Driving in Florence: the ZTL hours, how a hotel registers your car, where to park, hiring a car and the Scudo Verde

💡 The Short Version: The ZTL, Florence’s limited traffic zone, is closed to unpermitted cars Monday to Friday 07:30 to 20:00 and Saturday 07:30 to 16:00, and not enforced on Sundays and holidays. Cameras read the plate and a fine follows. A hotel inside the zone registers your car if you give reception its details on arrival, and a luggage drop-off is allowed for 3 hours. Park outside it: the Parterre garage at Piazza Libertà connects by shuttle C1, and the tram park-and-ride sites at Villa Costanza, Via Sansovino and Viale Guidoni connect by tram. A separate Scudo Verde low-emission zone bans the most polluting vehicles, and widens on 1 December 2026. Or let a tour drive: the Chianti half-day tourad is €50, and the Pisa, Siena and San Gimignano dayad is €49 (GetYourGuide).

The ZTL

Telematic gates read the plate, and an electric sign shows green when the zone is open to traffic and red when it is closed. Pedestrian areas and bus lanes are closed to traffic (feelflorence.it). The UK Foreign Office says you need a pass to drive into the historic centre of many Italian cities, that a camera reads the plate and a fine follows, and that car hire companies can sell a pass (gov.uk).

Where to park

Park at the edge of the zone and take the tram or a shuttle in.

Florence public transport explains the tram and bus ticket, €2.00 for 90 minutes.

A T1 tram at the Villa Costanza terminus in Scandicci. Photo: Moliva, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Scudo Verde

The Scudo Verde, or green shield, has been in force since 1 July 2025 across an area larger than the ZTL. Cameras ban the most polluting vehicles: petrol Euro 0 and diesel Euro 0 and 1. From 1 December 2026 the ban also covers petrol Euro 1 and diesel Euro 2 vehicles registered before 1997 and 2001, with exceptions. Check the Euro class of a car you bring from abroad (feelflorence.it).

Hiring a car

The main car hire companies have desks near Florence Airport, and car rental is also in Santa Maria Novella station (feelflorence.it, rfi.it).

A car park for hire cars at Florence Airport. Photo: Mattes, Wikimedia Commons.

Licences. The UK Foreign Office says a UK photocard licence is valid in Italy, a paper licence may need updating or an International Driving Permit, and hire firms may ask for one (gov.uk). Australia’s Smartraveller says to carry an Australian licence with an International Driving Permit or an official translation, and to get the permit before leaving Australia (smartraveller.gov.au). Drivers from the United States and Canada should read the licence rules for Italy on the US State Department and Travel.gc.ca pages before hiring.

When a car is not worth it

Chianti has no railway, and Chianti wine tours compares the tours that go there. Siena, San Gimignano and Pisa are all trains from Santa Maria Novella. The day trips guide compares them all.

Before you go

• ZTL hours end at 16:00 on Saturdays and are not enforced on Sundays.
• Hotels inside the zone register your plate: give the details on arrival.
• The Scudo Verde widens on 1 December 2026.

Airport to the city covers the taxi and tram from Florence Airport, and what to book before you go to Florence lists the sights that need tickets. Where to stay in Florence compares the areas, and 3 days in Florence plans a first visit without a car.