Needed some specific advice on rental cars from Florence train station. I was thinking of renting a car at the train station, traveling to Pisa and Siena and return the same day.
Is the car rental near the railway station in the ZTL zone?
Is it better to rent the car at the airport location? Any suggestions on where to park in Pisa and Siena? Thank you
Posted by
8443 posts
Sorry, I would not drive in Italy. People are getting tickets that cost huge amounts for tiny violations and more.
I recommend finding a tour or checking out the rail service.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8359 posts
Pisa is an hour west of Florence by train.
Siena is an hour south of Florence by bus, and it's especially congested and hard to find parking spaces there.
You really would do better visiting both towns by train and bus (respectively) on separate days. Or take a tour down to Siena and see if you can visit San Gimignano on the same day.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23652 posts
We had a car and had enormous problems with parking in Siena. We finally found an obscure university parking garage but too us more than hour to find it. The closer lots were full with cars waiting for a space to open up.
Posted by
WPB, FL & Firenze
3112 posts
There are car rental locations on Borgo Ognissanti, a few blocks from the train station and outside the ZTL zone, but none at the train station. With the parking challenges people are reporting in Siena, you might consider doing the trip by train and bus. You could take an early train to Pisa (about an hour), a late morning train to Siena (about 1:45) and an evening bus back to Florence (about an hour). The cost for all 3 tickets would be around 30 euro per person, so pretty reasonable.
Posted by
Colorado Springs
3037 posts
We just spent 3 nights there and never had problems finding parking in the underground lot at the train station which, at 2 Euros per day, is a bargain.
Posted by
San Franciso Bay Area, USA
1043 posts
We rented a car last June to stay and toured the Tuscan countryside. We opted to rent at the airport and return in Siena. Your rental agency and/or Waze can help you avoid the ZTL zones. The airport for us was convenient as we were heading south and it was a quick hop to the Motorway. We found driving in Italy fairly straightforward.
As for parking, there are a number of options in Siena, including the stadium which is a short walk from the city center. Note, we had a miserable time finding parking in Siena (took us 30 minutes). The issue was twofold: we had a large van (to hold 6 people) and it was market day. If you go on market day, go early or late. We did not drive to Pisa.
Another option for you is to take the train. As others have mentioned Pisa takes about 50 minutes from Florence, train to Siena takes 1 hour 3 minutes from Florence. If you opt to visit the same day, the train from Pisa to Siena takes 1 hour 45 minutes with one change.
Have a great trip,
Sandy
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thanks for all the suggestions