When the ZTL is active
The ZTL covers large parts of the historic centre. According to the city tourism site's ZTL page, it operates:
| Period | Hours |
|---|---|
| Monday to Friday | 7:30–20:00 |
| Saturday | 7:30–16:00 |
| Sundays and public holidays | Not active |
| Summer nights, Thursday to Saturday | 23:00–03:00 |
The summer night ZTL runs from the first Thursday of April to the first Sunday of October, so it is not in force from November to March. On the current calendar it next starts on Thursday 1 April 2027.
"Not active" does not mean the whole centre opens up. The city's ZTL map says some gates have variable hours while others are a total ban on private traffic, and Feel Florence says pedestrian areas and bus lanes are closed to traffic. The map also gives slightly different Friday and Saturday night hours for some sectors than the main page, so do not use the night window to plan a short cut.
How the gates work
Each entry point has an electronic gate that reads number plates. A sign shows green when access is allowed and red when it is forbidden. The map puts it bluntly: unauthorised vehicles are fined automatically. Satellite navigation does not know whether your plate is authorised, so treat a red sign as a stop sign.
If your hotel is inside the ZTL
Hotel guests may drive in to reach their accommodation. Feel Florence and the ZTL map set the conditions:
- Contact the hotel before you arrive and ask for the shortest route in and out, and whether it has a garage.
- Drive straight there by that route.
- Give your vehicle details to the hotel or garage reception on arrival. The map says the facility must be notified no later than 3 hours after you enter the ZTL; reception passes your plate to the Municipal Police.
- If the hotel has no garage, you may stop only to drop off. Feel Florence allows up to 3 hours before you leave again; free street parking is not available inside the zone.
Without the notification, the map says, a fine applies. Keep the rental agreement handy so you can read the plate number to reception.
If you need to enter without a hotel booking
The city's parking company, Servizi alla Strada (SAS), sells temporary ZTL permits for vehicles under 3,500 kg. Its temporary access page and FAQ give these terms:
- Transit only: €5 per day.
- Transit and parking in white-lined resident spaces: €15 per day.
- A permit runs for one calendar day, 00:00–24:00. Bought for the same day, it is valid only from the time of purchase, so buy it before you drive in.
- Up to 10 days per month for the same vehicle. The yearly cap is 70 days on the access page but 60 on the FAQ, so plan on 60 at most.
- It must be stamped and displayed inside the car, and cannot be refunded or cancelled.
The FAQ says you buy it online: register on the SAS platform, then request the permit from your reserved area. Do this before you set off, because the permit for a given day must be bought before the car passes a gate.
How fines reach you
Neither Feel Florence nor SAS states the fine amount on the pages we read, so we do not quote one. Feel Florence gives a dedicated contact for questions about fines: firenze@myfines.it or +39 055 0353400, in 17 languages, Monday to Friday 8:30–17:30 and Saturday 8:30–13:30.
Nobody stops you at the gate: the fine reaches you later, and Feel Florence has a separate section for drivers who receive one after returning home. Our guide to rental car fines after you get home explains how a notice reaches a renter and what to do when a letter arrives months later. Speed cameras on the roads around Florence work the same way; see Italy's Tutor and Autovelox cameras.
Where to leave the car instead
Feel Florence says parking outside the ZTL is cheaper, and Firenze Parcheggi, the city car-park company, says all its car parks have entrances and exits outside the ZTL gates. The Mobility section of Feel Florence links the main options:
- Park and ride by tram: Villa Costanza in Scandicci, at the end of the T1 tram line, plus Via Sansovino and Viale Guidoni.
- Car parks at the ZTL edge, such as Parterre near Piazza della Libertà or the station car park.
- Free park-and-ride at Ponte a Greve, by the Nenni-Torregalli tram stop.
Prices, tram times and which option suits a day trip or a week are compared in our Florence parking and park-and-ride guide.
If you are only collecting a car at Florence airport for a Tuscany road trip, you never need to enter the centre at all. Our airport transfer guide covers the tram from the airport if you would rather pick the car up on the day you leave the city.
