Train to Borgo San Lorenzo/Parma

[rina]

Hello!
Congrats on this site/forum, i came upon it just today, and may I say it's reaaally helpful!

We are planning of doing a 12days trip in Italy during this spring visiting Florence, Tuscany/Chianti area and then we will be heading towards Lake Como. Day one we will be arriving at Malpenza airport, renting a car and the first three days will be staying in Borgo San Lorenzo but wanting to visit Florence.(We did'nt want to stay inside the capital but rather in the countryside). My questions are the following:

Is there another way of travelling by train between Florence and Borgo San Lorenzo besides Trenitalia? I was dissapointed when entering the site and trying to book seats for the dates I am interested in, that there weren't ANY seats available at ANY itinerary! Is this possible??

I have heard that there is a local train from Borgo San Lorenzo , called the Faentina connecting the two towns, but due to the fact that it is a local one, no schedules can be found on the net. My problem is that since I want to pre-book a seat in the Florence 24h hop in hop out tourist buses, at specific times I would like to have an idea of the frequency this local train makes the specific intineraries and if it is daily one!

Another question: We will be renting the car from Malpensa airport at day one, my husband is a "better safe than sorry" kind of guy. Do you think its better to rent it when heading towards tuscany?If we choose to use the car for the route B.S.L. Florence, is it easy to find a free parking outside Florence?How far would it be (I don't mind walking).

And at the end, something more: When driving from Sienna to Lake Como area, it will be a 5h trip, so thought of making a stop somewhere in the middle of the journey. Which town is much more worth making a stop, Reggio, Parma or sth else?

Grazie mille and sorry to bother you with so many questions!
Rina,
Athens/Greece

[Lourdes]

Ciao Rina,

We're very glad you found the forum and are finding it useful! We hope to be able to answer the questions you've had in planning your trip, and hope you'll also share with us what you think about and learn from your experience in Italy .

Right now I'll answer just one part of your questions which influences some of the others - the trains from Borgo San Lorenzo to Florence are all regional trains and as such cannot be reserved and purchased ahead of time on the web. This is no big deal, all regional train tickets are NOT sold for a particular trip - they are valid for 2 months from time of purchase, and are "used" when right before you board the train you stamp the ticket in the machines along the tracks. Trains and buses all work this way in Italy, so make sure to remember: stamp your tickets before getting on a train and right after you get on a bus.
Basically, you can buy your train ticket 15 minutes before you plan on getting on any regional train, just give yourself the time to buy tickets and get to the right track to catch the train you want.

As such, if you search on the Trenitalia website from Borgo San Lorenzo to Firenze Santa Maria Novella, you'll see there are several trains in the morning. I've copied just a few of the more direct ones. The longer trips are because they take a more roundabout route to get to Florence, these are trains used by commuters into the city all around the area. The shorter trips are the ones that run alongside the "Faentina" road and that is why it is called the Faentina line.

8.01-8.42
8.32-9.11
9.32-10.11
10.47-12.01
12.32-13.11
12.47-14.01

On the other hand, you can also choose to drive into Florence if you don't feel the schedules are right for you (you could do two day trips into Florence and try both one on a day when your times are more flexible). You would have to take the Faentina road (Via Faentina) from Borgo S.L. and soon after you enter the city boundaries you'll find a parking lot on the right. I highly recommend you leave the car there and take the bus into downtown - here is a map of the parking lot at the Salviati station (click on satellite view to see it better) so you can see where it is in relation to the road. I don't tell you about the station there because I really don't think trains from Borgo S.L. stop there. But it is a great lot to leave your car, many people do that who don't want to deal with driving in Florence.

Hope this is useful so far!

[rina]

Lourdes,

Thank you so much for your prompt response!!

I am still a bit mixed up: Why do they say that the Faentina railroad "is back on track"? Did the line have problems, or is it a different line not run by Trenitalia but a local company and now this railroad is back on track??

About the parking lot: very useful info! I noticed the white lines, how can we tell when paking is free and when for residents only? Do you know if this is a free parking?

(once again, more questions!)

[Lourdes]

Why do they say that the Faentina railroad "is back on track"?

The Faentina road leads into Florence and lots of people live along both the road into Mugello, many commute into Florence for work everyday and use the train. Train service along the line has not been interrupted as far as I know and while I've lived here in Florence (about 10 years) so your second idea might be the most likely case, referring to another company that uses the tracks and is back in service or re-offering a route they had taken off their normal service.

As for the parking, I saw the white lines and I think it simply isn't managed by Firenze Parcheggi which uses blue lines for paid spaces and white ones for residents. I've gone by this parking space lots of times but admit I've never stopped so cannot for a certainty tell you whether it is free or paid parking. If you decide to drive, you have the option of leaving the car there if it is free and taking the bus. You are further away from the center so it will take a little while.
If on the other hand you prefer to enter further into Florence and skip the bus altogether, head to the PARTERRE parking - see the list and map for parking in Florence - you'll see signs to the parking lot as you keep driving into Florence. From there, you are right on the border of the historical center so you can walk in the direction of Piazza San Marco and Piazza del Duomo. All buses heading downtown from the Parterre parking lot make stops in Piazza San Marco, so if you want you could catch one to there - but Florence is small and in all honesty, you can walk there in 15 minutes or less from the Parterre.

So with all these options possible, you can wait until you're in Borgo and decide what you feel like doing to get into Florence Hope this is useful!