZTL sign and avoid entry into the zone, you will be fine. One problem is that the street names are on the sides of the buildings but the ZTL sign is not. Thus, you need eyes in two different places.

CLICK HERE to see more information and a picture of the sign.

Posted by
632 posts

Valorie,

The simple answer is, if you are picking up and returning the car to the airport, and you are not driving through Florence, you are not going to enter a ZTL, so you can stop stressing right now.

Posted by
10344 posts

Here's the photo, referred to by Larry, of the dreaded sign, scourge to hundreds of hapless American car renters in the streets of Firenze:

Posted by
12 posts

Thanks you guys! All really helpful info. I will stop stressing now. Grazie!

Posted by
497 posts

To add to Kent's explanation: the empty white circle with red border is a standard European sign meaning no vehicles allowed. Sometimes you see it with additional text like on the ZTL sign detailing exemptions or special conditions but every time you see the empty circle you are about to enter a vehicle limited zone.

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