Location

XXV International Brass Festival Italian Brass Week

 

How to arrive by Car 🚗

By car

Driving to Tuscany

If you are coming to Tuscany from outside Italy, then it is important to know that the main points of entry into Italy are:

  • Mont Blanc tunnel from France at Chamonix which connects to the A5 for Turin and Milan
  • Grand St. Bernard tunnel from Switzerland which also connects to the A5
  • Brenner Pass from Austria which connects to the A22 to Bologna

Italy has a good system of highways; you can find more information on the official website of the company that manages the system, Autostrade. A visit to this site is a must if you're planning to travel by car throughout Italy as it has real time information on road/traffic conditions and driving directions. Remember that the autostrade are toll roads so you pay depending on how much you have travelled on them. You can pay with credit cards, cash or Viacard. You can purchase a Viacard from toll booths, fuel stations, some banks, tourist offices, and tobacconists.

Roads are generally good throughout Tuscany and the system is comprised of regional, provincial and state roads and motorways. Regional, provincial and state roads have blue signs bearing white lettering, the motorways green signs bearing white lettering and numbers.

The main north-south link through Tuscany is the Autostrada del Sole which extends from Milan to Reggio Calabria (it is called the A1 from Milan to Naples, the A3 from Naples to Reggio Calabria). The A1 skirts Florence and links to Bologna to the north on a busy, winding stretch with lots of tunnels (goes through the Apennine mountains) and to the south to Arezzo and Rome. The closest exits to downtown Florence are "Firenze-Certosa" and "Firenze-Signa".

A fast expressway leaves the A1 south of Florence at "Firenze-Certosa" to connect to Siena called the Firenze-Siena. The A11 expressway begins just outside of the northwestern part of Florence, past the airport and near the "Firenze-Nord" A1 exit and connects Florence to Prato, Pistoia, Lucca and, eventually, to the A12 expressway along the coast.