Florence transportation is very simple to navigate. It’s not a big city and most of the main highlights are concentrated within walking distance from one another.

For when you do need to get off your feet, here I’ll be talking about all the ways to get around the city.

While you can easily walk around the Florence city center, there are often times when you need to use one of the many transport options. Maybe you’ve had a long day sightseeing, or the weather isn’t great, or you’re traveling with children, or you just want to get somewhere quickly.

Walking is definitely the best way to enjoy the city, but especially in the hot summer months a bus or a taxi can come in handy. And if you’re planning to explore the countryside around Florence, then a rental car is definitely your best bet.

There are two companies to be aware of, the Autolinee Toscane which runs the city buses and GEST which runs the trams.

Autolinee Toscane Bus Lines

Within Florence and in the towns surrounding the city you’ll find buses run by the Autolinee Toscane (the company used to be called ATAF but changed name in late 2021 – you may still see references to the old name).

Both within the historical city centre and outside of it, the bus service runs more or less frequently and are usually quite reliable.

There are multiple bus routes available, stopping at or near most major sights and important locations, so taking a bus ride or two during your trip is an efficient way to navigate Florence. You can purchase tickets as a single ticket or with a Florence bus pass.

GEST Tram Lines

Another great option for public transportation, especially if you’re looking to get from Florence airport to the city center, is the tram, run by GEST tramvia. There are two lines in Florence, both of which have their final stop near the Santa Maria Novella train station.

The trams cover the wider Florence area outside of the city center, including the University and across the river, but they do not go inside the main Renaissance city area itself.

If you’re planning on driving to Florence from another part of Italy, like Rome or the Tuscan countryside, a great option is leaving your car at the Villa Costanza parking lot and taking the tram into town. This will help you avoid the limited traffic zone, one way streets and general intensity that is driving in Italian cities.

Tram and Bus Tickets

The trams and buses use the same ticket, which is valid for 90 minutes and cost €1.50.

You can buy these tickets in a number of places, but the important thing to remember is that you must have a ticket BEFORE you get on a tram or bus, and must validate your ticket.

If you are caught without a validated bus ticket, you will be liable for a significant fine.

You can buy bus tickets by:

• purchasing at ticket vending machines at tram stops and inside SMN train station
• visiting tobacco shops (Tabaccheria) or news stands – go to the counter and ask for a ‘biglietto bus’
• sending an SMS message – if you text FIRENZE to 4880105, you will receive a a reply with a link to a digital ticket. This is still valid for 90 minutes (no additional validation is needed) but costs a little more at €1.80, which is charged by your telephone provider.
• downloading the TABNET app – in this app you can pay for one or multiple tickets at a time, and then validate the tickets when you are ready to use them.

You cannot buy your own bus tickets from the bus driver, you will need to find a bus ticket booth or ticket machines before you get on the bus.

Tap & Go

The only exception to this is the tap and go machines that have been newly installed on pretty much all buses and trams in Florence.

For these you tap the machine to pay, and if a ticket inspector asks for your ticket, you tell them you used that machine. They can check the ticket using the card information in their system.

A few notes with this; when using the machine, if the payment is successful, the screen will turn green. If it turns red, the payment has NOT worked and you do not have a valid ticket.

For all urban routes (which is most likely what you would be using) you only tap in when you get on a bus or a tram, there is no need to tap again when you get off. If you are taking buses outside of the city, you do tap off, but the signs for this are clear on those routes.

Finally, if you are traveling as a group or family, you cannot use the same physical card multiple times at once. Either people should use their individual cards, or if they have the same card saved in Apple Pay/Google Pay on their respective phones they can tap individually.

While you would not use the trains to get around in Florence during your visit, lots of people arrive and depart Florence by train, especially if you’re visiting other Italian cities like Rome or Naples.

The main Florence train station is Santa Maria Novella, which is ideally located for visitors.

Outside the station there are taxis and bus stops, and it is only a short walk into the most central part of Florence. This is also where the train link between Pisa airport and downtown Florence stops.

Be careful when booking your train tickets and ensure you select the right Florence train station. There are others further out of the city but Santa Maria Novella is the best option.

A very popular way of getting around big tourist cities are the big sightseeing buses.

However, in Florence they’re a little less convenient as the entire historical center is ‘destination traffic’ only and these big buses aren’t allowed to enter to do proper sightseeing tours.

The Florence hop on/hop off bus line takes you around the center but not inside, so to explore Florence this is not the best public transport option. You can use them to get around from A to B in quite a convenient way however.

There are two lines, which overlap but take slightly different routes, running regularly through the day.

Taxis in Florence are a safe and fast way to get around. Drivers are usually friendly and helpful and a lot of them speak at least a little bit of English.

As in most of Italy’s main cities, you can’t just wave a taxi down on the street in Florence. Instead, you have to go to one of the specific taxi ranks around the city or call for a taxi to come to your location.

You’ll find the taxi ranks near the main sights, including in front of the Pitti Palace, in Piazza San Marco, in front of Porta Romana, next to Piazza della Repubblica and of course at the Santa Maria Novella train station.

To call for a taxi, you call one of the two big taxi companies: Taxi 4242 (Tel: +39 055 4242) or Taxi 4390 (Tel: +39 055 4390). Both companies also have a ‘pink taxi’ service available to women only, usually from 9PM to 4AM, you can order your Pink Taxi by calling +39 055 4378557 or +39 055 4361904.

Taxis are required to turn on their meter so make sure this is on before you start your journey. If you are taking taxis to and from Florence airport, there’s a fixed taxi fare rate of €25-30 for trips in and out of the historical center.

Tips are not necessary for taxi drivers, unless you really want to or they’ve been especially helpful. It just isn’t the custom here for taxi drivers to expect tips so do not feel obligated to do so.

Driving in Florence

It’s almost impossible to drive yourself in central Florence because of the ZTL: limited traffic zone.

You can spot these by big screens at the end of roads saying ‘zone open’ or ‘zone closed’, but generally speaking, tourists can’t enter the center with a car.

Driving in Tuscany

If you’re planning on exploring the countryside around Florence however, renting a car is a must.

Most car rental companies have a desk at the airport and a few of them have an office in the city center as well. Make sure you check which office you have to go to to pick up your rental.

Driving is a bit of an adventure in Italy, as road rules are not always respected. Don’t be mistaken though, there are plenty of speed cameras around and the fine will find its way to you, even if you live on the other side of the world.