Florence Tramvia: Tram Lines, Tickets & Airport Route

The original tram on the T1 line outside of Firenze S.M.N.

Florence's tram system is modern, frequent, and genuinely useful - especially if you're flying into Peretola, where the T2 line is the cheapest and usually the fastest way into town. The trams won't carry you past the Duomo; nothing on rails enters the pedestrianized historic center, where a fleet of small electric minibuses does that job instead. What the Tramvia does well is get you to the edge of the center and out of it: airport, train station, the A1 park-and-ride, Careggi hospital, and - from late 2026 or 2027 - the southeast suburbs. Here are the lines, the fares (which increase on August 1, 2026), the hours, and the local rules that catch visitors out.

What the Tramvia Is (and Isn't)

The Tramvia is Florence's light-rail network, operated by GEST (a subsidiary of RATP, the Paris transit operator) with modern Sirio trams. Line T1 opened in 2010, T2 followed in 2019, and in January 2025 the T2 was extended to Piazza San Marco - the first time trams have reached the edge of the historic center since the old network was dismantled in 1958. The system now carries around 39 million passengers a year.

What it isn't: a sightseeing line. The centro storico is compact, largely pedestrianized, and best covered on foot. Taxis are exempt from the ZTL and can bring you to the edge of the pedestrian streets - Piazza della Signoria or the Lungarno, for instance - but no tram or bus enters at all, and the last stretch to a door like the Uffizi's is walked whatever you arrive in. The Tramvia exists to get you to the edge of the center (airport, station, San Marco) and away from it (park-and-ride, Careggi, the suburbs). Used that way, it's excellent.

The Network Map

Solid lines are in service; the dashed line is the T3 to Bagno a Ripoli, still under construction. Click any stop on the map, or any stop in the list, for details. Note that no tram enters the pedestrianized historic center - the closest stops are San Marco on the T2 and the station stops on both lines.

Line T1 "Leonardo": Scandicci to Careggi

The workhorse. T1 runs 26 stops from Villa Costanza in Scandicci - where a park-and-ride connects directly to the A1 autostrada - across the Arno, past the Cascine park and Santa Maria Novella station, and up to the Careggi hospital complex. End to end takes about 40 minutes, though few visitors ride the whole line. The stops that matter to most travelers: Alamanni-Stazione S.M.N. (steps from the train platforms), Fortezza (for Pitti Uomo and trade fairs at the Fortezza da Basso), Cascine (the park and its large Tuesday-morning market), and Villa Costanza if you're arriving by car on the autostrada - more on that below.

Line T2 "Vespucci": Airport to Piazza San Marco

The line most visitors use. T2 starts at Amerigo Vespucci Airport (Peretola) - the platform is a short covered walk from arrivals - and reaches the Alamanni-S.M.N. stop beside the train station in about 17 minutes. Since January 25, 2025, it continues past the Fortezza, along Viale Lavagnini, around Piazza della Libertà, and down to Piazza San Marco, about 32 minutes from the airport. From San Marco you're two blocks from the Accademia and a five-minute walk from the Duomo. For hotels in the northern half of the center, San Marco is the better stop; for everything else, get off at the station.

One quirk worth knowing: the final loop through the center runs one-way. Heading toward San Marco, trams travel down Via Cavour; heading back out, they run up Via La Marmora past the Orto Botanico. The old Unità terminus beside the station survives as a stub - some late-night runs start and end there instead of San Marco, so after midnight check the destination on the front of the tram.

Line T3 to Bagno a Ripoli: Under Construction

Concept of the T3 line as it goes through Piazza Beccaria, this work is scheduled to be completed in 2026

Since January 2025, crews have been building line 3.2.1: 7.2 km and 17 stops from Piazza della Libertà along the ring avenues, across the Arno on the Ponte da Verrazzano, through Gavinana, and out to Bagno a Ripoli next to Viola Park, Fiorentina's training center. It's a €448 million project partly funded by EU recovery money, which imposes a firm deadline: works and pre-service testing are due to finish by the end of 2026, and track has already reached the terminus. Realistically, expect passenger service in late 2026 at the earliest, more likely 2027 - and until then, expect roadworks and traffic disruption anywhere along the route. A second branch (3.2.2 to Rovezzano via Campo di Marte) and a Line 4 toward Campi Bisenzio are planned to follow. When T3 opens, Piazza della Libertà becomes the hub of the whole network.

Inside the Center: The C1 and C2 Electric Minibuses

For getting around within the historic center, Florence runs four lines of small electric minibuses - the bussini - just six meters long, built to thread streets no full-size bus could enter. The C1 runs from Piazza della Libertà and the Parterre car park past the Duomo and the Uffizi, across the Arno to Pitti and Porta Romana; the C2 crosses town from Porta al Prato past the station and Piazza della Repubblica to Piazza Beccaria; the C3 and C4 cover the Oltrarno, Santo Spirito, and San Frediano. They run roughly every ten minutes during the day, and since June 2026 the C2, C3 and C4 also run with increased frequency until 2:00 AM - the C1 is not part of that program. Standard tickets apply.

Tickets & Fares

Tickets are issued by Autolinee Toscane and are valid on trams, city buses, and the C minibuses alike - one ticket, 90 minutes, unlimited transfers within Florence. There is no daily or weekly tourist pass; the carnet of 10 rides is the closest thing to a discount for short stays, and the Firenze Card+ upgrade (a €7 supplement to the Firenze Card) adds unlimited public transport for the card's 72 hours. Note: fares increase on August 1, 2026, the first rise since 2023 - the single ticket goes from €1.70 to €2.00.

The airport ride costs the same as any other - there is no airport surcharge, which makes the T2 the cheapest airport transfer of any major Italian tourist city.

How to Buy and Validate

Four ways, from most to least convenient:

1. Tap a contactless card on board. Every tram has contactless validators (the small readers opposite the yellow stamping machines at each door). Tap your credit or debit card, phone, or watch as you board and you've bought and validated in one motion. Tap again if you transfer. Foreign cards work.

2. Ticket machines at every stop. All platforms have machines taking coins, notes, and cards. Buy a paper ticket, then stamp it in the yellow validator the moment you board. An unstamped ticket counts as no ticket at all: inspectors board frequently, fines start at around €50, and being a tourist is not an accepted excuse.

3. The at bus app (Autolinee Toscane) sells digital tickets - activate before boarding.

4. Tabaccherie and newsstands sell paper tickets and carnets all over town. Fine in a pinch; the ticket still needs stamping on board.

From the Airport: Your Options

The T2 tram is the cheapest way in and, in daytime traffic, usually the fastest: exit arrivals, follow the tram signs for the short covered walk to the Peretola Aeroporto platform, tap a contactless card, and you're at Santa Maria Novella station in about 17 minutes or Piazza San Marco in about 32 - for €2. Trams run every 4-5 minutes through the day, first departure at 5:00 AM, last around midnight (close to 2:00 AM on Friday and Saturday nights). There are luggage racks, level boarding for wheelchairs and strollers, and stop announcements in English.

A taxi is the better choice for groups of three or four, travelers with limited mobility, a mountain of luggage, or arrivals after the last tram: the fixed fare to the center is €28 (€30 on Sundays and holidays, €32 at night, plus €1.20 per bag), and the ride takes 15-20 minutes outside rush hour. For the full picture - taxis, car rental, and connections onward to the rest of Tuscany - see our Florence Airport guide.

Arriving by Car: Park at Villa Costanza

If you're driving in on the A1, don't drive into Florence itself - the camera-enforced ZTL will generate a fine that arrives by mail months later (our ZTL driving guide explains the zone, its hours, and the legal ways in). The Villa Costanza park-and-ride has its own dedicated exit directly from the A1 - you never touch city traffic. Park, walk a few meters, and the T1 has you at Santa Maria Novella in about 20 minutes. On the northwest side of town, the Guidoni garage on the T2 serves the same purpose coming from the airport direction or the A11. For garages closer to the center and current rates, see our Florence parking guide.

Practical Tips

A few things the official material won't tell you. Pickpockets work the trams as they do anywhere with tourists and luggage; the Strozzi-Fallaci stop on the T1 has the worst reputation, particularly at night - keep bags zipped and in front of you. Strikes (sciopero) happen with some regularity; service is legally guaranteed during commuter windows (roughly 6:30-9:30 AM and 5:00-8:00 PM), so plan airport runs inside those bands on strike days - notices appear at stops and on GEST's channels a few days ahead. Trams run extended late-night service for big concerts at the Visarno Arena in the Cascine. Luggage travels free - no extra ticket - and ignore anyone at the ticket machines offering to "help" in exchange for money; it's a common hustle.

Frequently Asked Questions