First Time Visitors' Guide To A Dream Vacation In Florence

How to get to Tuscany | Flying into Florence Airport | Flying into Pisa Airport | Electricity | Money | Getting around Florence | Health | Telephone | Safety | Emergency Numbers

[Updated on the 13th of May 2025.]

The past twenty years have seen some significant efforts in Europe to bring all the countries into line with each other. Since the signing of the treaty of Rome way back in 1957, right up to the single European currency in 1999, Europe is becoming more of a single unit. However there are still cultural and practical differences when travelling from one country to another, and this guide seeks to provides some orientation for people visiting Italy for the first time, and some specific information if you are intending to book a villa in Florence.

Arriving in Tuscany

Flying into Florence Airport

The airport in Florence is known as the Florence Airport, Peretola Airport, Aeroporto di Firenze-Peretola, and formally as the Amerigo Vespucci Airport. Air Italy and British Airways both fly directly to it from London Gatwick in just under 2 hours. If you book well enough in advance, this can be a less expensive and more direct option than flying with Ryanair into Pisa, once you add in all of the extras such as trains and taxis. If you fly into Florence during daylight hours, you can expect to see the Duomo and enjoy amazing panoramas over the city. Upon arrival, a shuttle bus can take you to the main train station of Santa Maria Novella in approximately 20 minutes. If you are taking a taxi into town, there is a fixed rate of €28 (around £23) on weekdays, €30 (around £25) on weekends and holidays and €32 (around £27) if you travel after 10pm. You'll also likely be asked to pay an additional €1 per suitcase. All the major car hire firms operate out of the airport.

Flying into Pisa Airport

Ryanair and British Airways both fly into Pisa Airport from a range of destinations in the UK - including London Stansted - in approximately 2 hours.

Onward by train

The Italian rail network, TrenItalia, provides a regular train shuttle to Pisa's main station where connections can be made to trains running at regular intervals to Florence. A journey time of 90-120 minutes should be allowed, and it will cost no more than €9 each way. Something to bear in mind is that the train option involves quite a lot of walking, and while there are lifts at Pisa to change from one platform to another, it can really be quite hard work if you're moving around in the heat. Back in Pisa airport, to purchase tickets you will need to go right when you come through customs and, in a nice twist of Italian humour, the train platform is at completely the opposite end of the airport (left)! Before you board the train look for yellow boxes on the platform where you must validate your ticket before starting your journey.

Onward by bus

As the airport is right next to the motorway, another great option is the Terravision bus. The service starts at just  €13.99 and runs regularly. It stops at the main train station of Santa Maria Novella, before going to Florence airport. The journey time is about 90 minutes. Tickets can be purchased in the main foyer of the airport. NOTE: this service is currently temporarily suspended so check out their website ahead of your trip to confirm. 

Onward by car

If you are renting a car you should be aware that the rental hall is not in the main airport building. To get to it you need to exit the airport on the right where there is a shuttle bus that will take you to the car rentals area. All major car hire companies have a presence there. From the airport there is direct access onto the FI-PI-Li (Firenze-Pisa-Livorno) motorway, and it will take approximately 80 minutes to arrive in Florence. 

Alternative points of entry to Tuscany include Bologna Airport and the major international hubs of Malpensa and Rome. 

Electricity

Italian electric current is 220 volts, 50 cycles alternating current. In a nutshell, if you're coming from the US (100 volts, 60 cycles) you'll need converters. If you're coming from the UK, you'll just need to bring a travel plug. There are lots of different types of sockets in Italy, depending on the age of the building. But generally they are of the two pronged (common) or three pronged (for domestic appliances, fridges etc) typologies. The best thing to do is pickup a travel adapter. If you take a four plug adapter, you can plug everything using one international adapter (laptop, camera charger, phone charger etc.).

Money in Italy

Since 1999 Italy has been in the EURO zone. There are an abundance of ATMs. Banks are usually open in the morning from 8.30am to 1pm and some reopen in the afternoon from 2.30pm for an hour or so. The main branch of Florence's primary bank, the Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze, can be found in the centre. This is the best place to change money and perform any bank-related actions. Credit cards can be used pretty much everywhere in Italy but Debit cards, cash, and digital wallets are most commonly used by locals, with digital wallets growing steadily in popularity. Credit cards are accepted by most taxis but it is best to ask in advance and can be used in almost all convenience stores, coffee shops, and restaurants  but often not for smaller purchases.

Language: If you're thinking about how you are going to get on with the language once you are here, then there is really little need for concern. Florence is an international city and most shops and historic monuments will have a person on hand that speaks English, French, German, Spanish, Portugese, Polish, or Russian. Florence has a huge number of Italian language schools and many of these also run cultural courses.A fun thing to do if you are planning on staying in a holiday rental in Florence for more than a week is to take on one of the many cultural courses that are run by these language schools. It could be an art history course, or it could be a Tuscan cooking course (the ones run by the language schools generally cost much less than the bespoke ones, that can literally cost 1000s of euros!). 

Getting around Florence

Bus

Florence has a reliable and extensive bus network run by Autolinee Toscane that is also in charge of bus services throughout Tuscany. Tickets can be purchased from official ticket offices, machines, and authorised retailers that have the Autolinee Toscane sticker. You can also download AT Bus APP, register with a credit card or PayPal account, and purchase them there instead. Furthermore, most buses now have TAP machines (for more info, see our blog article about this service), allowing you to pay directly with a credit card or Apple Pay/Google Wallet on your phone or smartwatch. Bus tickets bought in Florence can also be used in Lucca, Pisa, Siena, Arezzo, and other main towns/cities in the region.

Taxi

Taxis can be used in the city but can be hard to get in the city itself. If you are in a bar or restaurant, you can ask the staff to call one on your behalf and there are numbers you can call and apps that you can use but lines are often busy and it can be hard to secure a ride. Traffic in the city centre can also be an issue. So, while you can use taxis and getting one from the airport, in particular, is relatively easy, it is simpler to use public transport, overall. 

Car

Like London, the centre of the city operates a limited access during the main part of the day. Parking is also.at a premium anywhere in the city so this is another concern. Those who are renting a vacation rental in Florence a bit further out of the city might want to rent a car to explore the wider region but if you are based in the centre or plan to spend much of your time in the city itself, then it is probably easier to go without a car. 

Bicycle and Scooter

Bicycles and scooters are by far the best way to get around the city, although in the summer months it is sometimes not as easy to do with all the tourists. RideMovi is a service that provides electric bikes and pedal bikes that can be left anywhere inside their large operating area in the city (bar a couple of no parking zones). Bird, TI Move, and BIT, meanwhile, all provide electric scooters. All three have also have big operating areas but they must be left in designed parking spots shown on each app. 

Health

On the unfortunate off-chance that you need to visit the hospital while you are staying in one of our villas in Florence, you will find that the facilities in the city are great. The main hospital, Ospedale Careggi, is famous throughout Italy, and is so big it is almost a city unto itself. While for children, the Meyer Hospital is the finest in the country.

Telephone

There should be no problems finding a network to connect to in Italy for a UK mobile so that's one less thing to worry about on holiday in Florence.

Safety

Like anywhere in the world that is a tourism hub, Florence has its fair share of street crime. This is largely small theft and pickpockets, so as long as you remain alert, and don't go out with your wallet in full view and bags open, you shouldn't have any problems.

Emergency numbers in Italy

There are various emergency services and numbers in Italy, this is a list of the main numbers you might need to call if you have problems during your vacation in Tuscany:.

112 - Carabinieri (local police)
113 - Police (state police)
115 - Fire service
116 - A.C.I. (Italian Automobile Club) roadside assistance.
118 - Ambulance