Connecting Livorno and Florence, Pisa, or Lucca
Florence is Tuscany’s transportation hub, with fine train, bus, and plane connections to virtually anywhere in Italy. The city has several train stations, a bus station (next to the main train station), and an airport (plus Pisa’s airport is nearby). Livorno, on the coast west of Florence, is a major cruise-ship port for passengers visiting Florence, Pisa, and other nearby destinations.
Florence’s main train station is called Santa Maria Novella (Firenze S.M.N. on schedules and signs). Florence also has two suburban train stations: Firenze Rifredi and Firenze Campo di Marte. Note that some trains don’t stop at the main station—before boarding, confirm that you’re heading for S.M.N., or you may overshoot the city. (If this happens, don’t panic; the other stations are a short taxi ride from the center.)
Built in Mussolini’s “Rationalism” style back between the wars, in some ways the station seems to have changed little—notice the 1930s-era lettering and architecture.
To orient yourself to the station and nearby services, stand with your back to the tracks. Look left to see the green cross of a 24-hour pharmacy (Farmacia) and a small food court. Baggage storage (deposito bagagli) is also to the left, halfway down track 16 (€5/5 hours, then €0.70/hour for 6-12 hours and €0.30/hour for over 12 hours, daily 6:00-23:00, passport required, maximum 40 pounds, no explosives—sorry). Directly ahead of you is the main hall (salone biglietti, with ticket windows). WCs (€1) and the Trenitalia information office are to the right, near track 5. The high-speed Italo (NTV) information office and small waiting room are opposite track 5, near the exit. Avoid the station’s fake “Tourist Information” office; it’s funded by hotels, if it’s even still around. To reach the real TI, walk away from the tracks and exit the station; it’s straight across the square, 100 yards away, by the stone church.
Buying Tickets: If you need tickets to travel within Italy, there’s no reason to stand in line at a window. Take advantage of the user-friendly, “Fast Ticket” (Biglietto Veloce) machines that display schedules, issue tickets, and even make reservations for railpass-holders. Some take only credit cards; others take cards and cash. Using them is easy—it actually can be fun; just tap “English.”
Be aware there are two train companies: Trenitalia, with most connections, has green-and-white machines (toll tel. 892-021, www.trenitalia.it); the red machines are for the new high-speed Italo service, run by private operator NTV (no railpasses accepted, cheaper the further in advance you book, tel. 06-0708, www.italotreno.it).
To get international tickets, you’ll need to either go to a ticket window (in the main hall) or a travel agency. For more on train travel in Italy—including your ticket-buying options—see here.
Cheap Eats: The food court near track 16 includes places to get pizza, panini, and simple salads, plus a McDonald’s. Alternatively, the handy Margherita/Conad supermarket—with sandwiches and salads to go—is just around the corner (with your back to the tracks, leave the station to the right, go down the steps, and it’s immediately on your right on Via Luigi Alamanni; Mon-Sat 7:30-20:30, closed Sun).
The Duomo and town center are to your left (with your back to the tracks). Out the doorway to the left, you’ll find city buses and the taxi stand. Taxis cost about €8 to the Duomo, and the line moves fast, except on holidays. Buses generally don’t cover the center well and probably aren’t the best way to reach your hotel (walking could be faster), but if you need to take one, buy a ticket at the ATAF ticket office outside (facing the main entrance, to the left). Minibus #C2 (which runs through the middle of town) departs from across the square, at the corner beyond the TI and Santa Maria Novella underpass; however, by the time you walk to the stop, you’re already halfway to downtown.
To walk into town (10-15 minutes), exit the station through the main hall and head straight across the square outside (toward the Church of Santa Maria Novella). On the far side of the square, keep left and head down the main Via dei Panzani, which leads directly to the Duomo.
From Florence by Train to: Pisa (2-3/hour, 45-75 minutes, €7.80), Lucca (2/hour, 1.5 hours, €6.40), Siena (direct trains hourly, 1.5-2 hours, €8.50; bus is better because Siena’s train station is far from the center), Camucia-Cortona (hourly, 1.5 hours, €9.80), Livorno (hourly, 1.25 hours, some change in Pisa, €9), La Spezia (for the Cinque Terre, 5/day direct, 2.5 hours, otherwise nearly hourly with change in Pisa, €11.30), Milan (hourly, 1.75 hours, €53), Milan’s Malpensa Airport (2/day direct, 2.75 hours, €58), Venice (hourly, 2-3 hours, may transfer in Bologna; often crowded—reserve ahead, €43), Assisi (8/day direct, 2-3 hours, €12), Orvieto (hourly, 2 hours, some with change in Campo di Marte or Rifredi station, €19), Rome (at least hourly, 1.5 hours, most connections require seat reservations, €45), Naples (hourly, 3 hours, €72), Brindisi (8/day, 8 hours with change in Bologna or Rome, €75), Interlaken (5/day, 5.5-6 hours, 2-3 changes), Frankfurt (1/day, 12 hours, 1-3 changes), Paris (3/day, 10-15 hours, 1-2 changes, important to reserve overnight train ahead), Vienna (1 direct overnight train, or 5/day with 1-3 changes, 10-16 hours).
Note that the departures listed above are operated by Trenitalia; a competing private rail company called Italo offers additional high-speed connections to major Italian cities (including Milan, Padua, Venice, Rome, and Naples). While Italo is often cheaper (particularly if you book long in advance), it doesn’t accept railpasses (for details on Italo, see here or visit www.italotreno.it).
The BusItalia bus station (100 yards west of the Florence train station on Via Santa Caterina da Siena) is a big, old-school lot with numbered stalls and all the services you’d expect. Although the bus company’s name recently changed, most buses and signs will probably still have the old SITA label. Schedules for regional trips are posted and TV monitors show imminent departures. Bus service drops dramatically on Sunday. Generally it’s best to buy bus tickets in the station, as you’ll pay 30 percent more if you buy tickets onboard. Bus info: tel. 800-373-760 (Mon-Fri 9:00-15:00, closed Sat-Sun), www.fsbusitalia.it.
As some Tuscan towns (including Volterra and Montepulciano) have few connections, day-trippers with more money than time could consider a guided tour such as those offered by ArtViva (see here). Otherwise, check the schedule online before heading to the station.
Getting to the Train Station and City Center: Exit the station through the main door, and turn left along the busy street toward the brick dome. The train station is on your left, while downtown Florence is straight ahead and a bit to the right.
From Florence by Bus to: San Gimignano (hourly, less on Sun, 1.5-2 hours, change in Poggibonsi, €6.80), Siena (about 2/hour, 1.25-hour rapida/via superstrada buses are faster than the train, avoid the slower ordinaria buses, €7.80, www.sienamobilita.it), Volterra (4/day Mon-Sat, 1/day Sun, 2 hours, change in Colle Val d’Elsa to CPT bus #770, €8.35, www.cpt.pisa.it), Montepulciano (2/day, 2 hours, LFI bus, €11.20, www.lfi.it), Florence’s Amerigo Vespucci Airport (2/hour, 30 minutes, €6, pay driver and immediately validate ticket, usually departs from platform 1, first bus leaves for airport from Florence at 5:30).
For small groups with more money than time, zipping to nearby towns by taxi can be a good value (e.g., €120 from your Florence hotel to your Siena hotel).
A more comfortable alternative is to hire a private car service. Florence-based Transfer Chauffeur Service has a fleet of modern vehicles with drivers who can whisk you between cities, to and from the cruise ship port at Livorno, and through the Tuscan countryside for around the same price as a cab (tel. 055-612-3659, mobile 338-862-3129, www.transfercs.com, marco.masala@transfercs.com, Marco). Prestige Rent also has friendly, English-speaking drivers and offers similar services (tel. 055-300-230, mobile 333-999-5929, US tel. 347/338-0972, www.prestigerent.com, usa@prestigerent.com, Saverio).
The autostrada has several exits for Florence. Get off at the Nord, Sud, or Certosa exits and follow signs toward—but not into—the Centro.
Don’t even attempt driving into the city center. Florence has a traffic-reduction system that’s complicated and confusing even to locals. Every car passing into the Zona Traffico Limitato (ZTL) is photographed; those who haven’t jumped through bureaucratic hoops to get a permit can expect to receive a €100 ticket in the mail (and an “administrative” fee from the rental company). If you get lost and cross the line several times...you get several fines. The no-go zone (defined basically by the old medieval wall, now a boulevard circling the historic center of town—watch for Zona Traffico Limitato signs) is roughly the area between the river, main train station, Piazza della Libertà, Piazza Donatello, and Piazza Beccaria. If you think you’ve crossed the line, and end up parking at a garage, it’s worth asking the attendant if there’s anything he can do to belatedly register your car (and cancel your ticket).
Parking: The city center is ringed with big, efficient parking lots (signposted with the standard big P), each with taxi and bus service into the center. Check www.firenzeparcheggi.it for details on parking lots, availability, and prices. From the freeway, follow the signs to Centro, then Stadio, then P. I usually head for “Parcheggio del Parterre,” just beyond Piazza della Libertà (€2/hour, €20/day, €65/week, open 24 hours daily, tel. 055-500-1994, 600 spots, automated, pay with cash or credit card, never fills up completely). To get into town, find the taxi stand at the elevator exit, or ride one of the minibuses that connect all of the major parking lots with the city center (see www.ataf.net for routes).
You can park for free along any suburban curb near a bus stop that feels safe and take the bus into the city center from there. Check for signs that indicate parking restrictions—for example, a circle with a slash through it and “dispari giovedi, 0,00-06,00” means “don’t park on Thursdays between midnight and six in the morning.”
Free parking is easy up at Piazzale Michelangelo (see here), but don’t park where the buses drop off passengers; park on the side of the piazza farthest from the view. To get from Piazzale Michelangelo to the center of town, take bus #12 or #13.
Car Rental: If you’re picking up a rental car upon departure, don’t struggle with driving into the center. Taxi with your luggage to the car-rental office, and head out from there. For more information on car rental and driving in Italy, see here. For tips on driving in Tuscany, see here.
Also called Peretola Airport, Florence’s airport is about five miles northwest of the city (open 5:00-23:00, no overnighting allowed, TI, cash machines, car-rental agencies, airport code: FLR, airport info tel. 055-315-874, flight info tel. 055-306-1700—domestic only, www.aeroporto.firenze.it). Shuttle buses (to the far right as you exit the arrivals hall) connect the airport with Florence’s BusItalia/SITA bus station, 100 yards west of the train station on Via Santa Caterina da Siena (2/hour, 30 minutes, €6, buy ticket on board and validate immediately, daily 6:00-23:30). If you’re changing to a different intercity bus in Florence (for instance, one bound for Siena), stay on the bus through the first stop (at the train station); it will continue on to the bus station nearby. Allow about €25 and 30 minutes for a taxi.
For information on Pisa’s Galileo Galilei Airport, see here.
If you’re arriving in Tuscany by cruise ship, you’ll disembark in the coastal town of Livorno (sometimes called “Leghorn” in English), located about 60 miles west of Florence. Around 900,000 travelers pass through Livorno’s cruise ship ports each year.
Of the excursion options, Florence is the most time-consuming to reach (roughly two hours each way by public transit). You have three good options for getting into Florence: take the train; share a minibus taxi (arrange at the dock); or take a cruise-line excursion. Pisa is closer (about an hour each way), and—since Pisa is well-connected with Lucca—it’s possible to combine those two cities into one long day. (If doing this, save Pisa until after lunch to avoid the cruise crowds that flock there in the morning, and be aware that most shops and restaurants in Lucca are closed Sun-Mon.) No matter where you go, if you’re taking the train, keep in mind that it can take about 30 minutes just to get from Livorno’s cruise port to the train station across town. Plan your day conservatively, as trains can be delayed.
Arrival at the Port: Livorno’s port (at the western edge of town) is vast and sprawling, but most cruise ships dock in one of two places: Molo 75, at the Porto Mediceo; or at the adjacent Molo Capitaneria. At either pier, you’ll find cruise-line excursion buses, a tiny TI desk, drivers hustling to fill their minibus taxis for trips into Florence, and a shuttle bus leaving every few minutes for Piazza del Municipio in the center of Livorno.
Tourist Information: The TI is inside the covered pedestrian mall just off Piazza del Municipio, a few steps from the port shuttle-bus stop (daily May-Oct 8:00-19:00, Nov-April 8:00-17:30, tel. 0586-894-236, www.costadeglietruschi.it). Public WCs are in City Hall, across the street from the TI on Piazza del Municipio.
Tours: The TI arranges local guides and has a free Livorno brochure with self-guided Livorno walks. They can also inform you about local tours, such as a boat trip around the canals of Livorno plus a visit to Pisa (€20). Karin Kibby, an Oregonian living in Livorno who leads Rick Steves tours, offers a morning “slice of Italian life” walk (including Livorno’s fantastic food market) and day trips from the cruise port throughout Tuscany. She’ll work with you to find the best solution for your budget and interests (2-10 people, mobile 333-108-6348, karinkintuscany@yahoo.it).
With a little patience, budget-minded travelers can use public transportation to go from Livorno to Florence, Pisa, or Lucca, and back again before the ship departs. Taxis to these places are very expensive, though if splitting the cost with a group, this can be a decent way to go.
To visit Florence, Pisa, or Lucca by public transit, follow this basic plan: Walk or ride the cruise line’s shuttle bus from the port to downtown Livorno; then ride a public bus to Livorno’s train station; then take the train to wherever you’re going.
Getting Between the Port and Downtown Livorno: Most cruise lines offer a shuttle bus to the center of Livorno, dropping you off at a bus stop near the TI on Piazza del Municipio (about €5-8 round-trip). You’ll find plenty of transportation and tour deals being hawked here by a gaggle of small-time guides and tour operators eager to win your business.
If the line for the shuttle bus is too long—or if you’re in the mood for a stroll—you can walk from most areas of the port to downtown Livorno in 10-20 minutes. From Molo 75/Porto Mediceo, walk around the little sailboat harbor, then bear right over the wide bridge and up Via Grande. From Molo Capitaneria, walk through the port area, cross the wide bridge, and continue straight up Via Grande. Via Grande—an elegant-feeling, arcaded street lined with shops and fashion boutiques—takes you straight to Piazza Grande in the heart of town.
Getting to Livorno Centrale Train Station: Livorno’s city center clusters around two squares: Piazza del Municipio (TI, public WCs, shuttle-bus stop) and Piazza Grande (stop for buses #1 and #1R to train station). The squares are connected by a long, covered pedestrian mall (with the helpful TI inside).
Public buses #1 and #1R to the train station depart from the middle of Piazza Grande (in front of the cathedral). To reach Piazza Grande from the shuttle-bus stop on Piazza del Municipio, turn right out of the bus and walk two short blocks on Via Cogorano, or walk through the pedestrian mall (and visit the TI on the way). From here, the bus heads to Livorno Centrale Station, the end of the line (€1.20, €1.70 if bought from driver, 8/hour Mon-Sat, 4-6/hour Sun, 10 minutes). Before boarding, buy your bus ticket at a tobacco shop or newsstand; at the same place, you can also buy train tickets to Pisa, Lucca, or Florence (doing this now will help you save time and avoid lines at the train station).
The 35-minute walk from Piazza Grande to the train station is long and boring; don’t do it—the bus is simple.
Getting to Florence, Pisa, and Lucca: From Livorno Centrale Station, trains zip to Florence, Pisa, Lucca, and other points in Italy. If you’re going to Pisa, note that it’s usually listed as an intermediate station (for example, on the way to Firenze, Milano, or Torino) rather than the final destination. All Florence-bound trains stop in Pisa.
To Florence: Hourly, usually departs at :10 after the hour, arrive in Florence at :32 past the following hour—1 hour and 22 minutes total, €9 on a regional train. (Occasional departures are a few minutes shorter but require you to change trains at Pisa Centrale.)
To Pisa: 2-3/hour, 20 minutes, €2.50 on a regional train.
To Lucca: About hourly, 1-1.25 hours, transfer at Pisa Centrale, €5.10 on a regional train.
To Lucca and Pisa: If you want to visit Lucca and Pisa in one day, take the train to Lucca first. A handy bus connects Lucca’s Piazzale Giuseppe Verdi to Pisa’s Field of Miracles (€3, hourly Mon-Sat, fewer on Sun, 30 minutes).
Pisa Bus Alternative: If you want to go straight from downtown Livorno to Pisa, consider taking a bus. The Livorno TI arranges cheap and efficient shuttle buses for cruisers bound for the Leaning Tower. Cheaper still is the public bus labeled PISA, which connects downtown Livorno and Pisa hourly on the hour (€2.75, few buses Sat-Sun, 55 minutes, schedule posted at stop, buses have no number and vary in color). In Livorno, catch the PISA bus at the Largo Duomo stop behind the cathedral (which faces Piazza Grande; walk down the left side of the cathedral to find the stop by the CPT bus office). The bus leaves you about a block from Pisa’s train station at Piazza Santo Antonio, across town from the Field of Miracles and Leaning Tower (see “Arrival in Pisa,” here). Notice that the bus runs less frequently than the train, and weekend service is limited. It also takes more than twice as long as the train (which takes only 20 minutes)—but it saves you the trip from downtown Livorno to the train station.
Taxis wait at the dock to hustle up business as travelers disembark. While a private taxi is costly, enterprising drivers with eight-seat minibuses gather groups to split their €400 fee; €50/person is actually a great deal—you’ll be driven one hour into Florence, dropped off near the center for four or five hours of free time, and then taken back to the port. Some groups cram in a stop at Pisa on the way back, which, while rushing a tour of Florence, is doable. If you have friends on board, this is a wonderful option worth considering and talking up before you arrive in Livorno.
Here are some ballpark round-trip fares for a four-seat car: Pisa—€120, Pisa and Lucca—€220, Florence—€320. Ask if wait time is included—if not, it can cost about €30/hour. In general, drivers at the port prefer to take passengers who will pay them for the whole day, so it can be difficult to get someone to take you just one-way (especially the long haul into Florence). You might have better luck for shorter trips if you take the shuttle bus into downtown Livorno and then catch a taxi there (maximum prices one-way: Livorno-Pisa-€60, Livorno-Lucca-€80, Livorno-Florence-€250, Pisa-Lucca-€50).
Taxis both at the port and in the city offer the same rates. Clarify the fare beforehand, even though by law the driver must have the meter on (the quoted price will usually be less than the meter). Don’t pay for a round-trip excursion until your cabbie has returned you back to your ship...safe, sound, and on time.
Most cruise lines offer a “transportation-only” excursion from the ship to Florence. This includes a bus ride from the ship directly to a point in downtown Florence, free time to explore the city, then a bus ride back to your ship. This is extremely convenient but relatively expensive (around $100-125—which is about €75-95).