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Permalink Reply by Steve Giles on February 29, 2012 at 7:50

Hi Marianna,

I have always been a person who liked to drive around when overseas. On my first trip to Italy in 2009 I drove everywhere. I always found it easier! On my second trip this year (2012) I have had the reverse approach. When you look at many Italian cities, they are not car friendly when it comes to traffic and certainly not when it comes to parking. I have recently been in Milan and Florence. You can drive around Milan (mostly), but Florence has exclusion zones for the entire centre of the city. Parking in Florence is very costly. I did find you can park at the Michelangelo Piazza for free. Yeah for that. It is a slight walk from the city centre but it is free. 

Having said that, I have on this visit to Italy been travelling via public transport. I have found that the bus and train system is very extensive and mostly runs on time. If you are going to an isolated area, finding how to get there is more tricky, but if you a persistent you can usually find a way there. I always as a last resort (if I can't find the right connections) email the hotel where I am staying and ask them. I have found this successful where I couldn't get the information in other ways online.

I would suggest that when you look at your travel plans, take into account the following. Do I really need a car? Where am I going? if you don't really need the car, I would suggest that train and bus travel will take care of most of your needs and without the cost. I have found that not having a car was a blessing, and it really didn't reduce where I could go.

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