How to get from Rome to Florence with children

Four ways in one table

If you are reading this in Rome and want to leave tomorrow, take any high-speed train at a time that suits you. If the trip is two or three weeks away and you are travelling with children, read the section on family fares: the difference there is several-fold.

High-speed trains: what matters on this route

How the operators, train types and ticket validation work is covered in trains in Italy: how to buy a ticket without overpaying. Here is only what applies to Rome — Florence.

• There are plenty of trains. In the morning Trenitalia and Italo between them run four to six high-speed trains an hour. The first ones on 20 November are a Frecciarossa at 5.10 am and an Italo at 5.40 am. Missing a train is no disaster: the next one leaves 10–20 minutes later, though a cheap ticket will not let you switch to it.
• Journey times vary. In our search Italo took 1 h 32–37 min and Frecciarossa 1 h 36 min, while in October 2026 many Trenitalia services are timetabled at 1 h 41 min. “An hour and a half” is right as a rule of thumb, but leave a margin if you have a tour to catch.
• Stations. In Rome almost all high-speed trains leave from Roma Termini, and some also call at Roma Tiburtina — check your ticket. Termini is easy to reach by metro; how to ride it with children is in our guide to the Rome metro. The platforms at Termini are behind ticket gates, so keep the QR code handy. In Florence the terminus is Firenze S. M. Novella, often shortened on tickets to “Firenze S.M.N.”.
• Prices rise towards the date, but Base does not. The full Base fare on Frecciarossa for this route is EUR 50 and does not change. What changes is whether discounts are left. On 6 October, trains on 21 October offered Super Economy at EUR 23.90, Economy at EUR 39.90 and FrecciaDAYS at EUR 19.90. For 9 October only Economy at EUR 39.90 was left, and for the morning of 7 October, the next day, only Base at EUR 50 on every train.

A small trick for the return ticket. Super Economy is cheaper but can be neither changed nor refunded. Economy costs EUR 16 more, but you can change the time before departure. Since with a child you never know when they will run out of energy, take Economy for the way back and leave earlier without losing money.

Children’s and family fares: Trenitalia vs Italo

The two operators’ terms look alike, but the age limits and family size differ, and that decides which is cheaper for you.

• Trenitalia, always. Children under 4 travel free if they do not take a seat of their own. From 4 to 15 they get 50% off the Base fare, which is EUR 25 on a Frecciarossa to Florence. On regional trains only children from 4 to 12 pay half.
• FrecciaFAMILY. A group of 2 to 5 people, with at least one adult and at least one child under 15. Children travel free and adults pay half the Base fare. You must buy by midnight 15 days before travel, and seats at this fare are limited. The ticket can be changed once and refunded with a 20% deduction.
• Italo, always. Only children under 36 months travel free, and only on an adult’s lap. If one adult has two infants, a seat must be bought for the second. Italo does not advertise a standing child discount like Trenitalia’s; its search form has a “children 3–13” category.
• Italo Family. Children under 14 travel free, adults get 50% off the Flex fare. A group of 2 to 4 people, bought at least 15 days ahead, non-refundable, changeable up to 72 hours before departure for a 60% fee.

Hence two rules you will not find in the adverts. A 14-year-old gets a family fare only with Trenitalia: on Italo they are no longer a child at 14. A family of five also fits only FrecciaFAMILY — Italo Family covers four people at most.

The less obvious conclusion: for a family that plans ahead, the regional train is no cheaper than the high-speed one, and it is twice as slow. At the last minute, the same family pays EUR 150 one way instead of EUR 50.

Italo is harder to compare in advance. On 6 October, searching 20 November for two adults and two children, the Family fare did not appear in the list; on the early trains Italo Friends was offered instead, at EUR 18.36 per adult against EUR 45.90 for Flex. So check both booking sites for your dates: on one train Italo wins, on another Trenitalia does.

Regional trains: when they make sense

Regionale Veloce trains run via Orvieto, Chiusi and Arezzo and take 3 h 52 min to 4 h 38 min, some with a change. The ticket costs EUR 25.75 on any day and seats are not reserved. It is worth it in two cases: all high-speed trains are down to the Base fare and you are two adults without children, or you want to stop off on the way — in Orvieto or Arezzo — and reach Florence later. A paper regional ticket without a date must be validated before boarding; the details are in our guide to Italian trains.

FlixBus coaches

For 20 November FlixBus was selling more than thirty services, almost all at EUR 6.99. Coaches leave from the Roma Tiburtina coach station, a few from Anagnina metro station. They take 3 h 10 min to 4 h 25 min, depending on traffic on the A1.

The catch is where you arrive. Most coaches stop at Villa Costanza, a park-and-ride hub on the motorway itself, not in the centre. From there the T1 tram takes about 22 minutes to Santa Maria Novella station, and a 90-minute ticket costs EUR 1.70. Some evening services arrive at Piazzale Montelungo by the Fortezza da Basso, about ten minutes’ walk from the station.

With children, bear two things in mind. Under-15s may travel only with an adult. And a child on the coach has to be secured in a suitable restraint: FlixBus says so plainly in its safety rules, and it does not supply child seats. In short, the coach suits a couple without children and with flexible plans; for a family it usually loses to FrecciaFAMILY on both cost and energy.

By car: the ZTL and where to leave the car

Rome to Florence is about 275 km on the A1 motorway, roughly three hours without traffic. Tolls for a car come to about EUR 20 according to online calculators. In Italy children under 150 cm must use a child seat or booster — book one in advance if you are hiring a car.

The whole historic centre of Florence is a ZTL, a limited traffic zone. According to the city’s tourism portal it applies Monday to Friday from 7.30 am to 8 pm and on Saturday from 7.30 am to 4 pm. From April to early October there is also a night ZTL from Thursday to Saturday, 11 pm to 3 am. Cameras at the entry points record every number plate. The fine for entering without a permit, under Article 7 of the Italian Highway Code, is EUR 83 to EUR 332 plus administrative costs. On a hire car it reaches you through the hire company, which adds its own fee. The letters arrive months later, when the trip is long forgotten.

• A hotel inside the ZTL. You can drive in, but only if the hotel passes your number plate to the municipal police. Ask about this when you book and give the plate at reception as soon as you arrive. Satnavs do not warn you about the ZTL.
• Coming for the day. Leave the car at Villa Costanza: you turn into it straight off the A1, between the Firenze Scandicci and Firenze Impruneta exits, without driving into the city. Then take the T1 tram into the centre. It is easier than hunting for a space near the old town.

Santa Maria Novella station: what is nearby

The station sits on the north-western edge of the historic centre, so the day starts as soon as you walk out.

• The church of Santa Maria Novella is across the square from the station, literally on the other side. The station is named after it.
• Florence Cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore, is about a kilometre away, 10–15 minutes’ walk with a child. Go along Via dei Panzani and Via de’ Cerretani, and the dome appears at the end of the street. More on the cathedral on its landmark page.
• The Mercato Centrale is about seven minutes’ walk. Food stalls downstairs, a food hall with pasta and pizza upstairs — an easy way to feed children quickly.
• Trams. T1 runs to Villa Costanza, for coaches and the car park; T2 goes to Florence airport.
• Left luggage is in the station, by platform 16. According to reference sites, the first five hours cost about EUR 6 per item. If you are moving from Rome to Florence with your luggage, leave the cases here: the Accademia Gallery turns away large bags and has no cloakroom (more in our article on Michelangelo’s David), and a suitcase will not fit in the Uffizi cloakroom.

Florence as a day trip from Rome: is it realistic with a child?

It is, as long as you accept you will not see everything. A plan that works:

1. Out at around 7.30–8 am. You are in Florence by 9.15–9.45, ahead of the crowds at the Duomo.
2. One museum or the dome, no more. Which sight to choose and how to build the day is in what to see in Florence in one day. If you pick the Uffizi, there is a cheaper entry after 4 pm, but on a day trip that is too late: take a morning slot, as we suggest in our guide to Uffizi tickets.
3. Back at around 6.30–7.30 pm. Friday evening trains are the first to get expensive: for 20 November, tickets for 6–7 pm were already EUR 30.90 to EUR 42.90, while the 7.33 and 7.48 pm trains were still at EUR 19.90. The last Trenitalia high-speed train leaves at 10.14 pm and the last Italo at 10.43 pm. Treat those as a fallback, not a plan.

By age: for a child of six or older, eight or nine hours in the city plus three hours on the train is a normal day — they can rest and eat on the train. With children of three to five we would cut it down to a walk without museums. With a baby in a pushchair, remember that the pavements in the centre are narrow and there is always a crowd by the cathedral — a carrier is easier.

All our children’s routes around the city are on the Florence tours page.