Parking in Florence: Car Parks and Tips to Avoid Fines

Florence presents quite a challenge when it comes to parking. The historic centre is effectively one vast traffic-restricted zone (ZTL), which means that unless you have special authorisation, you won’t be able to park there – in fact, you won’t even be allowed to enter. Fines are always lurking around the corner, as are the cameras.

The electronic access control gates are almost always active, with the exception of certain times that vary depending on the day of the week, the area of the centre and the time of year (we recommend visiting the official Florence council page for up-to-date information). Additionally, from the first Thursday in April to the first Sunday in October, the summer night-time ZTL is in effect.

Finding a public car park in Florence city centre is therefore no mean feat. On the other hand, there are plenty of private garages, almost all of excellent quality, run by experienced parking attendants who will work miracles squeezing cars in next to each other and gaining precious centimetres to fit as many vehicles as possible.

Private car parks in Florence are located in various parts of the historic centre, even a stone’s throw from the most famous monuments. Leaving your car here is certainly expensive, but very convenient. Moreover, private car parks in Florence’s centre have special agreements with the council, so you can drive through the electronic ZTL gates: by giving the car park your registration number, the operators will ensure that no fine is recorded.

Book a car park in Florence city centre

If you’ve decided to visit Florence and park in the private car parks of the historic centre, book your space in advance. As you can well imagine, they’re never particularly large – to be clear, there are no multi-storey car parks in a city that has remained virtually unchanged since the Renaissance – so they tend to be constantly full.

And if you end up entering the ZTL without managing to park, there’s no way anyone can remove the fine, so on top of the inconvenience you’ll also face the added insult of a penalty charge. Car parks in Florence’s centre are full despite very high prices: we therefore recommend booking online, not only to guarantee you’ll find a space on arrival, but also to save money, as car parks frequently offer discounts for internet bookings.

It’s possible to book some of Florence’s city centre car parks online and in advance. Below is a selection of private car parks of proven reliability.

Parking on the ring roads

The circle of ring roads forms the perimeter of the historic centre to the north of the Arno. Along these busy thoroughfares, it’s not impossible to find parking and leave your car to walk into the centre.

Along the ring roads you’ll also find some wider sections, or even squares, partly used for parking, such as Piazza della Libertà, with the adjacent Parterre, or Piazzale Donatello, locally known simply as the “English cemetery” because in the middle of the square there’s a small cemetery island where non-Catholic foreigners who died in Florence in the late 1800s are buried. Not far away, it’s worth trying your luck at Piazza Savonarola.

Parking in the Piazza Beccaria area isn’t bad either, where in addition to the square itself, you’ll find Beccaria Carceri car park, Murate car park, and above all Sant’Ambrogio car park, one of the largest in the city, completely underground.

There’s also a medium-sized car park at Fortezza da Basso, in Piazzale Montelungo, accessed by barrier and pay ticket; leaving your car here also gives you easy access to Santa Maria Novella station, as directly opposite the car park, on the other side of the road, there’s a pedestrian ramp leading straight to the platforms.

Finally, though very expensive, it’s worth mentioning the Santa Maria Novella station car park, built underground in the large station square, and the Central Market car park, located in the basement of the building that still houses the city market stalls, in the square of the same name.

Florence car park colours

In Florence, public car parks marked with white lines are exclusively for residents. So whilst in almost all Italian cities white lines mean free parking, remember that Florence is a major exception to this rule! The other colour for Florence car park lines is blue, which means normal paid parking. You pay at the meter in cash or card, or by downloading the app.

Parking in Oltrarno

There are a couple of areas in Oltrarno where it’s worth trying to find parking. One is just outside Porta Romana, where you’ll find an unsupervised public car park right against the city walls. If you’re lucky enough to find parking here, you can walk comfortably into Florence’s centre, and after just 5 minutes you’ll be at the gates of Palazzo Pitti.

Alternatively, slightly further from the centre is Piazza Tasso, where there are several parking spaces available. If you want to enter through the city gates in this part of Florence’s centre, be aware that parking is limited and the streets are always very narrow. With a bit of luck (and the ZTL inactive), you might find parking at Piazza dei Nerli or Piazza Cestello, both in the San Frediano area, or just outside the walls, on the Lungarno di Santa Rosa, which is never too busy.

Parking outside the centre

If you decide to visit Florence by car, the most convenient solution by far is to park at Villa Costanza, a huge car park located directly on the A1 motorway, between the Florence Impruneta and Florence Scandicci exits.

Villa Costanza is the terminus of tram line 1, which goes directly to Santa Maria Novella station, right in the historic centre, in about 20-30 minutes. The tram runs very frequently, sometimes every 3 minutes during peak hours, so the chance of having to wait long is zero.

Moreover, by leaving your car at Villa Costanza and taking the tram, you’ll avoid wasting precious time in Florence traffic, eliminating the risk of entering any ZTL. Plus, you’ll avoid driving around in circles looking for parking in the centre, which is more expensive than Villa Costanza anyway.

In much the same way, you can leave your car near Rifredi station and get to the centre by train. Trains from Rifredi to Santa Maria Novella run continuously, on average one every 10 minutes during daytime hours. The journey takes only 5 minutes. Note that car parks around Rifredi, as mentioned, are either white lines, reserved for residents, or blue lines, which are pay parking.

Parking a motorhome in Florence

We recommend parking at Villa Costanza, a car park which you access directly from the motorway. Villa Costanza is located on the A1 Motorway between the Florence Scandicci and Florence Impruneta exits. Access is only from the motorway, from both North and South, using the new “Villa Costanza” exit.

It’s open every day, 24 hours a day. You can park your motorhome, or car, for up to a maximum of 30 consecutive days.

Villa Costanza car park is directly connected to the terminus of Tram Lines T1 and T2, with departures every 6/8 minutes. In 22 minutes you’ll reach Santa Maria Novella Station, in the heart of Florence’s historic centre. In 40 minutes you can reach Careggi Hospital or Peretola airport. The parking area doesn’t have motorhome services such as water/waste hook-ups or electricity, only toilet facilities.

Alternatively, consider Area51 rest area, also in the Scandicci area, equipped with all motorhome services but over 8km from the centre, so you’ll need a bike/scooter or to take a bus. The last recommended motorhome parking area is Gelsomino car park, with motorhome services only, about 2.5km from the centre.

Finally, if you’re looking for a convenient campsite to spend the night while visiting Florence’s centre, we recommend Firenze Camping In Town.

Book Firenze Camping In Town online