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GETTING THERE & AWAY
Air
Florence's airport is Aeroporto
Amerigo Vespucci (FLR) which is
about 6 km northwest of Florence and
20 minutes to the city. Buses and
taxis are available to take visitors
to the city. Another airport is Aeroporto
Galileo Galilei (PSA) which is 2
km south of Pisa and 80 km west of
Florence. From here visitors can
take the train from a nearby station
to Florence. Direct flights are
usually available from other
European cities. If flying in from
the US, Australia or Asia visitors
may have to take a charter flight
from Rome or Milan or come via one
of the European stops. Train
The main train station in Florence
is Centrale Santa Maria Novella
or Firenze SMN. However,
between 1.30 an and 4 am, trains
stop instead at the eastern Campo
di Marte station which is served
by nightbus # 70. Visitors who fly
to the Amerigo Vespucci airport can
link to Firenze SMN station by ATAF
city bus # 62 which leaves every 25
minutes and also by the hourly SITA
bus. The Eurostar trains
are the fastest trains on the
Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), the
Italian State Railways. The Eurostar
operates on several main lines
including Rome-Milan via Florence
and Bologna. The next-fastest trains
are the Intercity (IC)
trains, for which you pay a
supplement and for which seat
reservations may be required and are
always advisable. Interregionale
trains usually make more stops and
are a little slower. Regionale and
locale trains are the slowest; many
serve commuters. Bus
There is a local bus #62 service
from the Amerigo Vespucci airport
into Florence. The bus stops at the
Santa Maria Novella train station in
the center of
town. Car
The main motorway, Autostrada del
Sole (A1), connects Florence
with Bologna and Milan in the north
and Rome and Naples in the south. If
you are coming from Venice, take A13
to Bologna and then get onto the
A1. The motorway to the sea
(Autostrada del Mare) joins it to
Prato, Pistoia, Montecatini, Lucca,
Pisa and all the resorts on the
Tyrrhenian sea. There is also the Superstrada
(a dual-carriage way) which
connects Florence to Siena. On the
other hand leaving from Genoa the A12
will lead you to Pisa and then you
will reach Firenze onto the A11.
GETTING
AROUND
There are bus service in the city
and Fiesole in the hills northeast
of town. Tickets can be purchased at
tobacconists or vending machines at
major bus stops, and must be
date-stamped by the yellow stamping
machine before boarding the bus.
Tickets are sold on a time basis,
meaning you can buy a one-hour,
two-hour or 24-hour tickets. Taxis
are abundant, or you can also rent
mopeds. Traffic is restricted in the
city center, so you can explore the
wonderful buildings without having
to dodge cars and mopeds that cruise
along other streets.
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