Parking in Italian cities

jmoon80

Junior Member
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46
For our 40ths next summer, a few friends and our families will be renting a villa in Tuscany, about 40km from Florence.

Obviously the easiest thing to do would be to fly and hire a car, but I feel like it would be a missed opportunity to take the GT, and I'd spend the whole time wishing I had it with me.

We'll have plenty of parking at the villa, but will want to nip out to Florence, Siena etc for day trips. Does anyone have experience of/recommendations for parking in or close to the towns? Have fears of dented doors and/or getting stuck down narrow lanes!

I'm also looking at the (frankly ridiculous) alternative of driving down, but hiring another car while we're there! Only a petrolhead...

Thanks
James
 

Felonious Crud

Administrator
Staff member
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21,017
Drive it. We drove to Tuscany in our old Disco 3, visited Florence and Siena, made it across to Venice and then home via Chamonix. It was an epic trip. Just wonderful. And then we did a similar thing in the GTS, down via Aromanches, Millau, Provence, Monaco, Antibes, a week on Como and home via Switzerland, some Autobahns and the Netherlands then overnight to Harwich.

To your question regarding parking, I don't remember it being an issue. We just stopped at the first car parks we came to on the way into town and schlepped into the centre. In fairness, we only really did cities in the Disco, the GTS trip was all smaller places (except Monaco, and the car parks there are fine).
 

Vampyrebat

Member
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3,117
I was in both places 2 years ago (beautiful places) and especially in Florence, I couldn't help thinking I'm glad I am not in my car!! as they had no respect for their own cars let alone others and that included the upper market cars. And yes, the lanes are very narrow. Can you not drive there and then get a bus/train in?
BTW, go and see 'David' if you haven't done already...........It moved me to tears!!
 

sionie1

Member
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1,310
Siena has some areas for local permits only and some streets you wouldn’t want to drive a GT around, ( top end of the Palio Square) We visit every year and park either in the railway or by the north gate via pay and display. Never had any issues with dents, and in fact if you took the GT particularly around Siena you’d be treated well, with lots of positive comments. The roads between Florence and Siena are either motorway or decent back roads, so nothing too horrific, possibly just frustrating around Tuscany if you get stuck behind the tour bus stopping at every vantage point.... Lots of the hilltop towns in Umbria and Tuscany have good car parks at the bottom in the ‘new town’ then underground or overground escalators to the old town. You’ll have a ball.
 

jmoon80

Junior Member
Messages
46
Ha! Replies so far reflecting nicely the conflicting voices in my head.

Bus/train into the cities makes sense but still requires parking near a station, and not sure how safe that is either? I have no problem paying for high end parking but it's hard to judge what they're like from here.

It'll be end of July (thanks to school holidays...) so fairly busy, I imagine.

It does feel like a trip the car was made to do...
 

jmoon80

Junior Member
Messages
46
BTW, go and see 'David' if you haven't done already...........It moved me to tears
I did go, a long time ago, while backpacking. This time around I might appreciate it a bit more, but will also have two small children being bored and annoying, so swings and roundabouts...
 

Ebenezer

Member
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4,445
I did the area with two small children with a hire car. The trick is to get up early and arrive wherever you want to go first thing so that you are first in when places open. Grock until lunchtime and then beat a hasty retreat back to the villa/pool for the afternoon.
Eb
 

oaros

Junior Member
Messages
54
Not related to Tuscany, but for the experience - I would prefer going in my car, if you are reasonably relaxed about driving in Italy. Due to time constraints I always ended up with rentals. I drove trough Naples during Friday evening rush hour and survived without a scratch. My Italian (northern Italian) colleagues thought I was nuts.
Drove along the Amalfi coast, parking never really a problem, always found a lot somewhere. Same for the area around Lake Garda. Both of those though in June, just before the season kicks in.
 

Zep

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9,110
My experience has always been good. There are websites where you can book spaces in underground car parks in all of the cities I have travelled through and then you have security and east of access.
 

whereskeith

Member
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821
I have been there twice 2019 and 2017.
In 2017 I got rear ended while stationary in traffic lights whilst in a hire car. Most cars there are damaged/scratched.
Parking is really bad in Florence , so bad that both times I took the train so I would reccomend that for all the big cities.
Smaller cities like Lucca you can park but again I would not leave your GT is most of these spaces.
Its a beautiful country and the idea of taking the car is attractive and I would but I would expect to get a scratch and then enjoy the trip anyway
 

allandwf

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10,958
Can you drive, then maybe get a local taxi driver at your beck and call? That way you could enjoy a wee spritz, beer etc. while sitting in the local cafes.
 

FIFTY

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3,100
There are a few park and ride options around the outskirts of Florence. I parked my 4200 at Vials Europe for the day... It only takes 25 minutes on the tram to get to the centre and it's free to park
 

Scaf

Member
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6,513
When I did my Italian trip I never have parking a second thought, just went where and when I wanted cities, towns and villages and never had a problem, can’t be worse than London and I have no issues there either.
Driving standards are poor but they do love an Italian exotic and I found people very respectful - most of the horn blowing was accompanied by people shouting “Maserati ! Maserati” with huge grins and thumbs up.
Don’t overthink it - enjoy it !!
 

dickygrace

www.richardgracecars.co.uk
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7,309
Have you been to Florence? It's lovely but not Maserati freindly IME!

C

I’ve been, on a few occasions, in an Elise, a Porsche, and a few times in Maseratis. If you’ve bought yourself two hours there’s plenty of great roads you can enjoy. I once spent 2 hours there in an Elise searching for my hotel and it was 45°; hottest I’ve ever been.
 

Strad

Member
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245
We are doing the Lake Como thing followed by a drive through the mountains to stay at a friend’s chalet in Verbier. Would love to have taken the Stradale but ended up hiring an Alfa Stelvio, something tells me it won’t be a Quadrifoglio............
 

jmoon80

Junior Member
Messages
46
Thanks everyone. I'm not sure I'm much clearer, but I've got a year to ponder on it... To be clear, I don't expect to park right outside the Doumo(!) , so park and ride definitely an option.