Car Hire Tuscany: Florence ZTL, Tolls & Driving Tips 2026

Florence or Pisa: which airport suits your road trip?

Two airports serve most Tuscany trips: Florence (FLR, also called Peretola) and Pisa (PSA, Galileo Galilei). At neither will you collect your car outside arrivals; the rental companies sit in a dedicated area nearby.

For Chianti or Siena, Florence saves some driving; for the coast, Lucca or Pisa itself, choose Pisa. The two airports are linked by the tolled A11 motorway and by the toll-free FI-PI-LI dual carriageway.

Florence ZTL: hours, sectors and the summer night zone

Most of Florence's historic centre is a Zona a Traffico Limitato (ZTL). Electronic gates at the entry points read number plates, and vehicles without authorisation are fined automatically. Electronic signs at the entrances show whether the zone is currently active.

The official map shows longer night hours for part of the zone on Fridays (from 20:00) and Saturdays (from 16:00), so check it on feelflorence.it before a summer evening drive. In 2026 the night zone ran from Thursday 2 April to Sunday 4 October; under the same rule it is due to return on Thursday 1 April 2027.

Driving to a hotel inside the Florence ZTL

Florence has a clear rule for hotel guests. According to the city's official ZTL map, you may drive to a hotel or garage inside the ZTL as long as you give the vehicle details to the hotel or garage no later than three hours after entering. They pass the plate to the Municipal Police. If that does not happen, you will be fined.

1. Ask the hotel in advance whether it registers plates and which route to take.
2. Drive there by the shortest route. Detours through the zone are not covered.
3. Hand over your number plate at reception as soon as you arrive, not in the evening.
4. Then park in the hotel garage or outside the ZTL. You may not park on the street inside the zone without a permit.

Without a hotel booking, Servizi alla Strada, which manages the ZTL, sells daily permits online: transit only for 5 euros, or transit plus parking in residents' bays for 15 euros. Each is valid for one calendar day, must be printed and displayed, and is limited to 10 days per month per vehicle.

Park and ride: leave the car outside Florence

The most relaxed option is to park on the edge of the city and take the tram. The city's official tourism site lists these park and ride car parks:

• Villa Costanza (Scandicci): right on the A1, at the end of the T1 tram line into the centre.
• Ponte a Greve: free of charge, between the Coop shopping centre and the Nenni Torregalli tram stop.
• Viale Guidoni and Via Sansovino: both served by the tram.
• Via del Gelsomino: connected by bus 11.
• Parterre near Piazza della Libertà: on the edge of the ZTL, with the C1 shuttle bus into the centre.

ZTLs in Siena, Pisa, Lucca and San Gimignano

Almost every walled historic centre in Tuscany keeps cars out, often around the clock:

• Siena: the streets inside the walls are largely ZTL, with traffic and parking banned around the clock and entry monitored by electronic gates. Guests of hotels in the old town can drive in once the accommodation has registered their details, but in the innermost zone (Zona Y storica) they may only arrive by taxi, and only if they have walking difficulties.
• San Gimignano: since 1 May 2026, six camera gates have been fully enforced, generally 24 hours a day. Only guests of accommodation inside the zone may drive in, with access registered in advance by the accommodation through the town's ZTL portal; between 5:30 and 9:30 these guests can enter without prior registration.
• Lucca: the old town inside the walls has a ZTL, and the town has been reworking its perimeter. In December 2025 La Nazione reported 14 new gates with cameras that monitor both entries and exits, so expect tighter enforcement.
• Pisa: the four historic-centre zones are active 24 hours a day, every day, and a summer night zone applies on the Lungarni, the streets along the Arno.

Rule of thumb: navigate to a car park outside the walls and walk in. Staying inside? Agree access with your accommodation in writing first.

ZTL fines and how they reach you after a hire

Entering an active ZTL without authorisation breaks Article 7 of the Italian Highway Code (Codice della Strada). The fine is 83 to 332 euros, plus notification costs. Since a reform by Law 177/2024, in force since 14 December 2024, several camera-recorded violations of the same ZTL on the same calendar day are combined into a single fine. Entering the Florence ZTL and the Siena ZTL on the same day still means two separate fines.

With a hire car, the process runs through the rental company:

1. The police notify the registered owner of the car, which is the rental company.
2. The rental company passes your name and address to the police and usually charges your card an admin fee set out in its terms; The Local Italy reports fees of up to 90 euros. This is not the fine itself.
3. The police post the fine to your home address. For non-residents they have 360 days from receiving your details, so it can arrive months later.
4. If you pay within five days of receiving the notice, most fines are reduced by 30 percent. Pay within 60 days to avoid late-payment charges.

You can appeal within 60 days, but the forms are in Italian, and if an appeal to the Prefect fails, the fine is doubled. For more on how fines are processed, see our ZTL Rome guide.

Driving licence and IDP rules for UK, Irish, US, Canadian and Australian drivers

Under Article 135 of the Italian Highway Code, visitors with a non-EU/EEA licence must also carry an International Driving Permit (IDP) or an official Italian translation, subject to international agreements. Driving without one can cost 408 to 1,634 euros.

• Rental companies can be stricter than the law, for example asking every customer for an IDP or a year of driving experience, as GOV.UK points out. An IDP must be obtained at home before you travel.
• GOV.UK advises carrying photo ID at all times; police normally ask for your full passport if you are stopped while driving.

Driving in Tuscany: the Chiantigiana, gravel roads and speed checks

The classic scenic drive is the SR 222 Chiantigiana from Florence to Siena. According to the region's official tourism site, it is about 69 kilometres long and runs through Greve in Chianti, Panzano and Castellina in Chianti, with detours to Radda and Gaiole.

Away from the main roads you will soon meet strade bianche, unpaved gravel roads leading to wineries and agriturismi. The same tourism site describes the side road from Greve via Montefioralle to Badia a Passignano as narrow, winding and partly unpaved. Rental terms often restrict such roads or exclude damage to tyres and underbody, so check yours.

Default limits are 50 km/h in towns, 90 km/h on secondary roads, 110 km/h on main roads and 130 km/h on motorways (90 and 110 km/h on the last two in rain or snow). The Tutor system measures average speed on motorway sections, for example on the A1 between Firenzuola and Badia and between Chiusi and Monte San Savino, and on the A11 around Prato and Pistoia. Exceeding the limit by more than 10 and up to 40 km/h costs 173 to 694 euros under the Highway Code, and speeding fines are a third higher between 22:00 and 7:00.

Tolls, deposit and avoiding disputes

The A1 (Bologna–Florence–Rome) and the A11 (Florence–Pisa Nord) are toll motorways. Most Italian motorways use a closed system: you take a ticket at the entry and pay at the exit according to the distance driven, by cash or credit card. Lanes marked in yellow are for Telepass electronic toll devices only, so do not use them unless your car has one. The FI-PI-LI between Florence, Pisa and Livorno is free; a selective toll was still being debated in August 2026.

If you cannot pay at the booth, do not reverse; ask for assistance at the lane. If the problem cannot be solved, you receive an unpaid toll ticket, which Autostrade per l'Italia says can be paid without extra fees within 15 days. After that, admin charges are added and a reminder goes to the registered owner, which for a hire car means the rental company.

Consumer advice from the European Consumer Centre Ireland and the UK Competition and Markets Authority boils down to this:

1. Bring a physical credit card in the main driver's name; many companies insist on one for the deposit. Debit card acceptance varies by company.
2. Check the excess before booking. Excess insurance bought in advance is often much cheaper than at the desk, and standard collision damage waivers often exclude tyres and glass.
3. Photograph or film the car inside and out, make sure all existing damage is on the vehicle report and keep a copy.
4. Return the car during opening hours and get written confirmation of its condition.

Dispute any later damage charge in writing and ask for evidence and the repair invoice. EU residents, including the Irish, can get free help from their European Consumer Centre; UK travellers who paid by credit card may be able to claim under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.

Frequently asked questions