You’ve successfully made it to Italy, at least to the airport, and now it’s time to make your way into the city center of Florence. There are several options for you to take to get to the city center depending on which airport you fly into, each one varying slightly by price and travel time.
Florence Airport to City Center
Most people coming to Florence fly directly into Florence airport (FLR), also known as Peretola Airport. The Florence airport is very close to the city center so getting to and from it is fairly simple. The major thing people tend to forget is that in Italy, the busses, trains, and signs in general will list Florence as “Firenze” which is the Italian name for Florence.
The three most common ways for getting from the airport to the city center are either a taxi, the airport shuttle bus, or the tram. Below you will find the information you will need to take advantage of these services to get to the city center.
Taxi: takes 15 mins, costs roughly 20 euro
Taxis can be found in the front of the terminal at the end of the terminal building. The price for a taxi is currently fixed at 20 euro, with an additional 1 euro charge per bag.
The taxi can take you anywhere in the city center at this fixed rate, so the price of the taxi does not typically exceed 25 euro.
Bus: takes 20-30 mins, costs 6 euro
The bus stop can be found outside of the terminal building just past the taxi stands. The bus takes you from the airport to the Santa Maria Novella Train Station, the main station in the city center. From there you can grab a taxi or walk to your accommodations.
The bus runs every day from 5:30am-8:30pm, every 30 minutes and every hour from 8:30pm-12:30am. Tickets for the bus can be purchased in cash directly on the bus.
Tram: takes 20 mins, costs 1.50 euro
The T2 tram line takes you from the airport to the Santa Maria Novella Train Station. The tram stop at the airport is located just a 2 minute walk from arrivals ad departures and the stop name is “Peretola-Aeroporto”.
The tram runs every day from 5:00am-12:30am, varying from every 5 minutes to every 18 minutes depending on the time of day. Tickets for the tram can be purchased at the tram stop from a ticket machine that accepts both debit and credit cards.
Rome Airport to Florence City Center
Another popular airport people fly into is Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO). This airport is a few hours from Florence and may seem a little harder to navigate to the city center from so far away. The best way to get to Florence from Rome is to take a train. There are several train options, each varying in time and cost.
While they are different trains, both options can be found at the same station. There is a train station located at the airport, just look for the blue signs that mark transportation and follow them until you reach the escalators which will take you down into Stazione Ferroviaria train station.
One Transfer: takes 2 and a half hours, costs vary (30-50 euro)
This train option requires one switch at Roma Termini, where you will get on another train which will take you to Santa Maria Novella Train Station. Tickets can be bought online from the Trenitalia website.
This train runs from 6:23am-11:23pm, every 15 minutes.
Direct Train: takes 2 hours and 20 minutes, costs vary (40-50 euro)
This train option goes directly from the Rome airport to Florence to the Santa Maria Novella Train Station. Tickets for this train can be bought online from the Trenitalia website. Prices may vary but are cheaper if bought in advance.
This train only runs twice a day. Once in the morning at 11:08am, and then again at 3:08pm.
Parent Week Transfer:
After reading all these options it is easy to get a little overwhelmed. Don’t let the hassle of getting to and from the airport get in your way. With Parent Week Florence, private transfers to and from the airport are provided, allowing you to relax and get excited for your time abroad.
