Getting to Tuscany by air is quite easy. Every day, from the two airports of Pisa and Florence a good number of daily flights to Tuscany depart from the main European cities.
I decided to write this post for a funny reason. During my last trip abroad, I was talking with a person about our region when he asked me: is Tuscany a state or is part of Italy? Have you got an airport?
Well, I am sure that most people know that Tuscany is a region of Italy, but maybe not everyone knows that two airports connect two of the main cities of center Italy to the rest of the world. This post aims to offer helpful information about flights to Tuscany to anyone who wishes to get to the region by air.
Flights to Tuscany: the Two International Airports
Thanks to the synergy of the airports of Florence and Pisa, Tuscany has one of the most important airport systems in Italy. It allows thousands of tourists to visit our beautiful land.
While most of the traffic in Pisa Airport is operated by low-cost airlines, Florence schedules business and leisure flights run by full-service carriers.
Pisa Airport Galileo Galilei
The “Galileo Galilei” International Pisa Airport is the largest of the two airports where the most of flights to Tuscany are scheduled.
Nineteen airlines guarantee a link to many European destinations as London and Manchester, Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, Paris, Berlin, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Bruxelles, Dublin, Edinburgh, Budapest, Prague, Malta, Stockholm, and Gothenburg, Morocco, and Istanbul. During the summer season, there is also a direct flight to Tuscany from New York City. Compared to a flight with a stopover somewhere in Europe, it is more expensive but you can save time to explore the beauties of the region.
From the 2nd of August 2016, a daily direct flight connects Tuscany with Doha in the Middle East.
From Pisa, you can easily reach Florence catching the direct bus that departs from the airport, or get a direct train from Pisa Central Rail Station.
Pisa Mover Shuttle
A brand new driverless shuttle, the Pisa Mover, connects Pisa Airport to Pisa central rail station. Trains run every 5 minutes and a single ticket costs Euro 5,00. You can buy them using the automatic machines you find at the airport and the Central rail station. Instead, if you buy a train ticket online from Pisa Airport to your final destination, the cost of the shuttle is already calculated in the total amount.
Then, from Pisa Central Rail Station, you can arrive in Florence SMN or Lucca, and reach the coast of Versilia, The Etruscan Coast, and Cinque Terre in less than an hour.
If you plan to travel to Tuscany by car, you can hire your favorite using the main car rental companies at the arrival gate of the airport. Just out of the airport, you find the Firenze-Pisa-Livorno freeway (also named FIPILI) that allows you to reach Florence or Livorno (Leghorn) without paying any toll and the A12 highway to drive along the coast and the A11 to explore the inland.
Florence Airport Amerigo Vespucci
The “Amerigo Vespucci” International Airport of Florence is smaller than Pisa Airport but, year-by-year, the traffic is growing allowing more tourists to reach the capital of the region.
Florence Airport, also known as Peretola, has connections to the main European cities of London, Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Zurich, Munich and Berlin, Wien, Prague, Amsterdam and Bucharest.
Instead, there are no connections to Extra-EU cities but I used this airport to fly to New York City via Paris and I had a good experience with a good value flight.
The airport is located in the northwest suburb of Florence, 4 km/2,50 miles from the UNESCO World Heritage historical center, reachable by bus shuttle or by taxi in 20/30 minutes depending on the traffic jam.
Even in Florence airport, you find Rental Companies to get your car and explore Tuscany. You can start your trip by taking the A1 and A11 highways just out of the airport.
The other Airports to reach Tuscany
In case you don’t find any convenient or comfortable direct flights to Tuscany airports, check availability also to the airports of Bologna (in less than one hour by car or train you are in Florence) and Genoa (one hour from northern Tuscany) or to the main Italian HUB of Milano Malpensa and Roma Fiumicino.
Milan, Bologna, and Rome are connected to Florence with high-speed trains, and by booking in advance you will find very cheap tickets.
Bologna Airport Guglielmo Marconi
Bologna Airport is one of the biggest hubs of Italy. The town is only one hour from Florence and you can easily reach it by car or train. Using the car you can take the A1 motorway “Autostrada del Sole”. By train, you can take one of the many high-speed trains that run between the two central rail stations. Then, from Florence, you will reach all the other locations of the region.
Genoa Airport Cristoforo Colombo
Genoa, the capital of the Liguria region, is connected to Tuscany with the coastal A12 motorway that allows you to reach by car the Apuan Riviera, Versilia, Pisa, and the Etruscan Coast. Even the train is a good way of transportation, and you easily reach the cities of Carrara, Massa, and Pisa, and the holiday resorts of Versilia and Maremma.
Milano Malpensa Airport
From Milano Malpensa Using the car, you have to drive direction south and use the A1 to reach Florence or Chianti and Arezzo. If you are direct to the coast of Tuscany, in Parma, get the A11 “Autostrada della Cisa” that takes you across Lunigiana, and then the A12 to the Apuan Riviera, Versilia, and Maremma. Instead, by train, you have to reach the Central rail station with the Malpensa Express train or the bus shuttle. From there, daily trains bring you to Florence or the coast in Carrara, Viareggio, Pisa, and Livorno. From these last stations, there will be trains to Grosseto and southern Maremma.
Roma Fiumicino Airport Leonardo da Vinci
Roma Fiumicino is the main HUB of Italy. By car, you reach the coast of Tuscany using the coastal A12 and the dual-free toll carriageway. Instead, use the A1 to reach Florence. By rail, there is a special express train that brings you to the Central Roma Termini station or Roma Ostiense. From there take a high-speed train directed to Florence or Pisa along the coastal railway. From all these four cities, another way to reach the cities of Tuscany is by bus, using the services of Flixbus.
Cover Photo Credits: Andrei Dimofte
Updated on 10/02/2024
