So what is the dreaded ZLT?

Not ZLT but ZTL for "Zona Traffico Limitato" - Traffic Limited Zone

A lot of people have been referencing this page I made:

http://www.florence-on-line.com/maps-of-florence/florence-driving-map-ztl.html

Here is the official Italian tourism website http://www.italiantourism.com/transp.html

There are also long discussions here on the subject - good luck!

Here's the link to the on-going discussion of ZTL's, on this forum and mentioned by Anthony:

http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/28422/why-you-dont-want-to-drive-into-the-florence-historic-center.html

After you click the above link, you'll find lots of info, discussion, and more links to further info.

Then get back to us if you have more questions.

Immune to motorcyles them ZTLs.

Mike,

If you're not planning on driving in Italy, you won't have to worry about the ZTL areas.

If you are planning to drive, note that you'll also require an International Driver's Permit (IDP) for driving in Italy. Failure to produce one if requested can result in a fine on the spot.

Cheers!

Ken, whats the amount of the fine? The fine for not having an IDP? :)

Mike,

ZTL is simply the Italian term for city centre streets that are closed to vehicular traffic. You find them in pretty much every town in Europe, including Brittany. The difference in Italy is the way they are enforced which can get extremely expensive for drivers who don't pay attention to the signs. The signs also spell out exeptions for a few cases that will allow drivers to enter theses streets, usually for local residents and deliveries. But those exeptions rarely apply to tourists.

If you're driving make sure you find a parking spot well outside these zones.

If you're not driving enjoy the fact that you can stroll around those streets in peace as a pedestrian.

Actually, at least in Florence, ZTLs are closed to all but local traffic. Your license plate tells where your car is registered. Cars registered in Florence center can drive there without getting a ticket. Everyone else is ticketed. Cameras photograph license plates and, I assume, a large staff of people at the police station use the information to send out tickets.

If you rely on no automobile traffic, you will end up driving into a ZTL and get fined.

There are also pedestrian zones that are much easier to avoid because you will be the only car on the road - which is always an indication something is seriously wrong.

We watched for ZTL signs like a hawk and were able to avoid the zones. We parked outside the zone and walked about a mile from a parking lot to our hotel in the center. I think Florence also has some routes you can follow through town and not get ticketed marked by a yellow line. I read about them but never actually saw a sign for them or a yellow line.

If you are staying at a hotel in the center, it's possible for the hotel to clear your car for driving in the city. I wouldn't rely on it, however, because Italians don't see a "sense of urgency" in anything. If they didn't get around to notifying police, they probably wouldn't care that much and you would be stuck with the ticket.

Brad I have to respond to a couple of your points:

"in Florence, ZTLs are closed to all but local traffic. Your license plate tells where your car is registered"

This isn't exactly correct. If you are a resident, you actually have a small electronic device that gets stuck on your windshield, and a parking placard for inside the car. Sometimes (most evenings except in Spring and Summer and Sundays) the ZTL cameras are turned off and you can drive any car into the ZTL - not on pedonale (pedestrian streets) but inside the ZTL. If you don't have that, then the cameras click the photo, and look you up for the ticketing process from your license plate.

"Florence also has some routes you can follow through town and not get ticketed marked by a yellow line"

I have never heard of or seen this - does anyone else know about this?

"If you are staying at a hotel in the center, it's possible for the hotel to clear your car for driving in the city. I wouldn't rely on it, however, because Italians don't see a "sense of urgency" in anything."

That just isn't true - plenty of people in rental cars or their own cars from other parts of Italy, Europe, etc. stay at hotels and drive in. If you tell your hotel you have a rental car they will exempt your plate for you. Same for dropping off a rental (some rental drop offers require you to drive under a camera). But - this doesn't mean you are free to drive anywhere you want inside the ZTL. There are still some entrances/streets that are only for buses, emergency vehicles, etc.

We have driven into plenty of ZTLs, in Ravenna, Ascoli Piceno, etc. where the hotel took care of this for us and have never seen a ticket in a case like that.

The ZTL in Florence consists of 5 interconnected zones, not just one large one. Once you enter the ZTL, there is a good chance that you will accidentally pass from one of these zones and into another. Each time you do this, it is a separate offense, incurring a fine each time. There is not a "yellow" traffic lane that you can safely take through the city center. Do not drive, rent a car, or bring your own car into the city center. If you are renting a car, rent or return at the airport and taxi into/out of town. Don't rely on your hotel to clear your vehicle with the local police. There are plenty of posters here who have racked up fines because of their hotel's lack assistance with this, and even if you furnish proof that you stayed at that particular hotel, it is still difficult get out of the fine once it is levied.

It means "Tourists in cars, keep the Hell out".

We just returned from Italy and we rented an apt inside the city walls in Lucca. Most of the old city is a ztl. We drove in, offloaded our luggage and then parked the car on the ring road surrounding the city. There was a pedestrian portal right near our apt so it was easy. We did go to Florence one day but after a traffic nightmare in Sienna two days earlier, we took the train. No traffic and no ztls....no parking hassles (it took us longer to find a parking spot in Sienna than it did to drive there from Lucca-DONT DRIVE THERE ON MARKET DAY).