How to get to Florence from Rome

How to get to Florence from Rome

Florence as seen from Piazzale Michelangelo, image by Simon Rae sourced from Unsplash

It’s a known fact that Rome and Florence are two of the most visited cities in all of Italy. What’s more, they’re really close to one another, so it’s only natural to try and include them both on the same holiday!

After a few days spent in Rome, recuperating from jet-lags and the beauty of the Eternal City alike, most visitors yearn for a change of scenery… But they don’t know how to get to Florence. So I rounded up all relevant information below!

How to get to Florence from Rome by train

Rome is one of the main train hubs in Italy, so it provides frequent convoys to all major cities of Italy (and even some of those that are not major at all!).

Travel by train proves to be by far the most popular option to get to Florence: because it’s faster (just 1 hour 40 with a high-speed train), cheap (provided you book some categories of tickets in advance) and… Scenic! In fact, the trains to get to Florence travel through some of the most beautiful areas of the northern edge of the Lazio and Tuscany regions.

Know before you buy: How the train system works in Italy!

Roma Termini is the main train hub in Rome, but by no means it is the only one… Read on! Image by Dan Visan sourced from Unsplash

Reading on, you will find the main differences among the types of train operating in Italy. The present paragraph, on the other hand, lists things that are essential to know before booking a train ticket, so you don’t incur in fines or waste your money while on holiday in Italy!

1. If you’re buying regional train tickets, the price remains always the same, whether you’re getting them in advance or last minute: easy peasy!
2. Tickets for all long-distance convoys, conversely, work like airplane fares: the sooner you buy your ticket, the more money you save.
3. Train schedules and their respective tickets are made available 120 days in advance, so you won’t be able to buy anything, say, one year before your travel date to get super-major-extra-hyper discounts (I know, what a bummer!).
4. For long-distance trains only, also, when you book you get seats assigned for that train alone. If you want the flexibility of being able to take just any train of a certain category, you will need to pay a premium.
5. Some type of tickets need to be validated before boarding the train. This doesn’t apply if you buy them online, regardless of the company you get them from or the train category. Validating is done at egg-like green machines found all over by the platforms in any train station.
6. Only ticket holders can get to the platforms proper in Rome and Florence – you will find barriers and personnel that will inspect your tickets there. Make sure you have your ticket at the ready, either on your mobile or as a printout.
7. Tickets will always be cheaper if you get them on the websites for the companies that operate their respective services (Italotreno or Trenitalia, if you need to get to Florence from Rome). To be clear, any other website is a reseller’s, and you will pay extra if you buy on those.
8. When you buy tickets, use the Italian spelling to choose your destination: so, Florence would be Firenze, Rome would be Roma and so on.
9. On this very subject, do note that both Rome and Florence have several train stops. Do you want to get closer to Florence’s old city? So pick “Firenze Maria Novella”. Are you leaving from something other than Termini in Rome? Then go for “Roma Tiburtina”: high-speed trains to Florence also call there!
10. One final thing to keep in mind is that not all trains are… Created equal, so knowing what types are available may be useful if you want to save some money. Here are the main types you can find to get to Florence from Rome.

Different types of train to Florence: Regional trains

These are the cheapest type of trains available, and they call at all stops along the way. They’re called “Regionale” (shortened as “R” on electronic destination board) or Regionale Veloce (shortened as “RV”).

With a regional train ticket you can board any train of the same category traveling to the same city (Florence, in this example) within four hours after the time originally selected at the time of purchase. Good news in the event you lose your train!

Travel time is about 3 hours 50, while one way ticket is a little under 22 Euros. This service is operated by TRENITALIA.

Different types of train to Florence: Intercity trains

Intercity trains may be the best option to reach some other cities in Italy, just not Florence: at present, there are no direct Intercity trains to Florence central and the only ones available require you to make a connection in one of Florence’s minor train stations. Intercity are shortened as “IC”.

Travel time is between 3 hours 40 and 4 hours. The price for the ticket varies depending on time of booking. You pay an extra 2 EUR if you want to choose your seat! This service is operated by Trenitalia.

Different types of train to Florence: Frecciargento or Frecciarossa

A Frecciarossa train in Florence, image by Timing Kang sourced from Unsplash

I’ve grouped together these two long-distance trains, as they tend to cover the Florence-Rome route in the same amount of time, with prices being also similar.

Italy also has Frecciabianca type trains, but this category doesn’t operate on this particular route. All of the Freccia types of train are shortened as “AV”.

Frecciarossa are high-speed trains and represent the top-of-the-line model of the Trenitalia fleet. Also, they are more frequent and when you look at buying tickets, they’ve got more special offers available (one of the popular ones includes discounts for return trips done on the same day).

If you’re not familiar with how the train system works in Italy, you might want to think of regional trains, and Intercity trains to some extent, as low-cost airlines, which translates into a no-frills service where you can sit wherever you want.

High-speed trains, conversely, are like regular-airlines, and depending on the type of ticket you buy (2nd class, business class etc.) you may find them to be extremely similar to a proper airline service, as snacks may be offered free of charge, you may access on-board entertainment (streaming TV shows or movies, for instance) and so on. If you’ve never had this kind of experience, I do recommend trying traveling on a high-speed train at least once while in Italy!

Travel time is about 1 hour 40. The price for the ticket varies depending on time of booking. You pay an extra 2 EUR if you want to choose your seat! This service is operated by Trenitalia. The “Frecce” trains have a dedicated page here.

Different types of train to Florence: Italotreno

Italotreno are the competition to Trenitalia’s Frecciarossa, in that they are owned by a private company that pays Trenitalia to use their infrastructure (train lines, stations, the works!) and they only operate high-speed trains to the major cities of Italy.

They have a somewhat aggressive business strategy, so it’s not uncommon to find their fares to be substantially lower than Trenitalia’s, so I recommend always checking their website and comparing prices before committing to either.

Italotreno tickets don’t need to be validated: the company favors e-tickets anyway, but even in the event you have a printout of that, you won’t need to stamp it before boarding.

Travel time is about 1 hour 40. The price for the ticket varies depending on time of booking. This service is operated by ITALO (AKA NTV).

How to get to Florence from Rome by bus

For the budget-conscious who doesn’t mind taking longer to get to Florence and loves scenic routes, buses are the way to go!

A popular company like Flixbus offers several coaches a day from Rome to Florence, but so do many other local firms you may not have heard about. The good thing is they all tend to leave from the TIBUS bus terminal, opposite the train/subway station at Roma Tiburtina. Other major bus terminals are outside the Roma Anagnina subway stop or at Roma Termini.

Travel time varies between 3 hours 15 and 4 hours 20. The price for the ticket varies depending on the company chosen and on time of booking (if buying from Flixbus, other companies might offer a fixed fare).

How to get to Florence from Rome by car

Want to drive into Florence? Just be sure not to use a Cinquecento! Image by Jonathan Bean sourced from Unsplash

This is something I do not recommend doing! Here’s why that is:

1. Driving in Italy is expensive! In fact, you have to take into account fuel price which is higher than ever right now; highway tolls if you choose to drive on there (which would be faster); and, finally, any speed tickets you might be incurring into, as they can bite considerably into your budget. Unfortunately, these things happen and particularly to those tourists who are not used to driving in a foreign country.
2. It’s not the only thing you need to factor in when you consider driving to get from Florence to Rome: both cities have ZTL areas in effect, traffic restricted zones which are residents-only. Because of the location of most rental offices, you will end up driving through these barriers and will be fined (but you won’t even realize it until you start getting citations in the mail, as their entrances are unmanned and only “guarded” by cameras).
3. Road signs are also to be considered: bus lanes, road closures and other warnings are indicated in Italian, or with a sign you may not recognize.
4. The final factor to consider is Italians’ driving style. They’re competent, but aggressive, and this may rattle you and make you nervous – your holiday should be relaxing, not a source of stress!
5. Not all cars can drive into Florence – old models are considered too polluting. If you want to drive in style, make sure you get detailed information from the rental agency you’ve picked!

If you’ve read all of the above and you’re still keen on getting to Florence from Rome by car, do read the following suggestions:

1. Don’t pick or return the car anywhere near the city center(s). Pick a rental office that’s in the suburbs or, better still, by Florence or Rome’s respective airports. This will simultaneously get you closer to the highways and away from the… Madding crowds!
2. Get a compact car: On the off-chance that you ignored my first tip, a smaller vehicle is easier to drive into both Florence and Rome!
3. Be aware of common local scams when using a car, especially in busy areas like gas stations or intersections: Approaching you and pointing out that you scratched another person’s car; offering you to help change a flat tire; telling you you dropped a set of keys while getting to your vehicle… Be on the lookout for these or variations of the above. Particularly if you travel by yourself.

Still not convinced? Then I’ll tell you a little secret: my whole life, I’ve never gone to Florence by car. It’s just not worth the hassle! Always traveled by train.

Travel time varies depending on the route chosen. The price for your rental will depend on the company that you pick – also factor in fuel costs and highway tolls (IF DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY).

How to get to Florence from Rome by plane

Can you fly from Rome to Florence? While not particularly convenient, you certainly can! Image by Jan Vašek sourced from Pixabay

It sounds ridiculous to most people to even entertain the thought, but some may have reasons for wanting to get to Florence by plane. And of course it is very much possible to do so!

Do note that there is a lot of waiting around to do, as you will need to be at the airport at least 1 hour and a half prior to your flight, plus neither Rome’s nor Florence’s airports are really by their respective city centers. However, when you don’t factor in any of that idle time, it only takes under 1 hour to fly across Tuscany!

Travel time is about 50 minutes. The price for the ticket varies depending on time of booking but averages at 75 EUR. Direct flights are typically operated by Alitalia.