Florence Airport (FLR) to the Station by Tram

Florence’s airport sits at the end of the T2 tram line, about 20 minutes from Santa Maria Novella, the city’s main railway station, and ten minutes away by taxi, at Castello north of the city, two Medici villas keep their Renaissance gardens open to visitors.

The T2 tram reaches Santa Maria Novella in about 20 minutes

The T2 tram leaves from the stop outside Florence’s terminal and runs to Unità, the end of the line, beside Santa Maria Novella, the main railway station, in about 20 minutes. Trams come every four to ten minutes through the day, from about 5am until after midnight and later on Friday and Saturday nights, on a standard city ticket from the machines at the stop. A taxi to the centre has a fixed fare of around 28 to 30 euros. From the station, the main Florence guide walks to the Duomo, the cathedral, Piazza della Signoria and the Ponte Vecchio, all within ten minutes of each other.

Villa La Petraia’s terraced garden and painted courtyard

Villa La Petraia stands at Castello, at the foot of the hills on the northern edge of Florence, about ten minutes by taxi from the airport; city bus 28 also runs out from the centre. Cosimo I de’ Medici bought it in 1544, and the stony hillside that gave it its name was cut into terraces of box hedges and potted citrus, looking out over the plain toward the city. The garden is free, open Tuesday to Sunday from 8:30am, closing at 6:30pm in summer and 4:30pm in winter.

Inside, the house is shown on free guided tours, in small groups through the day. Its central courtyard, painted with frescoes of the Medici, was roofed over in glass when the villa became a favourite residence of King Victor Emmanuel II, and a crystal chandelier now hangs in the middle of it.

The Grotto of the Animals at Villa di Castello

Villa di Castello, a few minutes’ walk below La Petraia, is the other Medici house at Castello, and Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Primavera both hung here before they went to the Uffizi gallery. Its garden was laid out by the sculptor Niccolò Tribolo in the sixteenth century, and its Grotto of the Animals crowds carved stone beasts and birds into niches in the rock, with water once running down the walls. Entry to the garden is about 5 euros, and it closes on Mondays.

Luggage storage near Florence Airport

Several guides report no left-luggage office or lockers inside Florence’s airport terminal. The villas’ gardens are gravel paths and stone steps between terraces, slow going with a wheeled suitcase, and a luggage storage point near the airport or around Santa Maria Novella station is the alternative.

Collect the bag on the way back to the tram, and leave at least 75 minutes from the centre to the gate: Florence’s airport is small, but the tram, check-in and security still add up.