How to reach us

The INAF Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri is located in Arcetri, formerly a village near the city of Florence (Firenze), now inside the city limits.

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By car

From the "Autostrada del sole" (higway) exit at: Firenze Impruneta. Follow directions for downtown Firenze for about 3 Kilometers up to the crossroad pointed to by an arrow in the city map (It is the fourth crosslight). Turn right along V.le del Poggio Imperiale and then left. In 200 meters you'll be in front of the entrance gate. Sometimes an automated barrier just behind the gate is close, ask the guard man or ring the bell to ask for it to be opened, then proceed by car until the end of the internal road.

By train

Get off at Firenze S.Maria Novella railway station. Then the easiest way is by taxi (around 15 minutes in normal traffic conditions). If you want to go by bus you must walk one hundred meters from Piazza della Stazione to Piazza S.Maria Novella and then take the bus number 11 to the first stop in via del Gelsomino from where you must walk uphill to the main gate (around 5 minutes). From the main gate to the Observatory you must further walk uphill about 10 minutes.

By plane

"Useful" airports to get to Firenze are: Firenze A. Vespucci, Pisa G. Galilei, Bologna G. Marconi, Roma L. da Vinci, Milano Malpensa e Milano Linate.

  • The airport Amerigo Vespucci in Firenze is connected with many European and italian main cities, and with the two italian intercontinental airports (Roma and Milano).

    From the airport you may take a taxi to downtown (20 min.) or to the Osservatorio di Arcetri (30 min.). Otherways you can get a bus shuttle to the S. Maria Novella railway station. And follow th doirections given above.
  • The airport Galileo Galilei in Pisa is also is connected with European and italian main cities and with the intercontinetal airports in Roma and Milano.

    From Pisa airport a direct train connection will bring you to the Firenze S. Maria Novella railway station in about one hour.
  • From Bologna-Marconi airport you can get a bus shuttle to the Bologna Centrale railway station from where you'll get to Firenze S. Maria Novella in about one hour.
  • From the Roma L. da Vinci airport you can reach by train the "Roma Centrale" railway station from where you can reach Firenze S. Maria Novella in less than two hours by an "Eurostar" fast train.
  • From Milano-Malpensa airport you can take a shuttle train which brings you to the "Porta Garibaldi" railway station in Milano. Unfortunately no connections to Firenze are available at this station; you must reach the "Milano Centrale" station by undergrund (a few minutes) from where you can take an "Eurostar" fast train to Firenze (about 3 hours).

    Alternately from the airport you can use a bus shuttle which reaches directly the "Milano Centrale" station, but the minimum travel time is 1 hour and can be quite worse in heavy traffic conditions.