Travel between Venice and Florence

Travel between Venice and Florence is easy when you know the options available. Thankfully we have a top guide to rail and road that will keep you on track.

Travel between Venice and Florence

Getting a train when travelling from Venice to Florence (or vice-versa) is simple. Trains are available throughout the day and you should never have to wait more than 10 minutes for the next departure. There are faster express options but you might want to consider booking these in advance in case they fill up.

If you’re looking to book a train journey, your best bet is ItaliaRail which has a great, fast interface that will let you book online instantly. There are faster express trains between Venice and Florence, but if you prefer, you can jump onto a local train that takes a bit longer.

Trains usually take around 2 hours, with the fastest journey taking 1 hour and 51 minutes. There are 17 trains between the 2 cities, leaving around every 1 hour and 16 minutes.

The express options are fast, economical and have comfy seats with plenty of room. Expect to find WiFi connections, plug sockets and plenty of food options via a cafe and/or vending machine. These trains also have toilets.

Local trains take a bit longer as they may stop at more stations along the route – anything up to 6 hours on this route. Check the train info and duration before you decide which one to travel on so that it fits in with your plans. Again, restrooms should be available and some trains have WiFi and electrical outlets, but these are not guaranteed. However, you won’t find much in the way of food and drink onboard local trains.

Florence’s train station is Santa Maria Novella station. Venice’s train station is called Venezia Santa Lucia.  

Other options from Venice to Florence

• By bus: Buses cost about the same as trains, and the journey takes about three hours and 50 minutes. If you decide to choose a bus, look at Flixbus, which offers buses along this route. You’ll find snacks, WiFi and restrooms on board. Flixbus routes depart from Tronchetto, an artificial island connected by the #2 vaporetto. They arrive at Piazzale Montelungo in Florence, which is the main bus parking area. It’s located right behind Santa Maria Novella, Florence’s main train station.
• By car: Renting a car is a great option if you plan to extend your trip and visit a few other Tuscan cities en route to Florence. But Florence hotels are all located in a pedestrian-only zone, so having a car may be difficult. Car journey will take approximately 3 hours between the 2 cities.
• By air: There are no direct flights from Venice to Florence. You would have to stop over in another Italian or European city, setting you back almost 3 hours. With security and customs, this could take even longer. 

Florence-Venice train schedules

Trains running from Venezia Santa Lucia Station in Venice to Firenze Santa Maria Novella, Florence’s main train station, depart approximately every 10 to 25 minutes during the day, although it’s best to check the schedule as trains in rush hour are more frequent during the week and less frequent late in the evenings.

Both Italo and Trenitalia offer high-speed trains here, though only Trenitalia offers the slower, regional trains.

Florence-Venice train fares

Train fare from Florence to Venice: Express tickets range from €16 for a basic ticket all the way to €66 if you want to travel First Class. Tickets on regional trains cost about €20. Remember: if you buy a ticket in advance, it will cost less.

If you’re travelling on an express train you have a choice of First or Second Class, but there’s very little difference. The seats in Second Class are comfy, they recline and you enjoy free WiFi and power outlets. In First Class you also have WiFi and power, but the seats are more roomy and you have more space to store your luggage. On some journeys you might even enjoy a welcome drink and snack. 

Purchase your tickets from Trenitalia or Italo at a selection of locations throughout the station on the day you travel, or buy them online 24 hours before.

Travelling on Italian time

Travel between Venice and Florence is relatively simply but be aware that trains and buses in Italy are often delayed by a few minutes, especially during religious holidays like Easter and Christmas. Sometimes the delay is caused by worker strikes, but these are always announced 2 weeks prior, aren’t allowed to last longer than 24 hours and never occur in peak season (July, August, late December and early January or during Easter) and also don’t happen over elections. During strikes trains don’t come to a stop – there are just fewer of them.

If you miss your train because of a delay, you can still use your ticket on the next train, if that train is departing within an hour of the one you missed. But if you are going to miss the last train of the evening, try to let the conductor know, as he may be able to get the train to wait for you.

Train travel between Venice and Florence with kids

Kids under the age of 12 have to travel with an adult. Those aged between 12 and 16 are permitted to travel without supervision if they have a consent form with them that’s been signed by their parents or a legal guardian. Check with the train company before travelling for any further legalities.

Each train company offers a special discount program for kids, as well as for families and seniors. On Italo’s Family program kids under the age of 3 travel free as long as they sit on an adult’s lap. If a family has 2 young kids, they will have to purchase a ticket for one of them. Families also get tickets together – and these are discounted if there are 2, 3 or 4 people travelling and at least one of them is over 18 years. When this happens, those under the age of 14 travel free. So if there are 2 adults and 2 kids under 14, for instance, you will only pay for the adults. Seniors have to book 3 days in advance to qualify for a discount of 40%.

If you’ve booked with Trenitalia the rules are slightly different. Kids under the age of 4 travel free and have to sit on an adult’s lap. You can buy them a seat if you wish at the standard rate for children – a good idea if you want them to travel in a car seat. Of course, if there are empty seats on the train when you’re travelling, the kids are allowed to sit on those seats. The Trentalia program is called Bimbi Gratis that permits kids under the age of 15 to travel free. This program comes into play if you are a family travelling together of between 2 and 5 people that includes at leasts one adult and book 2 days before you travel. The adult will have to pay the normal adult rate, but the kids will travel free if they are under 15 years.

Food onboard or at the station

Italo express trains feature vending machines with coffee, snacks and sodas. Seats all have a table, and groups of 4 seats include a larger table to share. 

There are several dining options at Venice train station, including 2 pizzerias, some cafes and sandwich takeaways, not to mention a chocolatier, even a gelateria. Close to the station yu’ll also find some excellent restaurants.

Location of the train stations

Venezia Santa Lucia Station is located in Cannaregio overlooking the Grand Canal. It’s located 15 minutes to half an hour’s walk to major Venice attractions or you can board a vaporetto (water taxi/bus), which takes about 20 minutes. There is a footbridge connecting the station to the neighborhoods of San Polo and Santa Croce as well as another footbridge called Ponte della Constituzione, that will take you to another vaporetto stop at Piazzale Roma. It’s best to ask for directions if you’re confused..

When you get to Florence, you’ll find Santa Maria Novella is in the heart of Florence. You can walk to most of the city’s major sights such as the Duomo, the Uffizi Gallery and the Medici Chapels. You’ll find various budget hotels around here and if you’re looking for something to eat or drink, many excellent bars and restaurants are just a 5-minute walk from the station.

Venice to Florence by train

To get to Venezia Santa Lucia station from the central part of Venice, it’s best to take a vaporetto as you’re likely to have luggage. Get off at the stop nearest to the station, Ferrovia. You’ll enter the station through glass doors – there are self-service ticket kiosks in front of you as well as a large electronic display listing departures and a smaller one listing arrivals. You’ll find a currency exchange just behind the kiosks.

Click the link for an interactive version of the station map. You’ll see that nearly everything is located on one floor. Blue areas are shops and restaurants, beige ones include ticket offices, restrooms and other services. The platforms are shown as grey vertical stripes. 

squares mark services, such as ticket offices, disability assistance, and restrooms. Platforms are indicated as vertical grey stripes. It shows where restaurants, luggage drop, restrooms and other facilities are located.

For more information on buying train tickets, visit Buying Train Tickets in Italy.