The Florence airport (FLR) is called Amerigo Vespucci and is situated on the north-west outskirts of Florence, just 4 km from the city center. The airport can be reached from the center of Florence, driving the whole length of Viale Guidoni up to the road leading to the "Firenze Nord/Firenze Mare" superhighway (A1 and A11).
The center can be reached in about 15 minutes by taxi, and in about 20 minutes with the Busitalia SITA Nord "Vola in Bus" bus shuttle operating between the airport and the central railway station of Santa Maria Novella. See below for more details.
The Florence Airport is connected to some of Europe's major airports such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, Bucharest, Frankfurt, Geneva, London Gatwick, Madrid, Munich, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Vienna. There are also flights to and from the following Italian cities: Bologna, Cagliari, Catania, Milan Malpensa, Olbia, Palermo, Rome Fiumicino, Turin and Verona.
The airport is also easily reached from other Tuscan cities as it is just off the A11 and A1 Firenze Nord exit : Prato (8 km), Pistoia (24 km), Montecatini (36 km), Lucca (65 km), Siena (68 km), Arezzo (77 km), Pisa (86 km), Carrara and Massa (117 km), Grosseto (143 km), as well as from the sea and its ports: Livorno (115 km) and Piombino (170 km).
For more information, visit the airport's website at: www.aeroporto.firenze.it/
Getting to/from downtown Florence
TRAMVIA - TRAMWAY LINE T1
Since the extension of the T1 line opened to the public in late February 2019 connecting the central Santa Maria Novella (SMN) train station to the Florence Peretola/Vespucci airport, this has become the easiest (and cheapest) way to reach the center of Florence.
For just €1,50 each way (if you have big suitcases, you do need to buy a ticket for them too, max 2 per person allowed), you can reach the main central train station in Florence in about 15 minutes. As you leave the airport, head out of the front door and turn left. Follow signs that indicate the T1 tram way stop. At the stop, you will find several ticket machines where you can buy your ticket(s). You need to get on the tram and validate your ticket, which means put it in the small yellow machines near the doors and have the machine stamp the date/time on it, thus making it valid. If you don't do that, it counts like riding without a ticket (and subject to fines). Read more about the tramway and the line linking the airport with SMN on my blog post here.
BY BUS
From the Florence airport, you can also get to downtown Florence with the special "Vola in Bus" bus shuttle (run by BusItalia Sita Nord now) that goes direct to the SMN train station. It takes about 20 minutes, sometimes a little more if there is heavy traffic. The service runs daily, including Sundays and holidays. I am not sure whether this service will eventually be phased out if everyone starts using the new tramway connection, but for now it still exists.
Departures from the airport are every 30 min between 5.30 am to 8.30 pm, then every hour until 11.45 pm. The last shuttle is at 1am, but at this hour, it will be more convenient to take a taxi.
Departures from the city center (SMN train station) are every 30 min between 5.00 am to 8.00 pm, then every hour up until 11.00 pm. The last shuttle is at 12:30am.
A one-way ticket costs 6 euros while a round trip ticket costs 10 euros. Tickets can be purchased directly on board from the driver at no extra charge (but keep in mind they only sell one-way tickets on board and only accept cash, exact amounts as no change is given). The round trip tickets have to be purchased before getting on the bus, at the Busitalia SITA bus station off SMN or at ATAF&Li-nea resellers (most newsagents sell ATAF tickets as well as many coffee "bar" shops). This in effect means that the round trip tickets are not available for those that arrive at the airport, only for locals leaving Florence. You can check the Vola in Bus timetable here.
BY TAXI
If you have large suitcases and are not staying close to the SMN train station, I would suggest getting a taxi to take you directly to your hotel/B&B or apartment. The cobblestone streets in Florence are not that easy to navigate with suitcases, even the wheeled ones. You might not want to get to the train station and then do the rest on foot, especially after a long journey.
If you're staying within the center, the taxis have to respect a fixed set base fee of €22 for the run (plus €1 supplement per suitcase) from the airport to the center and to hotels within the historical center. Read more details on using taxis in Florence here. This set fee is displayed in the taxi - point to it if your taxi driver tries to run the meter on you and make you pay more if you're going to a place within the center.
Fly into Pisa Airport
The Pisa Airport is the second airport in Tuscany and from some destinations, it might make more sense to fly there and then get yourself over to Florence.
The new Pisa Mover shuttle connects Pisa Airport to the Pisa Centrale main train station throughout the day, and from there you can take the train to Florence's SMN train station and be in Florence in about an hour. Get more details on the Pisa Mover shuttle here.
There are also bus charter companies that offer service direct from the airport to SMN train station in Florence. Some of the buses continue on to the Florence Airport after that (in case you are interested in getting to the Florence airport).
