Tosca Bella ~ properties in Tuscany

Information about Italy - a visit to Italy to view your chosen property will require some degree of planning. We hope that your visit is as stress-free as possible, so to help ensure this, we have listed below some useful numbers, addressees and web sites which we think will be of use. Of course if you have any other questions you can telephone or email us. Furthermore Tosca Bella's staff in Italy will always be ready to help.

The World-Wide-Web offers useful information on all aspects of life and travel in Italy. Some useful general information sites to visit are www.initaly.com and www.travel-italy.com.

Lifestyle magazines are popular for information about all things Italian. You can find Italy Magazine and Italy UK in your main newsagents.

If planning a trip to view properties, use our property finder to help locate villas and properties for sale in Tuscany.

The information below is divided into Travel Information and General Information

Travel Information

Flights / Airlines

Pisa (PSA) (Galileo Galilei)
www.pisa-airport.com is 2km (1.5 miles) northeast of the city (travel time – 10 minutes) and has duty-free facilities.
The following airlines fly to Pisa from the UK.
British Airways
Web: www.britishairways.co.uk
Ryan Air
Web: www.ryanair.co.uk

Flights Information Phone Numbers:
Information : 050-500707 / 849200
Tickets : 050-582402
Lost Luggage : 050-849400 / 849401
The n.7 bus goes to and from Pisa city center every 15 minutes (6.35am / 10.25pm). The trip takes 10 minutes and the fare is 5 euro

Bologna (BLQ) (G Marconi)
www.bologna-airport.it is 6km (4 miles) northwest of the city (travel time – 20 minutes) has good airport facilities. Buses and taxis are available to the city.
The following airlines fly to Bologna from the UK
EasyJet (incorporating Go)
Web: www.easyjet.com
Bologna from Stanstead
Ryan Air
Web: www.ryanair.co.uk

Florence (FLR) (Amerigo Vespucci)
www.safnet.it is 4km (2.4 miles) north of the city (travel time – 20 minutes) has banks, bureaux de change, left luggage, bars and restaurants and duty-free facilities. Buses and taxis are available to the city.
The following airlines fly to Florence
Alitalia
Tel: 0870 544 8259
Web: www.alitalia.co.uk

Distance from Florence city : 5 Km
Phone Numbers:
Information (+39) 055-373498
Flights information (domestic flights - real time - 24h) (+39) 055.3061.700
Flights information (international flights - real time - 24h) (+39) 055.3061.702
Lost Luggages (+39) 055.308023 (fax 055.3061664)

"Sita" deluxe coach goes to and from Florence Railway Station (downtown) every hour, The trip takes 25 minutes and the fare is 6000 Lire (4 Us$).
Bus n.62 ATAF goes to and from Florence every 20 minutes (6am / 10.45pm), Fare 5 euros

Lufthansa and Air France also fly to Florence.

Note: People travelling to Florence can fly to Pisa and then take the new train service directly from Pisa Airport to Florence (travel time – 60 minutes). The railway station in Pisa is practically inside the airport. Rail services connect with arrivals and departures of all international flights and major domestic services.

Sea Travel

The quickest route from the UK is via France. The following companies run regular cross-channel ferries from the UK to France: Brittany Ferries from Plymouth to Roscoff, from Portsmouth to St Malo and Caen, and from Poole to Cherbourg; Condor Ferries from Jersey, Guernsey, Poole, Portsmouth and Weymouth to Cherbourg and St Malo; Hoverspeed from Dover to Calais, and from Newhaven to Dieppe; SeaFrance from Dover to Calais; P&O Stena Line from Dover to Calais; and P&O Portsmouth from Portsmouth to Cherbourg and Le Havre. These companies offer a variety of promotional fares and inclusive holidays for short breaks and shopping trips.

Trains

Travelling from the UK, the quickest way is to travel by Eurostar through the Channel Tunnel to Paris (travel time – 3 hours) and, from there, to Italy. For further information and reservations, contact:
Eurostar (tel: (0870) 6000 792 (travel agents) or (08705) 186 186 (public; within the UK) or +44 (1233) 617 575 (public; outside the UK);
www.eurostar.com or
Rail Europe (tel: 08705 848 848). Travel agents can obtain refunds for unused tickets from Eurostar Trade Refunds, Second Floor, Kent House, 81 Station Road, Ashford, Kent TN23 1PD. Complaints and comments may be sent to Eurostar Customer Relations, Eurostar House, Waterloo Station, London SE1 8SE. General enquiries and information requests must be made by telephone. Rail travellers not using the Channel Tunnel link need to make some form of sea crossing, usually by ferry or catamaran; for details on sea crossings see also Sea above. The cost of the crossing is usually included in the price of the rail ticket. For information and reservations contact Rail Europe (tel: (08705) 848 848). The main rail connections from London (Victoria) and Paris to Italy are: Artesia (Lyon, Milan, Paris, Rome and Turin); and Simplon Express (Brigue, Domodossola, Lausanne, Milan, Paris, Trieste and Venice).
Discover Italy by train http://www.trenitalia.com/home/en/index.htm

Road

Travelling by car from the UK, the quickest way is via Eurotunnel trains which carry all types of vehicles through the channel tunnel (travel time – 35 minutes). For further details, see also Travel - International in the France section. For information and reservations, contact Eurotunnel in the UK (tel: (08705) 353 535; website: www.eurotunnel.com). Routes from the UK to Italy run through France, Austria, Switzerland and Slovenia and most routes use the tunnels under the Alps and Apennines. Italian State Railways run regular daily services called autotreni (trains carrying cars), especially during the summer holiday season.

The main routes covered are: Milan–Genoa–Naples–Villa San Giovanni;
Bologna–Naples–Villa San Giovanni;
Milan–Rome–Naples–Villa San Giovanni;
Turin–Bolzano–Bari; and Bologna–Catania.
These services operate from special railway stations and are generally bookable at the departure station. Owners must travel on the same train.
The documents required are the log-book, valid driving licence with Italian translation, Green Card insurance and national identity plate fixed to the rear of the vehicle. For more information on routes, contact the Italian State Tourist Board (see Contact Addresses section). For more information on required documentation and traffic regulations in Italy, see Travel – Internal section.

Coach

Eurolines run coach services from the UK to the following destinations: Ancona, Bologna, Cattolica, Florence, Genoa, L'Aquila, Mestre, Milan, Montecatini, Naples, Padua, Parma, Pesaro, Pisa, Riccione, Rimini, Rome, Siena, Teramo, Turin, Venice and Verona. For information on timetables and fares, call Eurolines in the UK (4 Cardiff Road, Luton, Bedfordshire, L41 1PP; tel: (08705) 143 219; fax: (01582) 400 694; website: www.eurolines.com or www.nationalexpress.com).

General Information

Accommodation

Please email us to discuss your requirements. We will be happy to arrange bookings for you.

Books

Available from the Amazon website:
A Place in the Sun
Restoring a Home in Italy
Buying a Home in Italy
Buying a Property:Italy
Live and Work in Italy

Car Hire

Car Hire 4 Less
Web: www.carhire4less.co.uk

Hertz
Tel UK: (+44) 08708 448844
Web: www.hertz.com

Budget
Tel UK: (+44) 0645 606060
Web: www.budget.co.uk

Europcar
Tel UK: (+44) 0870 607 5000
Web: www.europcar.co.uk

Car Rentals
Tel UK: (+44) 0870 607 5000
Web: www.carrentals.co.uk

Living in Italy

Living in Italy: www.goitaly.about.com
The Informer : www.informer.it

Magazines

Lifestyle magazines
Italy magazine - www.italymag.co.uk
Italy UK magazine - www.italiauk.net

Weather in Tuscany

Web: Weather in Tuscany from Virgilio
Web: Weather in Italy from Yahoo.

General Information
In Italy - www.initaly.com
Travel Italy - www.travel-italy.com
Web: www.alpiapuane.com/English/indexeng.htm
Web: www.turismo.toscana.it/ttgg/htmle/ttidgge.htm
Web: www.tourism-in-tuscany.com/useful-links-tuscany.html

Maps

Touring Club Italiano
Scale 1:200.000 (Grande carta stradale d'Italia). These are auto-maps, but still fairly accurate. They show hotels, places of interest, distances and steep hills.

Web: www.stanfords.co.uk/content/italy.htm

The Map Shop
Web: www.themapshop.co.uk/italy.htm

Organisations

British Council - centre in Bologna
Web: www.britishcouncil.it

BBC World Service
Web: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice

British Embassy
(Based in Rome )
Tel: (+39) 06 4220 0001
Fax: (+39) 06 487 3324
Address: Via XX settembre 80/a
00187 Roma RM
Web: www.britain.it
Email: info@rome.mail.fco.gov.uk