Public transportation from Sesto Fiorentino to Cascine Park

mamski

New member
I will be coming to town with my dragonboat team to attend the international festival in Florence on July 4 - 8. Unfortunately, our hotel (Gate Hotel) is further from the city center than we would like, and the festival is unable to provide us with transportation from our hotel to Cascine Park on Thursday and Friday. We have not had any luck finding a private service from whom to rent buses, so curious about public transportation from our hotel to the race venue. Is there a bus stop within walking distance from our hotel and will we be able to transport a team of 36 via bus? Is the train or a tram an option? Where can we find the schedules for the bus? The hotel says the bus stop is 800 meters away, but the stop that they mention is Prato, which appears to be further than that. Thanks so much!
 
You can most certainly plan on using public transport to get downtown.
The Gate Hotel has a stop for the Prato-Firenze bus line nearby, much closer than 800 meters. And if you're 30 or more at the stop, you might not all fit sitting down if the bus is full but you can certainly still get on and travel standing.
Check out the position here: https://goo.gl/maps/jGY1VHb38hP2
and the solutions for buses. That bus line takes you to SMN train station, whether to get off before or not depends.... on where along the Cascine you need to go! The Cascine Park is several miles long so do you already know where at the Cascine is your starting point? If closer to downtown, you can go to the SMN train station and then hop on the tram to go into the Cascine.

If you know already, let me know and I will try to map out better whether to take the tram or another bus!
 
I should have added that if you do want to rent a bus for private transport, you could look into Giotto Bus - http://www.giottobus.it/azienda_e.htm

Was checking out the Dragon Boat Festival website and they just say "Cascine Park" generic, so I think you could just head to the start of the park near the main tram stop to get there -- the easiest is therefore to take bus all the way to SMN train station, catch the tram (there is only one that is operational for now, line 1, the other two should be operational by the end of the summer) and get off at the Cascine stop.
 
Thank you Lourdes. That is encouraging news, it really looked like we'd have to walk quite a way to get to a stop. We will also look into private buses. The following locations in Cascine Park are mentioned as gathering points, so hopefully they are near each other. If you could assist with the best route to these, I would be very grateful. Regards, beverly

Thursday:
Palazzo Vecchio - Sala d’Arme
Palazzo Vecchio - Sala degli Otto

Friday:
Piazza Pitti
Piazza Signoria
 
Ciao Beverly,

I saw Palazzo Vecchio (which is in Piazza Signoria) mentioned as the place to pick up your registration materials. It isn't in the Cascine Park, neither is Piazza Pitti. Both are in the historical center, it is the way to get all the teams into the center and see the sights and not just the Cascine ;-).

Just take the bus all the way to SMN train station and from there you can easily walk to both Palazzo Vecchio to pick up your registration materials and to Piazza Pitti (Palazzo Pitti). If you map the walking routes on Google Maps, you'll see they are not far from the SMN train station. They are about 10-15 minute walks (but I think once you're downtown you'll be stopping to see the sights and it will take longer). Make sure to pass by Piazza del Duomo to see the front of the cathedral and baptistery. You should make time before, during or after to go inside ;-).

Does your team have an ambassador to help you with local details? I thought every team had one and that is definitely the person you can also ask for help in getting transportation sorted out.
 
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