Quick reference

Transfers &
getting around

Everything with a platform, a tram or a walk in it. 17–21 August 2026.

Mon · Airport → Florence Wed · Chianti tram Fri · Florence → Airport Walking times Taxis

Pisa Airport → Florence

Mon 17 Aug

Land 16:10 · hotel by roughly 18:45 · dinner at 19:30. Two legs, both easy.

  1. 1

    Buy the ticket in the Trenitalia app

    Search Pisa Aeroporto → Firenze S. M. Novella. Trenitalia sells it as one journey that already includes the PisaMover leg. About €15–16 each. Buy it once you've landed, not before — regional fares are fixed, so there's nothing to gain from booking early and everything to lose if the flight slips.

    Set the app up at home, not on airport wifi
  2. 2

    PisaMover to Pisa Centrale

    Walk out of arrivals and follow the PisaMover signs — a covered 2–3 minute walk, step-free with lifts. It's a driverless shuttle running every 5–8 minutes, 06:00–01:00, so there's no departure to catch. The ride is about 5 minutes.

  3. 3

    Walk through to the platforms

    You arrive at a small terminal attached to the back of Pisa Centrale, not the main entrance. Follow signs for the platforms (binari) rather than heading for the street. Another couple of minutes.

  4. 4

    Regional train to Firenze S.M.N.

    Roughly two an hour, journey 50–80 minutes. Regionale means no seat reservation — any train, any carriage, just get on. Miss one and the next is along in half an hour.

  5. 5

    Walk to the hotel

    Five minutes from Firenze S.M.N. to Hotel Adler Cavalieri, Via della Scala 40. One of the best-placed hotels in the city for arriving by train.

The one way to get fined. If you buy a paper ticket from a machine, you must stamp it in the small green-and-white validation box on the platform before boarding. Unvalidated is treated as no ticket — minimum €50 each, and they do check this route. App tickets are validated automatically, so this can't bite you.
Screenshot the QR code. If you can't display it at inspection you're treated as ticketless even though you've paid, and station signal is patchy. Carry a passport or driving licence too — ID can be requested alongside the ticket.
Combined ticket, per person≈ €15–16
If bought separatelyPisaMover €6.50 + train ≈ €9.50
Arrivals hall → Florence platform≈ 15 min
Total, landing → hotel≈ 2 hrs 15
If PisaMover is out of service (rare, occasional maintenance): a taxi to Pisa Centrale is 10 minutes and about €10–12, and there's a city bus. You won't be stranded.

Getting to the Chianti tour

Wed 19 Aug

This is the one that catches people out — the meeting point is not in the centre.

  1. 1

    Leave Mercato Centrale by 13:40

    Walk back towards the station. Don't cut this fine — the tour won't wait.

  2. 2

    Board the T1 tram at Alamanni · Stazione

    The stop is right beside Firenze S.M.N., a few minutes from the hotel. Take the T1.3 service towards Villa Costanza — check the front of the tram, as not every T1 runs the full line.

  3. 3

    Buy and validate a €1.70 ticket

    From the machine at the stop. Validate it on board in the little machine as you get on — same fine rules as the trains.

  4. 4

    Ride to the end — Villa Costanza

    About 20 minutes, it's the terminus so you can't overshoot.

  5. 5

    Find the green board by 14:30

    Look for staff holding a green myTour board outside The Florence Gate Caffetteria, in green t-shirts or white shirts with green scarves. Tour departs 14:45 and ends back here around 20:45.

Coming home you're at Villa Costanza around 20:45 — same T1 tram back to Alamanni · Stazione, then a few minutes on foot. Buy the return ticket in the morning so you're not hunting for a machine after seven wines.

Florence → Pisa Airport

Fri 21 Aug

Flight is 21:30, so you want to be airside by about 20:00. Everything in reverse.

  1. 1

    Bags at the hotel after checkout

    Left with reception until roughly 16:30, so the day stays free.

  2. 2

    Train from Firenze S.M.N. around 17:00

    Book Firenze S. M. Novella → Pisa Aeroporto in the app — again it covers both legs. 17:40 is the absolute latest you should leave.

  3. 3

    PisaMover from Pisa Centrale

    Every 5–8 minutes until 01:00, so this end is never the problem. At the airport by roughly 19:00.

The Leaning Tower option. Leave Florence at 14:30 instead, put the bags in left luggage at Pisa Centrale, and walk to Piazza dei Miracoli — about 15 minutes from the station, or one stop on the bus. Roughly 1.5 hours there, then collect the bags and take the PisaMover. Free to look at from outside; you only pay if you climb it.

On foot from the hotel

Via della Scala 40

Florence is small. You will not need a taxi for any of this — approximate walking times.

Officina Santa Maria Novella2 min Firenze S.M.N. station5 min Mercato Centrale8 min The Duomo10 min Ponte Vecchio12 min Accademia (David)13 min Berberè · Piazza dei Nerli15 min Pandemonio · Via del Leone15 min Pitti & Boboli18 min Santa Croce20 min
It will be 33–36°C. These times are honest for a normal walk, but add a bit in the middle of the day and stick to the shaded side of the street — which is why nothing in the plan happens between noon and four.

Taxis, if it comes to it

Rarely needed, but worth knowing before you need one.

  1. 1

    You can't hail one in the street

    Florence taxis don't stop when flagged. You use a rank or you book.

  2. 2

    Ranks worth remembering

    Outside Firenze S.M.N. (closest to the hotel), Piazza della Repubblica, Piazza Santa Maria Novella and by the Duomo.

  3. 3

    Book by app, not by phone

    The radio-taxi firms are phone-first, which is no use to you. Install appTaxi or IT Taxi — both cover Florence and neither needs a call. Uber Black exists but is scarce and pricey.

Much of central Florence is a ZTL — a restricted traffic zone. Taxis can enter, private cars mostly can't, which is exactly why the trains and your own two feet are the plan.