How do I get to Florence?

Amerigo Vespucci (FLR) has a single terminal processing about 3 million passengers a year on short-haul European routes from Vueling, Transavia, and Brussels Airlines. The runway is notoriously short, and fog and crosswinds cancel 10-15% of winter departures in December and January. Pisa's Galileo Galilei (PSA) handles roughly 6 million passengers annually across 40+ destinations and runs more reliably through bad weather. PSA also tends to have cheaper fares because low-cost carriers dominate its route map. The trade-off is the 90-minute transfer into Florence versus FLR's 20-minute tram ride. For a summer visit, FLR saves you time. For a winter trip or a tight budget, PSA is likely the better pick.

From the US East Coast, the smoothest connections run through Rome Fiumicino (FCO) on ITA Airways or Delta, Munich (MUC) on Lufthansa, or Amsterdam (AMS) on KLM. The transatlantic leg is about 9 hours, plus a 2-4 hour layover and a short European hop. Round-trip fares from JFK typically run $650-1,200 depending on season. From London, budget carriers fly direct to PSA for £40-120 round-trip when booked 6-8 weeks ahead, while BA and Vueling serve FLR from Gatwick and Barcelona for £120-280. Low season runs November through February, excluding the Christmas-New Year spike when fares rise 40-60%. January is likely the cheapest month, when Florence averages 10°C highs and the Uffizi's stone corridors feel cold underfoot.

Experienced Italy travelers tend to skip the flight altogether. High-speed trains connect Florence to every major Italian city, and SMN station sits 400 meters from the Duomo. Trenitalia's Frecciarossa and rival Italo both run the Rome corridor, with Italo often pricing one-way tickets at €19-35. Milan Centrale to SMN takes 1 hour 40 minutes for €30-55. Venice Santa Lucia is 2 hours for €30-50. Bologna Centrale connects in 37 minutes, often under €15. All city-center to city-center, no security lines, no €40 bag surcharges. You walk out of SMN past the marble facade of Santa Maria Novella (the church the station was named for in 1278) and within 5 minutes you're hearing accordion players on Via dei Calzaiuoli and catching the warm smell of roasted coffee from the bars along the pedestrian strip.

From FLR, the T2 tramway runs every 5 minutes to SMN station in about 20 minutes for €1.70. Taxis from FLR cost a fixed €22 to anywhere in the centro storico, set by the Comune di Firenze tariff, so don't accept a higher quote. From PSA, take the PisaMover automated train (€5, 8 minutes) to Pisa Centrale, then a regional Trenitalia service (€9.90, 50-70 minutes) to Florence SMN. The whole PSA-to-Florence transfer runs about 90 minutes. Terravision also operates a direct bus from PSA to Florence SMN for €7-10, but that takes 70 minutes on a good day and the coach seats tend to smell faintly of diesel. Worth noting that if you land at PSA after 22:00, train frequency drops to once an hour. A private transfer at that point runs €120-150 for up to 4 passengers.

Florence is a compact city and most of what you'll want to see sits within a 25-minute walk of SMN station. The centro storico is largely pedestrianized, which means you won't need a car, and parking costs €25-40 per day in the garages near Fortezza da Basso if you do drive in from the Autostrada A1. The ZTL (zona traffico limitato) covers most of the historic center and operates Monday through Saturday, roughly 7:30 to 20:00. Rental cars that enter without a permit get fined €80-100 per violation, often caught by automatic cameras weeks later. If you arrive by car, park outside the ZTL at Parcheggio Porta Romana or the garage at Piazza della Stazione and walk in. The Arno River splits the city roughly in half. Most hotels cluster north of the river between SMN and Santa Croce, while the Oltrarno on the south bank has more B&Bs and rental apartments in the €80-150 per night range.