Florence

Rents and house prices among the highest in Italy, with the historic centre out of reach for local salaries because of tourism; public transport, groceries and utilities at average levels; dining and coffee at tourist prices in the centre, normal in the districts. More affordable areas in Novoli, Rifredi, Isolotto and the belt municipalities.

An expensive, tight market: the historic centre is dominated by tourist lets, now limited by the 2025 municipal Regulation and its 2026 extension to nine zones; Campo di Marte and Gavinana for families, Novoli and Rifredi for students and workers, Isolotto and the belt for tight budgets. ERP managed by Casa SpA, university residences by DSU Toscana.

Registry office and CIE through the municipality's booking agenda; waste by AliaEstra with door-to-door collection in the historic centre and bins in the districts; drinkable water from Publiacqua and high-quality public fountains; the Mercato Centrale, Sant'Ambrogio and Cascine; shopping between via Tornabuoni and via Calzaiuoli; the Oblate library.

To enter with a dog, cat or ferret you need a microchip, an EU pet passport or health certificate and a valid rabies vaccination. Mandatory registration in the regional pet register, lead at all times and a muzzle to hand. Pets allowed on trains under Trenitalia rules and in apartment buildings by law.

Rules depend on who is arriving: EU/EEA/Swiss citizens (no visa, registration with the Comune after three months), non-EU citizens for stays up to 90 days (Schengen rule, type C visa where required) and for long stays (national type D visa and a residence permit within eight working days of arrival).

Autolinee Toscane buses (single regional operator since 2021) and two GEST tram lines: T1 Scandicci-Careggi and T2 airport-station-San Marco, extended in 2025; new lines to Bagno a Ripoli and Le Piagge under construction or planned. Santa Maria Novella station, Peretola airport served by tram. The centre is almost all ZTL, with the Scudo Verde for polluting vehicles.

Euro, cards accepted almost everywhere, a legal cash limit. Anyone living in Italy for most of the year is tax resident and taxed on worldwide income under three IRPEF brackets; specific regimes exist for the self-employed (forfettario), inbound workers, foreign pensioners and new residents. Contributions go to INPS; annual return with the 730 or Redditi form.

In the city the Azienda USL Toscana Centro runs the Santa Maria Nuova, San Giovanni di Dio and Palagi hospitals; Careggi has its Trauma Center-emergency room at pavilion 12 DEAS and the Meyer children's hospital a 24-hour paediatric emergency room. Bookings via the CUP line 055 54 54 54, out-of-hours doctor on 116117.

Non-EU pensioners enter with the elective residence visa, EU pensioners through free movement; public healthcare is accessible by compulsory or voluntary registration. Optional 7% regime on foreign income for those moving to small southern municipalities. Cheap houses in villages, services concentrated in cities.

A two-speed economy: tourism employs a very high share of workers in retail, accommodation and catering, often on seasonal contracts; luxury fashion and leather (Florence-Scandicci), pharmaceuticals (Menarini, Eli Lilly), engineering (Nuovo Pignone-Baker Hughes) and the university offer skilled jobs. Employment rates above the national average.

A VAT number (partita IVA) from the Agenzia delle Entrate for freelancers; for businesses the Comunicazione Unica to the Registro delle Imprese, which also notifies the Agenzia, INPS, INAIL and SUAP. Main forms: sole proprietorship, SNC/SAS, SRL and SRLS, SPA. Compulsory PEC, annual chamber fee, e-invoicing. Invitalia incentives; non-EU citizens need a self-employment permit or the investor visa.

The University of Florence is spread between the centre (humanities, architecture), Novoli (economics, law, political science), Sesto Fiorentino (sciences) and Careggi (medicine); DSU Toscana runs grants, canteens and residences. The European University Institute in Fiesole, Polimoda, the Academy, the Conservatory and dozens of US university programmes.

A municipality of 360,000 residents divided into five Quartieri, capital of the Tuscany Region and the Metropolitan City. Florentine is the speech from which Italian descends; patron Saint John the Baptist on 24 June with the Calcio Storico; historic centre a UNESCO site since 1982.

An Arno basin with summers among the hottest in Italy and muggy nights, cool, damp winters with fog on the plain. PM10 exceeds the daily limit more often than in coastal cities, mainly in winter. Forecasts by the LaMMA consortium, monitoring by ARPAT, municipal heat alerts.

The UNESCO historic centre packs the Duomo, Uffizi, Accademia, Palazzo Vecchio, Ponte Vecchio, Pitti and Boboli into one square kilometre crowded from Easter to October. Always book the main museums; free first Sundays; Calcio Storico in June, Pitti Uomo in January and June. Day trips to Fiesole, Siena, Pisa, Lucca and Chianti.

Steak, lampredotto, schiacciata and ribollita between trattorie, the Mercato Centrale and Sant'Ambrogio; the Cascine and the hills for running and walking, Fiorentina at the Franchi; evenings in Santo Spirito, San Frediano and Sant'Ambrogio. Free: Piazzale Michelangelo, San Miniato, the Estate Fiorentina, first Sundays in state museums.