From Florence Airport to the city centre, the T2 tram is the practical low-cost choice for a daytime arrival with manageable luggage. An official taxi is the better fit when you want a direct drop-off, are travelling with children or bulky bags, or land too late for a comfortable tram journey. Both serve central Florence, but they solve different problems: the tram trades a short airport walk and a final walk from Santa Maria Novella for a much lower fare, while the taxi removes those changes and carries you to the centre in one ride.
Use Piazza del Duomo as the comparison point, not the airport-to-station ride alone. The tram route includes reaching its platform, the T2 ride and the walk from the central stop; the taxi figure covers the road journey from the terminal to the square, with rank waiting and traffic treated separately. Searches for an airport bus or shuttle may return older advice, but the current transfer choices covered here are the T2 tram and the authorised airport taxi service.
Airport Transfers to the City Centre at a Glance
For a typical daytime arrival, choose the T2 tram if the lowest per-person fare matters and you can walk with your luggage. Choose a taxi if you need a direct ride or arrive when the tram timetable is less useful. The endpoint below is Piazza del Duomo, a recognisable measure of the historic centre rather than an accommodation-specific address. The tram time includes airport access, an assumed daytime wait, the T2 ride and the final walk; the taxi time covers the ride from the terminal to the square, with its queue treated separately.
| Option | Door-to-door time to Piazza del Duomo | Cost and basis | Frequency or availability | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T2 tram | about 36 minutes of movement plus up to 5 minutes’ wait, about 41 minutes door to door using a 5-minute wait assumption: 2 + 21 + 13 minutes | €2 one way, per passenger; 90-minute urban ticket. SMS €2.40 plus operator charge; driver €3 | Daily; every 4-5 minutes in the daytime, less frequent late | Light luggage, low budget, daytime arrivals |
| Official taxi | about 27 minutes from terminal to square, plus variable rank queue and traffic | €28 weekday / €30 Sunday or public holiday / €32 night, 22:00-06:00, per ride; + €1.20 per bag and from the 4th passenger, capped at €14.40 | Rank available 24/7; take the first authorised taxi | Heavy luggage, children, groups, late arrivals |
The T2 Tram Is the Low-Cost Default
The T2 tram starts with a short walk from the terminal to Peretola Aeroporto T2 tram stop. After baggage collection, leave through the main doors, turn left and follow the Tramvia signs to the platform marked Peretola Aeroporto. The stop is immediately outside the terminal, and the access walk is about 200 metres. Standard wheeled bags are manageable, but there is no luggage storage, so keep large cases with you and avoid the busiest periods if you can.
- Name
- Peretola Aeroporto T2 tram stop
- Location
- Florence, Metropolitan City of Florence Maps
- Site
- gestramvia.com
- Essential fact
- The airport boarding point for the T2 tram towards the city centre.
Board T2 towards the city and stay on until the Santa Maria Novella stop, commonly signed as Alamanni-Stazione. There is no change. From there, walk towards Piazza del Duomo through the centre. The itinerary below keeps the airport access, T2 ride and final walk separate, so you can see what the transfer involves; its route total does not include the wait, which varies with the service interval.
Amerigo Vespucci Airport, Florence
Leave Arrivals through the main doors and follow the signed Tramvia route to the platform. The walk is short; allow extra time for bulky luggage or assistance.
Peretola Aeroporto T2 tram stop, Florence
Board the T2 tram towards the city centre. The ride to Santa Maria Novella is direct, with no change.
Santa Maria Novella tram stop, Florence
Leave at the central stop and follow the pedestrian route towards the cathedral square.
Piazza del Duomo, Florence
The final central endpoint. The walk from Santa Maria Novella is suitable with light luggage, but less convenient with several large cases.
The standard T2 fare is €2.00 for one urban-capoluogo ticket per passenger, valid for 90 minutes on Florence’s tramway. Buy it before boarding; an SMS ticket costs €2.40 plus the mobile operator’s charge, and onboard purchase from the driver costs €3.00. If you use a paper ticket, validate it before travelling. From Peretola Aeroporto, T2 runs daily. It comes every 4-5 minutes Monday-Thursday in the daytime, 5-6 minutes on Friday and Saturday in the daytime, and 7-11 minutes on Sundays and public holidays; late services are generally every 10-22 minutes, with overnight Friday and Saturday services every 18-22 minutes. The published span is 05:00-00:30, extended to 02:00 on Friday and Saturday nights. The last useful airport departure towards San Marco-Università is 23:58 Sunday-Thursday and 01:15 Friday-Saturday. Temporary limitations have included the Peretola Aeroporto-Poliziano and Redi-Peretola stretches, with replacement buses on the affected sections; regular service was restored after the reported weather disruption.
A Taxi Is the Flexible Door-to-Door Option
After baggage collection, leave the Arrivals terminal through the main doors and follow the signs to the authorised Florence Airport taxi rank beside the terminal. Join the marked queue at its beginning and take the first white taxi in line. Do not accept a ride from anyone approaching inside the terminal or away from the rank. The rank is available 24/7, although the queue can take longer when several flights arrive together.
The direct taxi route from Florence Airport to Piazza del Duomo is about 12 km and takes about 27 minutes from the terminal to the square. That figure is the ride itself, not a guaranteed wait at the rank or a promise in heavy traffic. There is no separate final walk to this endpoint, although the taxi can set you down much closer to your accommodation than the tram, subject to historic-centre access restrictions and the driver’s lawful stopping point.
The regulated fixed fare from Amerigo Vespucci Airport to hotels and private addresses within the city-centre area is €28 on weekdays, €30 on Sundays and public holidays, and €32 at night from 22:00 to 06:00. These are one-ride fares before supplements, not per-person prices. Baggage costs €1.20 per piece, up to seven pieces, and each passenger from the fourth costs €1.20; the combined baggage and additional-passenger supplement is capped at €14.40. The fixed fare applies when you are at the pickup point as the taxi arrives. Drivers must carry suitable change, and vehicles accept the electronic payment types available in that car.
Choose by Arrival Profile
For a typical daytime arrival with light luggage, take T2 if you can manage the airport walk and the final walk: its route takes about 36 minutes before waiting and costs €2 per passenger one way. A taxi takes about 27 minutes from terminal to square and starts at €28 on weekdays before supplements, so its quoted ride is about nine minutes shorter for at least €26 more when you travel alone. The tram is the practical low-cost choice; the taxi buys a direct drop-off, not a guaranteed faster arrival.
For heavy luggage, a pushchair or children, the taxi’s direct 27-minute ride avoids the tram’s 36-minute route total before waiting, including its airport access and final walk, but costs €28 on weekdays, €30 on Sundays or public holidays, or €32 at night, before supplements, instead of €2 per passenger. For four people, standard T2 tickets cost €8, while the taxi starts at €28 and adds €1.20 for the fourth passenger plus any baggage charge, subject to the €14.40 cap. The trade-off is easier handling and a shorter quoted ride against a much higher vehicle fare.
For a same-day return, two standard T2 tickets cost €4 per passenger, and the terminal-to-Duomo route takes about 36 minutes each way before waiting. Two weekday taxi rides start at €56, with each ride taking about 27 minutes before queue and traffic, so T2 saves €52 for a solo return while the taxi saves the walking and waiting burden. For a late or disrupted landing, the taxi rank is available 24/7 and the direct ride remains about 27 minutes; the tram needs about 36 minutes for its route plus waiting, and its last useful airport departure is 23:58 Sunday-Thursday and 01:15 Friday-Saturday. The taxi trades the €32 night fare, plus supplements, for a direct arrival when the next tram offers too little margin.
FAQ: Airports Serving Florence
Does the City Have Two Passenger Airports?
Yes. Florence Airport, also called Amerigo Vespucci or Peretola (FLR), is the airport in the city. Pisa International Airport, Galileo Galilei (PSA), is the regional alternative travellers may mean by a Florence flight. If your booking says Pisa, do not use this T2 or airport-taxi advice: you will need a separate intercity transfer.
Sources for the figures in this guide