Airports in Tuscany: Pisa, Florence or Bologna? How to Choose

Every airport in Tuscany: the full list

Two airports handle scheduled passenger traffic, and both belong to the same operator, Toscana Aeroporti, the company created in 2015 by merging the Florence and Pisa airport companies. That is also what people usually find when they search for "Toscana Aeroporti": the operator, not a third airport. Pisa Galileo Galilei (PSA, ICAO LIRP). The busiest in the region, close to six million passengers in 2025, with the widest low-cost network in Tuscany. Inside the city of Pisa, five minutes from Pisa Centrale station. Florence Peretola (FLR, ICAO LIRQ), officially Amerigo Vespucci. Around 3.8 million passengers in 2025, only 5 km from Santa Maria Novella station. Its single 1,560 m runway accepts nothing larger than an A320neo, which keeps the route map European. Marina di Campo (EBA, ICAO LIRJ) on Elba. A small island airport 2 km from Marina di Campo, served by light aircraft with links to Pisa and Florence and seasonal routes further north. The operating airline and the schedule have changed several times in recent years, so confirm the current timetable before planning around it. Grosseto (GRS, ICAO LIRS). A military air base open to civil traffic, with no scheduled airlines: seasonal charters, air taxi and private flights only. Lucca-Tassignano (LCV, ICAO LIQL). Five kilometres from Lucca, in the municipality of Capannori, home to the local aero club and a firefighting helicopter base. General aviation, no scheduled flights. Siena-Ampugnano (SAY, ICAO LIQS). Twelve kilometres from Siena, in the municipality of Sovicille. Closed to scheduled commercial traffic since 2013, still active for air taxi and business jets. In practice, then, choosing an airport in Tuscany means choosing between Pisa and Florence, with Bologna as the third realistic option just over the regional border.

Florence Peretola (FLR): the closest airport to a city centre

Amerigo Vespucci sits about 5 km northwest of Santa Maria Novella station, and that proximity is the entire argument for it. Tram line T2 leaves from a stop outside the terminal and reaches Unità, beside the station, in roughly 20 minutes on a standard urban ticket (2 euro, valid 90 minutes, sold at the platform machine or in the app). Trams run frequently from early morning until late evening. A taxi covers the same distance in 15-20 minutes and the rank is immediately outside arrivals. The terminal is small, so meeting a driver here is far easier than at a large hub. Two limitations are worth knowing before you book. The single runway is 1,560 m and hemmed in by the hills north of the city, so the aircraft are narrow-body and direct intercontinental flights are effectively absent: arriving from outside Europe you will connect through Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam, Munich or Istanbul. And in strong wind or low cloud, arrivals into FLR are occasionally diverted to Pisa or Bologna. It is not frequent, but if you have a dinner reservation or a train to catch that evening, it is a reason to have a driver who can reroute rather than a non-refundable ticket.

Pisa Galileo Galilei (PSA): the largest airport in Tuscany

Pisa handled 5.9 million passengers in 2025 against 3.8 million in Florence, and it offers by far the widest choice of low-cost routes: Ryanair uses it as a focus city with dozens of destinations, alongside easyJet, Wizz Air, British Airways and others. On the same European city pair, a fare into Pisa is often noticeably cheaper than into Florence. The airport is inside the city. The automated PisaMover shuttle links the terminal to Pisa Centrale station in about five minutes, and from Pisa Centrale regional trains run to Firenze Santa Maria Novella. Allow around an hour and a half door to door including the change and the wait, or roughly an hour if you drive the motorway. Tickets for the PisaMover and the train are sold at the station machines and in the Trenitalia app; validate paper regional tickets before boarding. PSA's real advantage is geographic. It is the closest major airport to the Versilia coast and to Lucca, so for Forte dei Marmi, Viareggio, Pietrasanta and Camaiore it beats Florence on every measure. It is also the usual starting point for Elba, via the ferry port at Piombino.

Bologna Marconi (BLQ): outside Tuscany, often the fastest way in

Bologna is in Emilia-Romagna, about 110 km from Florence, so strictly speaking it is not a Tuscan airport. It belongs in this comparison anyway: it is Italy's seventh busiest, with more than 11 million passengers a year, the widest route network of the three and the best choice of intercontinental connections. Total journey time is often comparable to Pisa thanks to high-speed rail. The Marconi Express monorail links the terminal to Bologna Centrale in about seven and a half minutes, and a Frecciarossa or Italo then reaches Firenze Santa Maria Novella in roughly 35-40 minutes. Buy the high-speed ticket in advance: the fare is tied to one specific departure and climbs as the date approaches. Driving over the Apennines takes about an hour and a half. For flights from the Gulf, Turkey, or one-stop itineraries out of Asia and the Americas, Bologna is frequently the most practical entry point to Tuscany, and it avoids a second short connection into Florence. The catch is the last leg: once the final evening train has gone there is no rail option left, so a late arrival means a car either way.

The closest airport to Forte dei Marmi

Pisa (PSA), about 40 km away, roughly 40-45 minutes by car on the A11 and A12. That is the direct answer, and it holds for the whole of Versilia: Viareggio, Lido di Camaiore, Pietrasanta and Marina di Pietrasanta. Florence is the second choice at about 100 km and an hour and a half. Bologna is around 180 km and two hours or more, which only makes sense if the flight itself is much better. Forte dei Marmi has no airport and no station in the town itself. The nearest stop is Forte dei Marmi-Seravezza-Querceta, a few kilometres inland, so even the rail route ends with a car for the last stretch. In July and August the coastal A12 is heavy on Friday afternoons and Sunday evenings, and again around the mid-August weekend, so add a buffer on those days. With suitcases, child seats and a villa or hotel address to find, a car waiting at arrivals is usually the calmest way to close that gap: no changes, no platform with luggage, no taxi queue at midnight in a town where taxis are few.

Nearest airport for Florence, Siena, Chianti, Lucca, Elba and the Maremma

Florence: FLR, 5 km, about 20 minutes on tram T2. Nothing else comes close. Chianti and the villa country between Florence and Siena: FLR, then 45-75 minutes by car depending on the village. Roads here are narrow and slow, so measure in minutes, not kilometres. Siena: no usable airport of its own, since Ampugnano handles private traffic only. Fly to FLR, about 75 km and an hour and a quarter by car, or to PSA at roughly 130 km. Lucca: PSA, about 25 km and half an hour by car, or a direct regional train from Pisa Centrale. Versilia and Forte dei Marmi: PSA, about 40 km. See the section above. Elba: PSA or FLR, then the ferry from Piombino to Portoferraio, about an hour on the water plus check-in. The light aircraft service into Marina di Campo is an alternative when the current schedule fits your dates. Maremma, Argentario and Punta Ala: Grosseto has no scheduled flights, so it is PSA or Rome Fiumicino (FCO). From the southern Maremma, Rome is often the shorter drive of the two. Arezzo, Cortona and eastern Tuscany: FLR, or BLQ with a high-speed train to Florence and a regional connection onward.

Which airport to choose: a quick cheat sheet

Florence is the destination and there is a direct flight to FLR. Take it. Aircraft to hotel in under half an hour outweighs most savings on the fare. You are flying low-cost within Europe, or heading for the coast. Check PSA first, and compare the total cost including the transfer rather than the ticket alone. A cheap fare into Pisa with a long drive at the end is still usually the better deal for Versilia, and the worse one for Chianti. You are arriving long-haul or with one stop from outside Europe. BLQ plus a high-speed train is normally the widest and fastest combination, and it spares you a second short-haul connection. You are a group, or travelling with golf clubs, ski gear, a pram or a dog. Book a van from the start. Four large suitcases do not fit in a standard sedan whatever the booking form suggests. You land after about 22:00. Check that the last train actually runs before you build the evening around rail. Late connections from Pisa and Bologna to Florence thin out quickly, and that is when a pre-booked car stops being a luxury.

On the ground: ZTL, luggage and late arrivals

Central Florence is a ZTL, a restricted traffic zone enforced by cameras, and a wrong turn on the way to a hotel there produces a fine that arrives months later, often more than once for the same trip. Licensed drivers know which addresses can be reached and where a car may legally stop. If you are driving yourself, ask the hotel in writing for its ZTL access procedure and the plate registration before you arrive. Public transport in Tuscany is genuinely reliable, and for one traveller with a cabin bag the tram from FLR or the train from Pisa is the smart choice. It is the changes that cost energy. A family of four with six cases and two child seats moving from a people mover to a regional train to a taxi will feel every one of them, and so will anyone landing at 23:30. A private transfer removes the problem: the driver waits in the arrivals hall with a name sign, tracks the flight and adjusts if it slips, loads the luggage, has the child seats fitted in advance, and drives you door to door. The difference is largest precisely where public transport is thinnest: Pisa to Forte dei Marmi, and any late evening arrival into Bologna.

What to confirm before booking a transfer

• Flight number and airport code: the driver tracks the arrival and absorbs delays or a diversion.
• Luggage count and size: 4 or more suitcases, golf clubs or ski gear usually call for a van.
• Child seats: give the children's ages and weights, seats are mandatory in Italy.
• Meeting point: arrivals hall, name sign, and the driver's mobile number in advance.
• Destination address: the exact villa or hotel address, especially inside the ZTL of a historic centre.
• Time buffer: allow for passport control and baggage reclaim, longer on non-Schengen arrivals.
• Contact channel: WhatsApp or phone, so a schedule change reaches the driver immediately.