Flying into Florence, Bologna or both

I picked a random date in June for BLQ--YVR on Lufthansa site and got several ( one-stop) solutions

When I did a round trip from Bologna it worked. When I tried to fly into Florence and out of Bologna I had a problem. I may just call. I think I am wondering more about the airports themselves. Is one easier to get in and out of? I believe that Bologna is a bigger airport with more flight options. Thanks, Wanda

I'm not sure what the problem is. On Google Flights I picked a random day in June, selected multicity option, then entered YVR- Florence and Bologna - YVR and a date 2 weeks later. Google flights then showed all the flights. I then picked a couple of flights and selected the Lufthansa booking option. On the L. site I entered the same flight ticket type, cities, and dates, and up popped the same flight options to Florence and from Bologna. Make sure you select multicity each time, with the correct dates for each flight.

I've flown into and out of Florence twice. On our last flight we were delayed leaving because of high winds. Fortunately those same high winds helped get us to our connection in Frankfurt faster than planned. I've also heard that Florence can occasionally see delays due to weather because of the local geography. If you decide to do a return to/from Bologna, it's only a relatively short train trip to Florence.

Thanks so much. I tried again and got it to work. Now just to decide which flights to take. Some of the flights have only a 2 hour layover in Frankfurt, Zurich or Paris. It doesn't seem very long especially in an unfamiliar airport and given that flights may be delayed. I am more familiar with direct flights so this is new to me.

Some of the flights have only a 2 hour layover in Frankfurt, Zurich or Paris.

Zurich is an easy airport for connections. I’ve made it through with a one hour connection. Personally, I avoid connections in Paris. I also would be fine with 2 hours in Frankfurt.

Florence airport has a short runway and therefore only certain types of plane can land there. Hence it is not a major hub and more airlines use Bologna and particularly Pisa in that region.

You should be able to have a multi city YVR > FLR (via some other European hub), then BLQ > YVR (via some other European hub).
Regarding the layover with Lufthansa (via FRA) or Swiss (via ZRH) those are both easy airports where 2 hours are sufficient, unless there are major delays. For Air France via CDG I prefer to have a bit longer layover. Two hours are sufficient, but all it takes is a slight delay on the arrival leg, and you might have to wait for the next flight to Florence. Paris CDG is a huge airport and terminal transfer takes about 90 min.

Regarding your plan to arrive to FLR and depart from BLQ, that is the best choice given your itinerary. Florence airport sometimes experiences delays in case of high winds or fog due to the short runway, but that possibility is more likely in the winter months. If you travel in late spring or summer, it doesn't happen often at all. I've traveled from/to FLR many times and the only time my flight was canceled (and was bussed to Bologna) was because of mechanical problems. Also, in the unlikely event you fly to FLR on a bad windy day, the flight would be diverted to BLQ or PSA, then you would be bussed to FLR. You will arrive later, but still you will be in FLR the same day. More risky is to fly out of FLR, because if your flight is canceled and you need to be bussed to BLQ, you will likely miss the connection to YVR at the European hub, and there are only a flight a day to YVR with any airline. So flying out of BLQ would not be a problem.

Pisa is not a great option if you come from North America. It's the bigger airport in Tuscany, but it operates almost exclusively low cost European airlines, like RyanAir, EasyJet, Wizz etc. but most major airlines (like Lufthansa, AirFrance, Swiss) have ceased to fly there or have severely reduced flights to Pisa. So it's a good airport if you live in Europe, but not so much if you come from North America with a traditional legacy airline. If you don't fly to FLR, then BLQ is really the only other option.

Thanks for all the information about flights and the various airports. I now the differences between Florence, Bologna and Pisa. We are flying into Florence and out of Bologna as this allows us the fewest hotel changes. Based on your comments, I now feel confident with a 2 hour layover in Zurich and will steer clear of Paris if possible. Now on to hotels, restaurants, monuments, and places we want to explore. :)

Check pricing for both multicity (going to FLR and returning from BLQ) or round trip from the same airport, which could be cheaper. However if you arrive at BLQ and head immediately to Colle VE, I would rent the car at the BLQ airport and drive. The drive from BLQ to Colle should be less than 2 hours and is all freeway driving. Just be aware that the Bologna to Florence portion is largely underground in tunnels through the Apennines mountains and that segment is heavily trafficked with lots of semi trucks, often dozens of them one after the other. You really need to be careful when you pass those trucks because they they often jump in the passing lane without caring if cars are there already in the process of passing them. An alternative to avoid the truck traffic is to take the old A1 freeway, which runs parallel to the new one. The old freeway is not as direct and all underground (although there will be many shorter tunnels) therefore takes longer (about 20 min longer). The old A1 is called PANORAMICA (more views) while the new one (mostly straight super long tunnels) is called VARIANTE DI VALICO (or A1 Var). Just south of Bologna the freeway splits at a fork and you can choose either. The Panoramica will be practically empty as only some local traffic uses it, most people and especially trucks prefer the shorter new VARIANTE which saves them 15-20 minutes to Florence. The two freeways reunite again north of Florence.