Florence, capital of the region of Tuscany, has a population of around half a million inhabitants, spreads on the banks of the Arno, between the Adriatic and the Tyrrhenian seas, almost in the middle of the Italian peninsula. It is a city which bustles with industry and craft, commerce and culture, art and science. Being on the main national railway lines, it is easily accessible from most important places both in Italy and abroad. The Florence "Vespucci" airport, where both national and international airlines stop, is located 5 Km. from the city centre. The main motorway, A1, connects Florence with Bologna and Milano in the North and Rome and Naples in the South. The motorway A11 to the sea joins it to Prato, Pistoia, Montecatini, Lucca, Pisa and all the resorts on the Tyrrhenian sea. There is also motorway which connects Florence to Siena. The climate is temperate but rather variable, with breezy winters and hot summers.

Florence contains an exceptional artistic patrimony, glorious testimony to its secular civilization. Cimabue and Giotto, the fathers of Italian painting, lived here, along with Arnolfo and Andrea Pisano, reformists of architecture and sculpture; Brunelleschi, Donatello and Masaccio, founders of the Renaissance; Ghiberti and the Della Robbia; Filippo Lippi and l'Angelico; Botticelli and Paolo Uccello; the universal geniuses Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Their works, along with those of many generations of artists up to the masters of the present century, are gathered in the city's many museums. In Florence, thanks to Dante, the Italian language was born; with Petrarch and Boccaccio literary studies were affirmed; with Humanism the philosophy and values of classical civilization were revived; with Machiavelli modern political science was born; with Guicciardini, historical prose; and with Galileo, modern experimental science. Up to the time of Charlemagne, Florence was a university town. Today it includes many specialized institutes and is an international cultural center. Academies, art schools, scientific institutes and cultural centers all contribute to the city's intense activity.

How to get to Florence

By Car
The "Autostrada Del Sole" Highway (A1) connects Florence both with southern and northern Italy. We suggest the exit "Firenze Sud" for those coming from Rome; "Firenze Nord" for those coming from Milan, Bologna, Venice.

By Train
Florence Santa Maria Novella (S.M.N.) station is on the major Italian North-South train route.
High speed trains running between Milan and Rome stop in Florence. Eurocity and night trains connect directly Florence to several European cities (Paris, Geneve, Zurich, Wien, Munich,...)
Please consult the on-line FS timetable for update information on train departures and arrivals.

By Plane
Florence (Amerigo Vespucci) airport is at Peretola, approximately 5 km West of Florence.
- Direct flights (international, no charters) operate from: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, London Gatwick, Lugano, Munich, Nice, Paris CDG and Vienna.
- To reach the centre/main station from the airport if you don't want to use taxi, you can get the VOLA in BUS airport shuttle (4 Euro).

For international flights consider also the use of Pisa and Rome International airports.
Pisa (Galileo Galilei) airport is some 80 km West of Florence.
- Direct flights (international): Barcelona, London Gatwick, Munich, Paris; Charter flights: London Gatwick, Manchester, Paris Orly.
- Connections to Florence central railway station Santa Maria Novella: direct train from Pisa airport every two hours, approximately (journey time of about 1 hour) or local city transport bus to Pisa central railway station, where there are more frequent trains to Florence Santa Maria Novella.

Rome inter-continental Fiumicino airport, served by all major airlines with flights from all over the world, is connected with a non-stop train every hour to the main Rome railway station (Termini), which is reached in half an hour. More often than every hour a high speed train leaves Rome Termini to Florence Santa Maria Novella, which is reached in about 100 minutes. Most of these trains require to be reserved in advance. Consult the FS web pages for connections and information.