Warm stone, and a centre built for walking
In summer the light comes off the ochre plaster, not out of the sky, and the paving is still warm at midnight. You can cross the whole centre on foot in half an hour, which is exactly why the city keeps cars out of it. Florentine reserve is not coldness; it is what a small city becomes after letting strangers in since the Grand Tour.
The line on Via Ricasoli, and the palace over the river
The Accademia is €20 plus a €4 booking fee since 15 March 2026, Tuesday to Sunday 08:15–18:50. Its own ticket page still shows the old €16, so check the total before you pay. That is €24 for one corridor and the famous figure at the end of it, cut from a block other sculptors gave up on, and the line on Via Ricasoli forms before the doors open. Two euros more, €26, buys the 48-hour ticket that adds the Bargello: two Davids by Donatello, Michelangelo's Bacchus, rooms quiet enough to hear your own shoes. I take the Bargello.
Palazzo Pitti with the Boboli Gardens is €22 on the day, €25 booked, and Boboli alone climbs from €10 to €13 if you reserve a slot to walk in a garden. It is the third palace of most trips, when the looking has run out. I'd spend it on lunch.
Sant'Ambrogio: an iron hall with an osteria inside
Everyone gets pointed at the Mercato Centrale. Florentines shop at Mercato di Sant'Ambrogio, and the city's own market list gives the hours flat: Monday to Saturday, 07:00 to 14:00, shut Sunday. Butchers, cheese, fish and a small osteria inside the iron hall; fruit, veg, plants and cheap shirts under the canopy outside. Saturday at nine is my slot. In September and October ask for schiacciata con l'uva, flat oily bread pressed full of wine grapes, pips left in. Bring small notes. The Sant'Ambrogio car park is the one by the market: the rare Florentine errand you can drive to.
The Uffizi costs €16 after four
Uffizi pricing is a staircase and most visitors get on at the top. On the day, €25. Booked in advance, €29, four euros more for a time slot. Since 1 January 2026 anyone entering from 16:00 pays €16, or €20 booking that slot ahead. The planner pays €29, the one who wanders up at four pays €16, same rooms. Buy on the gallery's own site: a reseller's "skip the line" fee charges you for a queue four euros already skips.
Parking in Florence: Sectors A, B and O: the cameras decide
Low-emission zones in Europe: ZTL Centro Storico, sectors A, B and O
- Foreign plates
- Nothing in advance, but the permit must exist before you drive past the camera: the city does not add plates afterwards, except for disabled badges. A hotel inside the zone enters your plate for you.
- When
- Mon–Fri 07:30–20:00, Sat 07:30–16:00, all year; night ZTL Thu, Fri and Sat 23:00–03:00 from the first Thursday in April to the first Sunday in October. Not Sundays or public holidays in the daytime.
- Fine
- €83–€332
The daytime ZTL covers sectors A, B and O, which is everything you drove here to see. It runs Monday to Friday 07:30–20:00 and Saturday 07:30–16:00. From April to early October a summer night ZTL adds Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 23:00–03:00, and stretches to San Niccolò and the streets below Piazzale Michelangelo.
There is no grace period, and for foreign plates the notice can legally arrive up to 360 days later. A hotel inside the zone can register your plate for the drop-off. Ask when you book: plenty of apartments won't.
On the street, the paint tells you who's welcome:
- Blue lines: pay Mon–Sat 08:00–20:00. In the centre it's €2 for the first hour, then more. Free at night, on Sundays and on holidays.
- White lines: free outside the resident zones. Inside a ZCS they can be residents-only. The sign decides, not your optimism.
- Yellow lines: residents or disabled permit holders. Not you.
Pay at the meter or with bmove, EasyPark, DropTicket or Telepass. Install one before you arrive.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | EV |
|---|---|---|
| Parcheggio Villa CostanzaOn the A1, between Firenze Scandicci and Firenze Impruneta exits | 15 min free · €2 for 1–4 h · €5 for 4–10 h · €7 for 24 h · €20 for 7 days | — |
| ParterreVia del Ponte Rosso 4 · Piazza della Libertà · 996 spaces | €2 first hour · €15 per day · open 24h | 10 |
| Fortezza FieraPiazzale Caduti nei Lager · near the station | €1.60/h · €20 per day | — |
| BeccariaViale Amendola 7 · east side, outside the ZTL | €2/h (€1.70 with the bmove app) | 6 |
| Sant'AmbrogioPiazza Annigoni 9 · by the market | €2 first hour, then €3/h | 8 |
| Stazione S.M.N.Piazza della Stazione 13 · under the station | €4 first hour, pricey after that · no daily cap listed | 12 |
The cheapest way to park, by how long you stay
| If you stay | Cheapest | Cost | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours in the centre | Ponte a Greve / Nenni–Torregalli (tram T1) | Free | A free car park opposite the Coop, next to the Nenni–Torregalli stop on tram T1, about 15 minutes to the centre. Villa Costanza on the A1 is €7 for a whole day if you want a barrier and a roof. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Fortezza Fiera | €3.20 | |
| A full day (10 h) | Ponte a Greve / Nenni–Torregalli (tram T1) | Free | A free car park opposite the Coop, next to the Nenni–Torregalli stop on tram T1, about 15 minutes to the centre. Villa Costanza on the A1 is €7 for a whole day if you want a barrier and a roof. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Fortezza Fiera | €16 | |
| 24 hours | Parcheggio Villa Costanza | €7 | 15 minutes free; enter and leave via the A1 only; tram T1 to the centre |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Fortezza Fiera | €20 |
Partner link Flying in and hiring a car? Compare hire cars from different rental companies at DiscoverCars. We get a commission if you book through this link.
Towed in Florence: Towed? Take the 23 bus to Novoli
Florentine tow trucks work nights, under street-cleaning signs with a little tow truck on them. If the car has vanished, run your plate through the search on the Servizi alla Strada site first. The classic mistake is reporting it stolen while it sits in the pound.
The pound is at Via Salvador Allende 18/20, behind the Novoli wholesale market, a short taxi or a bus 23 or 57 ride out. Older guidebooks still send people to Via dell'Arcovata. It moved.
It's closed on Sundays, so a Saturday night tow means Monday morning, and I'd rearrange Monday rather than fight it. The bill is itemised like a restaurant with ambitions: call-out, loading, kilometres, then €15 a day storage, plus 30% if they towed you at night.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- Servizi alla Strada (SAS), for the Polizia Municipale
- Phone
- Car pound (depositeria): +39 055 422 4142
Municipal Police, out of hours: +39 055 3285 - Collect it at
- Depositeria comunale, Via Salvador Allende 18/20, 50127 Firenze — behind the Novoli fruit and veg market. Buses 23 and 57. (Old guides say Via dell'Arcovata: it moved.)
- Hours
- Mon–Fri 08:00–20:00 · Sat & holidays 08:00–19:00 · Sun closed · extra night opening after street-cleaning tows (Tue–Sat 00:30–08:00)
- What it costs
- Call-out €20 + loading €26 + €4/km + storage €15/day for the first 30 days. +30% at night (22:00–06:00) and on holidays. Fine on top.
- Bring
- ID. If you're not the owner (rental car), a signed declaration that you're entitled to the car, plus the rental contract. Pay before release.
EV charging in Florence: €0.59 a kWh, and Parterre wins
The city-run Firenze Parcheggi garages have chargers at €0.59 per kWh: 12 points at Santa Maria Novella station, 10 at Parterre, 8 at Sant'Ambrogio and 6 at Beccaria. Parterre is my pick: you also get the cheapest central day rate.
Coming in on the A11 from Pisa or the coast, the Free To X chargers at the Firenze Nord and Peretola Sud service areas go up to 300 kW. That's my order: charge on the motorway, park where the ZTL isn't.
On the street, Be Charge is rebuilding the network: around 150 new fast chargers planned. Planned is the word I'd underline. Check your app for what's live.
Where to charge
- Stazione S.M.N. — Piazza della Stazione 13. 12 points, €0.59/kWh
- Parterre — Via del Ponte Rosso 4. 10 points, and the cheapest day rate in town
- Sant'Ambrogio — Piazza Annigoni 9. 8 points, next to the market
- Beccaria — Viale Amendola 7. 6 points
- Free To X fast chargers (motorway) — A11 service areas Firenze Nord and Peretola Sud. Up to 300 kW, good before you leave the motorway
Free parking in Florence: Villa Costanza: €7 and a tram ride
Villa Costanza is the answer I give everyone. It is built on the A1 between the Firenze Scandicci and Firenze Impruneta exits, and you drive in and out without leaving the motorway. Tram T1 runs to Santa Maria Novella every few minutes. €7 buys 24 hours; a week is €20.
Off the motorway already, there's free parking at Ponte a Greve beside a T1 stop on Viale Nenni, and along Viale Europa in the south-east, then bus 23 into town. Viale Europa is my plan B: bus, not tram.
The view from Piazzale Michelangelo is free; the parking is not. The square is paid blue lines, and on summer weekend nights the streets below turn into a ZTL. Take the view, leave the car.
Free or nearly-free spots
Villa Costanza (nearly free)
€7 for a whole day is as close to free as central Florence gets. Enter and leave via the A1 only, so it suits a day trip on the way through Tuscany.
Ponte a Greve / Viale Nenni
Free car park opposite the Coop supermarket, next to the Nenni–Torregalli stop on tram T1. About 15 minutes to the centre.
Viale Europa (south-east)
Free parking between Via del Pozzetto and Via Cimitero al Pino, then bus 23 in about 30 minutes. Slower, but it costs nothing.
Sundays and evenings on blue lines
Blue-line street parking is paid Mon–Sat 08:00–20:00 only. Nights, Sundays and holidays are free — just make sure the street isn't inside a ZTL or a cleaning zone.
Hotels with free parking
- Hotel Golf — Viale F.lli Rosselli 56, outside the ZTL Map. Free private parking, and it sits outside the ZTL, so no permit paperwork
- Art Hotel Villa Agape — Via Torre del Gallo 8, Arcetri hills Map. Large free car park and a garden. You'll want the car or a taxi to get into town.
- Hotel Perlage Florence — Scandicci Map. Free parking, about 900 m from the tram into the centre
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- The ZTL fine is the real cost of 'free' parking. A sat-nav shortcut through a camera gate can cost more than a week at Parterre. Your hotel's ZTL permit covers the route to that hotel, not a sightseeing loop.
- White lines aren't always free. Inside the resident parking zones (ZCS) white bays can be residents-only, and plate-reading cars fine automatically. Read the sign, every time.
- Street-cleaning signs with a tow-truck symbol mean it. Cars go in the night, with a 30% night surcharge on the tow.
- Summer night ZTL (April to early October, Thu–Sat 23:00–03:00) also closes San Niccolò, right below Piazzale Michelangelo. Sunset drinks, then a fine.
- Out-of-town free car parks: leave nothing on the seats and ignore anyone 'helping' you park for a tip.
Take these places with you
Every place on this page as a file you can keep — car parks with their prices, the free and park-and-ride spots, the chargers and the pound.
