Arriving in Florence by train

How to get to Florence by train and the services at the Florence train station

Santa Maria Novella station
Piazza Santa Maria Novella
tel. +39-055-288-765
www.trenitalia.it

Sights nearby
*** San Lorenzo Leather Market [market]
* San Lorenzo [church]
Mercato Centrale [food market]
* Palazzo Medici-Riccardi [palace]
*** Duomo group [church/museum]
** Santa Maria Novella [church]

Where to eat nearby
* Da Nerbone [snack]
* Da Mario [meal]
* Antichi Cancelli [meal]
*** Il Latini [meal]

Hotels nearby
Hotel Rosso23 [cheap/moderate]
Hotel Universo [cheap/moderate]
Grand Hotel Baglioni [moderate/premier]
Hotel Roma [moderate/premier]
Hotel Belletiini [cheap]
Hotel Centrale [moderate]
Grand Hotel Minerva [moderate-splurge]
Hotel Santa Maria Novella [moderate-splurge]
J.K. Palace [splurge]
Hotel Accademia [cheap/moderate]
Hotel Lorena [super-cheap/cheap]
Hotel City [moderate]
Hotel Collodi [cheap/moderate]
» More hotels near Santa Maria Novella

ReidsItaly.com Florence Map

» View ENLARGED MAP with all listings

TOURS FROM OUR TRUSTED PARTNERS that include Florence

Intrepid Travel 2011 Italy trips
• Best of Italy (15 days)
• Italy Experience (15 days)
• Classic Italy (21 days)
• Italy Family Adventure (14 days)
• Highlights of Italy (8 days)
• Tuscan Express (7 days)

G Adventures 2011 Italy trips
• Ultimate Italy (13 days)
• Italy Culture and History Explored (9 days)
• The Taste of Tuscany (8 days)
• Venice to Rome Adventure (8 days)
• Italy Family Adventure (10 days)

iExplore Italy trips 2011
• Italy Experience (9 days)
• Italy in Style (9 days)
• Magical Tuscany & Portofino Peninsula (10 days)
• Tuscan Delights (8 days)
• Splendors of Italy & Southern France (16 days)

Most Florence-bound trains roll into the Stazione Santa Maria Novella, which you'll often see abbreviated as S.M.N. (tel. 055-288-765 or toll-free in Italy 848-888-088; www.trenitalia.it).

The station is on the northwestern edge of the city's compact historic center, a 10-minute walk from the Duomo and a 20-minute walk from Piazza della Signoria and the Uffizi. The best budget hotels are immediately east of there around Via Faenza and Via Fiume.

Services inside the station

Useful Italian
ticket - biglietto
train - treno
train track - binario
station - stazione or ferroviaria

With your back to the tracks, near the left (east) exit you'll find a tiny tourist info office with a hotel-booking service office, open daily from 8:30am to 9pm. Further along in the station's left exit hallway is a 24-hour pharmacy.

The train information office is near the opposite exit, to your right (west).

Walk straight through the central glass doors into the outer hall for train tickets at the biglietteria.

At the head of Track 16 is a 24-hour luggage depot where you can drop your bags while you search for a hotel.

Tips

Be sure you get off at the Firenze–Santa Maria Novella station. Some trains stop at the outlying Stazione Campo di Marte or Stazione Rifredi, which are both also called "Firenze" and are both well-worth avoiding—unless you enjoy being stranded out in the sticks. Although there's 24-hour bus service between these satellite stations and S.M.N., departures aren't always frequent and taxi service is erratic and expensive.
You can avoid the manic traffic on the piazza out front and get to the more pedestrian-friendly far side of the square by exiting the train station to the left, then turning right and heading down those stairs you see in front of you. They lead to an underground passageway, lined by a few shops, that pops you up on the far side of the piazza. (Hint: If you over-packed and are struggling with your luggage, know that one of the exits has a ramp up rather than stairs).

Search ReidsItaly.com

This material was last updated January 2011. All information was accurate at the time.

about | contact | faq

» THE REIDSITALY.COM DIFFERENCE «

Copyright © 2008–2012 by Reid Bramblett. Author: Reid Bramblett

Google

Arriving in Florence by train

How to get to Florence by train and the services at the Florence train station

Services inside the station

Tips

Related pages