Driving through Tuscany was something we were really looking forward to do . Having read about the region and seeing it on movies had increased our anticipation much more .

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Where To Rent A Car From In Florence To Drive Through Tuscany?

Cities in Italy and especially Tuscany region has areas called ZTL ( Historic Zones ) . Tourist are not allowed to drive into this area . You get a large fine ! This area exist in Florence as well . To avoid this area we rented our car from the Florence airport. Once we were done with Florence we caught an Uber to the airport and picked up our car .

Discover Tuscany has really good information on driving around Tuscany.

The Route Between Florence And Siena

We used our phone to map out the scenic route between Florence and Siena . Including the restaurant we wanted stop at for lunch . There are many beautiful historic towns along the way and you can plan stops at different towns along your drive . We mainly took the SS2 with a detour for lunch at an old winery/villa .

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Speed Limits , Narrow Roads, Dirt Roads and Cameras Along The Tuscany Drive

You will encounter all of the above so be prepared.

Speed limits – There are not many signs except at the start and end of a speed change . When in doubt, If you keep it around 50 KM/hour you ll be fine.

Cameras – There are speed cameras around so do keep it within the speed limit all the time . Don’t follow the flow of traffic . Some speed cameras have signs and some don’t so keep driving within the speed limits and you should be fine . Also you are most likely there to enjoy the views so why speed ?

Narrow/Dirt Roads – SS2 ( scenic road between Florence and Siena ) is paved, large and comfortable to drive on . It has some stunning Tuscan Scenery along the way . You can also access many historic Tuscan towns from SS2 . The offshoots from SS2 at times can be narrow roads or narrow dirt roads . We lost a turn and ended up in a really narrow road . It took some expert maneuvering to let another car pass . When we went for lunch at a winery we had to drive on a dirt road for twenty minutes . Keep your cool and do your best to let the other person pass . If this freaks you out stay on SS2 or avoid driving.

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Was The Drive Through Tuscany Worth It ?

With all the stress of driving in a new country, no drive historic zones , automatic traffic cameras , narrow and dirt roads you might be wondering is the drive through Tuscany worth it ?

It definitely is . All the issues mentioned above is manageable as long as you plan for it . The drive is surrounded by greenery and ancient towns . It is a place you come to unwind , relax and appreciate the basics .

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The food and wine was also some of the best we had in all of Italy and that is saying a lot . Will write a dedicated post for the food in this region .

We only had two days for an introduction to Tuscany and it let us with wanting more . We declared this was our favourite region in Italy and promised ourselves we would be back . If you have more time and money we would recommend staying in Tuscany and exploring different cities , eating and drinking at different places each day . Definitely a place you visit to enrich and soothe your soul .