Florence is serviced by two airports; its own Florence Airport and Pisa International Airport. Although the latter is located a good 80 kilometres from the centre of Florence, it is becoming an increasingly popular choice for travellers to the city as it is used by many budget airlines including Vueling, Easyjet, Wizz and Ryanair.

On the other hand, Florence airport is serviced by the bigger airlines such as KLM, BA and, of course, Alitalia. Both airports are connected to central Florence (S. M. Novella train station) by bus. From Pisa Airport, the Terravision (www.terravision.eu) transfer bus leaves from the Elenco Corse outside the arrivals hall. The full journey takes 70 minutes and costs 10€ one-way (16€, return) for adults. Buses run from 8.40am to 12.20am but the bad news is that there are long gaps between services.

Whilst these have been designed to coincide with flight arrivals, flight delays may cause you to miss your connection, so brace yourself for a wait before you finally arrive at your holiday apartment. Arriving at your accommodation from Florence Airport is a lot quicker. The Volain bus (operated by the local company ATAF, www.ataf.net) departs every half hour and the journey takes 15 minutes. Tickets can be purchased on-board and cost 5€ one-way or 8€ return for adults.

Should you wish to take a taxi into central Florence, the set fare from the airport is 20€ plus 1€ per each item of baggage. Remember on you way home that taxis cannot be hailed down in the street as in other European cities. Instead, you’ll need to make your way to a taxi rank or call for one. Try Taxi Merci (055 2396230) or So.Co.To (055 410133).

Florence: Learn also about the history of Florence’s Ponte Vecchio bridge.