Palazzo Vecchio e Cattedrale Santa Maria del Fiore
Panorama dal ponte alla Vittoria
Palazzo Vecchio, Cortile di Michelozzo
Panorama dal ponte alle Grazie
Lungarno, Serristori
San Miniato al Monte
Palazzo Vecchio
Chiesa di San Frediano in Cestello
Palazzo Vecchio

HOME» null» Mobility» Driving in Florence

Driving in Florence

ZTL - Restricted Traffic Zone

The entire historic centre of Florence (approximately the part located within the 19th century ring-roads or viali, which is a protected UNESCO heritage site) is a 'Zona a Traffico Limitato' (ZTL) or restricted traffic zone. Special rules govern access to, as well as transit through and parking in this zone. Bicycles, electric vehicles, motorcycles and scooters are permitted entrance.
The boundaries of the ZTL are well marked. At the access points, special bilingual displays use red or green lights to indicate if access is authorized or not at that time. These access points are controlled by cameras that automatically detect one’s license plate, and fines will be issued to drivers who do not possess a special access pass.
Other than in the ZTL area, transit is always prohibited in the pedestrian zones and lanes reserved for public transportation. The latter are indicated with yellow lines and writing on the road and a sign that shows a lane reserved for bus/taxi.

Useful links

ZTL map
View CCTV images of traffic violations

Non-resident and tourist access
Non residents are prohibited from driving and parking cars within the ZTL at the following times:

Year round: Monday to Friday from 7,30 am to 7,30 pm; Saturdays from 7,30 am to 6 pm.
Additional summer night ZTL: in addition to the times listed above, every year during summer access is prohibited as well at night from approximately the end of May until the middle of September (usually this concerns only Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays between approximately 11 pm until 3 am).

Tourists that travel by car and who need to travel within the ZTL to reach their accommodation facilities or a garage can obtain a temporary access permit. In order to obtain this permit, communicate your licence plate number to your accommodation facility (or garage); they will forward it to the appropriate office. A temporary permit is issued for a maximum of 2 hours (for luggage transport purposes) only on arrival and departure dates. For the remainder of one’s stay clients have to park their car either outside the ZTL or in a commercial/hotel's private garage inside the ZTL.

Disability access
The holder of a 'contrassegno invalidi' (disability pass) requiring short-term access to the ZTL may apply via e-mail to upd@serviziallastrada or call 800339891. In case of a written application, please attach the following documents:

date(s) of stay in Florence
copy of the disability pass
license plate number
copy of ID

Underground and above-ground paid parking lots are available at various points in the city. Some are within the ZTL and can be reached without a permit (Santa Maria Novella parking underneath the train station, San Lorenzo at the central market).
A map of these parking lots is available here.
The hourly and daily costs of the parking lots can be found by clicking on the details of each lot listed here.

Street parking

Outside the ZTL the town is divided into ZCS zones ('Zone a Controllo Sosta', i.e. Controlled parking zones), where transit is allowed with no specific restrictions. Street parking in these areas however is divided between resident and non-resident. In Florence (this may differ in other cities), this division is indicated by the colour of the lines around the parking spot:

White lines: resident parking (you must have a resident pass for this area to park here);
Blue lines: paid parking (anyone, including non residents, may park here and pay at the parcometro or coin-operated dispenser);
Yellow lines: parking for the disabled, indicated also by a sign. The sign often indicates a special pass number, in which case this space is reserved for a specific person and not available to any other disability pass holders.

Please note that in each area, one night each week or each month, due to street cleaning parking is not permitted. This in order to give access to the street cleaning machines. Please see the relevant section street cleaning to learn how to read these signs and avoid getting a ticket.

Useful links
· ZTL and ZCS regulation and map explained in Italian at: Servizi alla Strada (S.A.S)'s website
· Paid parking lots: www.firenzeparcheggi.it
· TrovaFirenze: Map of elements relevant to the citizen (voting offices, sport centers, headquarters of the quartieri, info offices, etc.)
· GeoMoby: Real time mobility info map