Motor Home

[Ginny Tongs]

My husband and I are visiting Florence at the beginning of October in our motorhome. Whilst in Europe we never have any difficulty finding somewhere to park it, and we rarely use campsites. What is the situation in or near Florence? Are there any campsites close by? What do you suggest?

Thank you for your help.

Ginny

[Lourdes]

Ciao Ginny,

How many days are you planning to stay in Florence? If you're just looking for day parking large enough for your motor home, you will find plenty of space around the stadium area of Campo di Marte. Many of the buses that bring tourists into Florence park in this area, so you won't be alone . From here you can easily walk into the center or even catch a city ATAF bus.

You will also find large enough parking spaces along the Lungarno della Zecca Vecchia or in the area around the Cascine Park on other end of the historical center (map both on Google to see where they are located). These are just for parking during the day. In any case, avoid entering the "ZTL" or limited traffic area in Florence's historical center. Aside from high fines if you don't have a permit to enter, the streets are often one-way and are narrow so you'll likely have problems with a motor home.

If you're looking for a campsite to be able to have water and electricity hookups as well as waste water disposal, then the most popular one is right under Piazzale Michelangelo. Very central, close to all the sights. See their site for more info and costs http://www.ecvacanze.it/en/elite_fam...g-michelangelo

Then there is the one right next to the youth hotel at Villa Camerata. Wasn't able to find an official site but you can see some of the info on it at this site: http://www.ostellionline.org/ostello.php?idostello=188

Just above Florence, in Fiesole, you'll find another campsite, the Camping Panoramico Fiesole, that offers "camper" services (which is how "motor home" often gets translated into Italian but you'll also see "caravan" used). This one has two other campgrounds in the area around Florence, one to the north in Mugello and one in Bottai right outside Florence near the Certosa A1 exit. See their site for more info: http://www.florencecamping.com/

Still within Florence is another one called Oasi del Camper in southwestern Florence - http://areadisostafirenze.com/ that also offers water and electricity hookups.

The last one I found is Il Poggetto which is further away from Florence but not too far, quite close to the A1 but easier to get to if you're coming from Rome. Il Poggetto seems to offer a wide range of services as a whole. See their site: http://www.campingilpoggetto.com/

Hope these suggestions are useful in planning your trip to Florence .

[Ginny Tongs]

Ciao Lourdes

Not sure how long we are staying for, but certainly overnight, so where to park as well as the campsites is very helpful.

Many, many thanks

Ginny

[Ginny Tongs]

Hi Lourdes

Just to let you know that we have recently returned from Florence in our camper. We stayed at Camping Michelangelo and we can throughly recommend it. The campsite was clean and quiet, the staff extremely helpful and courteous and the site was an easy 20 minute walk from the centre of Florence - it took us abit longer walking back!!

We had a wonderful time and would love to go back again. Thank you for your help.

Ginny Tongs

[Lourdes]

Glad to hear you had a wonderful time in Florence and that the Camping Michelangelo turned out so well. It's in a great location, knowing it is also run accordingly is good to know.

Thank you for coming back on the forum and sharing with all of us. Hope you'll get a chance to offer your own recommendations now that you've experienced everything first hand if someone else comes along with questions about parking with a motor home or staying at the campground or visiting Florence in general .