🇪🇸 Cross-border drive · Spain → Italy 🇮🇹
Driving from Barcelona to Florence
- Drive time
- 11h 55m
- Distance
- 1,082 km
- Same day?
- Long day
- under 12 h
- Fuel cost
- ≈ €166
- petrol · diesel ≈ €146
- Tolls
- ≈ €95
- per-km
- EV charging
- Plenty fast
- 33 of 121 ≥50 kW
On this page
Route map
Route options
Other paths OSRM found between the two cities — handy when traffic, tolls, or scenery matter more than raw speed.
Alternative
+1h 41m- Distance:
- 1,279 km (+197 km)
- Duration:
- 13h 37m
Via: A 9 · Autostrada dei Vini · A1 · AP-7
Avoids motorways
+9h 30m- Distance:
- 1,197 km (+115 km)
- Duration:
- 21h 25m
Via: Fi-Pi-Li · D 900 · D 900B · D 6009
How else can you make this trip?
Driving is the focus of this guide; here's how cycling, coach, and (soon) train and plane stack up for the same pair.
11h 55m
1.082 km · €166 fuel
See details ↓
Not realistic
1.082 km is far beyond a typical multi-day cycle tour. Try a shorter pair like a day or weekend stage.
14h 30m
FlixBus-eu
See details ↓
19h 6m
TRENITALIA · Renfe Cercanias
See details ↓
Trip plan
How to think about the drive: one day, split, or overnight.
Overnight recommended
Too long for a single-driver day. Plan on 1 overnight stop(s) to do this trip right.
A natural overnight stop near the halfway point: Puget-sur-Argens (fr).
- Distance:
- 1,082 km
- Duration:
- 11h 55m (free-flow, no traffic)
Where to stop
Places along the route that make natural breaks for coffee, lunch, or a night.
-
Figueres 🇪🇸 es
≈135 km≈ 2.4 km detour from the main route
-
Béziers 🇫🇷 fr
≈270 km≈ 7.6 km detour from the main route
-
Bellegarde 🇫🇷 fr
≈406 km≈ 5.1 km detour from the main route
-
Brignoles 🇫🇷 fr
≈541 km≈ 2.5 km detour from the main route
-
Monaco 🇲🇨 mc
≈676 km≈ 5.9 km detour from the main route
-
Savona 🇮🇹 it
≈811 km≈ 1.1 km detour from the main route
-
Ceparana-Carpena 🇮🇹 it
≈946 km≈ 2.1 km detour from the main route
Key moves
Things to know before you set off — borders, sides of the road, tolls.
Multi-country chain · ES → FR → IT
You'll cross 3 countries on this drive — each with its own toll system, fuel pricing, and motorway rules. Skim the must-know section below before you set off, and have your registration plus insurance card in the door pocket for any roadside check.
Tolls on motorways in ES / FR / IT
Budget for motorway tolls — France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal charge per-km, Croatia and Greece by section. Contactless cards work almost everywhere; have one loaded.
Long rural stretch on Autostrada dei Fiori
Plan for about 19 km of two-lane country roads. Slower than motorway, but often the pretty part — fewer overtakes after dark.
Long rural stretch on C-33
Plan for about 13 km of two-lane country roads. Slower than motorway, but often the pretty part — fewer overtakes after dark.
Must-know before you go
The things a driver from another country wouldn't think to ask about — fines, stickers, payment cards, opening hours.
City access & emission zones
ZBE Rondes — register your foreign plate before driving in
Must knowBarcelona
Barcelona's low-emission zone covers everything inside the Rondes (B-10 / B-20), Mon–Fri 7:00–20:00. Old diesels and pre-2000 petrol cars are banned. Foreign plates with compliant emission classes still need to register at the city portal — without registration, the camera flags you regardless. Fines start at €100.
Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla now run ZBE low-emission zones
Must knowSpain's Zonas de Bajas Emisiones (ZBE) cover central Madrid (24/7), Barcelona inside the Rondes (weekdays 7:00–20:00), Sevilla, Valencia and a growing list. Foreign plates need to register at the city portal in advance — your Euro emission class determines whether you get in. Without registration, cameras log entry and the fine reaches your home address.
Order your Crit'Air sticker before the trip
Must knowParis, Lyon, Strasbourg, Marseille, Toulouse and a growing list of cities require a Crit'Air air-quality sticker visible on your windscreen — even for a single drive-through. It's €4.51 from the official site and ships by post (allow 2–6 weeks abroad). Without it, expect on-the-spot fines from €68. Your registration document tells the issuer your emission class.
ZTL cameras read your plate from any country
Must knowItalian historic centres (Florence, Rome, Milan, Bologna, Pisa, Siena, Verona, Naples, Turin, Palermo and dozens more) are ringed by automatic Zona Traffico Limitato cameras. Driving in without a permit triggers €80–120 per crossing, and the fine reaches your home address up to a year later via cross-border collection. Treat any city centre as off-limits unless you've confirmed your hotel offers a permit, and ask the hotel to register your plate the day you arrive.
Italian historic-centre ZTL — confirm your hotel registers your plate
Must knowFlorence
This city's old town is encircled by automatic ZTL cameras. Crossing without a permit triggers €80–120 per pass. Ask your hotel the day you arrive: "Can you register my plate for ZTL access?" Some only register the entry, not parking — clarify both. Cameras read plates from any country and Italian fines reach foreign addresses up to a year later.
Tolls, vignettes & road payment
Contactless works at every autoroute booth
UsefulFrench autoroutes use a ticket system: take a card on entry, pay on exit. Every barrier accepts contactless tap-to-pay — pull into the "CB / bank card" lane (orange "t" logo means Liber-T transponder only, avoid those). For frequent EU travellers a Bip&Go transponder pays itself off in two trips by skipping the queue.
Telepass saves you the toll-booth queue
UsefulItalian autostrade work like France: ticket on entry, pay on exit. Contactless cards work at most modern lanes (look for "Carte" — avoid yellow "Telepass" lanes without the device). For long routes, a Telepass EU transponder works in IT/FR/ES/PT and pays for itself across two days; at minimum, keep your insurance card and registration in the door pocket — booth attendants occasionally ask.
Most Spanish tolls were abolished in 2024
TipThe AP-1, AP-7 (Bilbao stretch) and most of the Mediterranean coast highways are now toll-free. A handful remain: AP-9 (Galicia), AP-66 (León–Asturias), Catalonia's C-32/C-16 tunnel approach. Spain is no longer a high-toll country for cars — your fuel + a few specific bridge fees is the realistic budget.
What your car must carry
Hi-vis vest in the cabin, triangle in the boot
Must knowA reflective vest must be reachable without leaving the vehicle (in the door pocket or under your seat — boot is too late). One warning triangle is also mandatory. The 2012 breathalyzer rule was scrapped in 2020 but is still nice to keep. No spare-bulb requirement.
Hi-vis vest mandatory before stepping out
Must knowItalian law requires you to wear a reflective vest before exiting the vehicle on a motorway shoulder, day or night. One warning triangle in the boot is also required. Both items are typically €15 at any Autogrill or fuel station — don't arrive without them.
Driving rules & habits
Priorité à droite still applies in towns
UsefulOn urban streets without signs, traffic from your right has priority — even from a side street that looks subordinate. Outside cities the rule is mostly retired, but in residential French villages it survives. Slow at every right-hand junction unless a yellow diamond on your road tells you you're on the priority road.
Plan your stops, not just your finish time
UsefulOSRM gives you free-flow drive time. Realistic add: 10% on motorway-heavy routes, 25% if you're crossing two cities. Eat at off-peak hours (11:30 lunch, 18:00 dinner) — service-area queues at noon kill 20 minutes. EU fatigue research is consistent: 15-minute break every 2 hours, full 45-minute break before 6 hours. The drive between hours 7 and 9 is where avoidable accidents cluster.
Fuel stations
"Servito" pumps cost about €0.20/L more
UsefulItalian fuel stations split between fai-da-te (self-service) and servito (attended). The same station typically offers both, with attended pumps charging a 10–15% premium. Off-hours, attended turns into self-service automatically. If a pump is out of paper or won't take your card, try the next station — Italian banking sometimes refuses foreign chip cards on first attempt.
Seasonal
Snow chains required on Alpine roads (Nov–Apr)
Must knowItaly enforces a "winter equipment" obligation Nov 15 – Apr 15 on most northern provincial roads and many Alpine motorways: either snow chains carried in the vehicle, or M+S-rated tyres mounted. M+S alone often does NOT satisfy local prefects in mountain departments — if you're crossing into the Dolomites, Aosta Valley, or Trentino, carry chains regardless.
Rules, fees, and thresholds change. Always verify against the official source the day before you drive — this page is a checklist, not a legal reference.
Main roads
The highways this route spends the most kilometres on.
-
A 9 La Catalane225 km
-
A 8 La Provençale223 km
-
AP-7 Autopista de la Mediterrània136 km
-
A10 Autostrada dei Fiori134 km
-
A12 A12 dir. Livorno - Raccordo A7/Genova Est124 km
-
A 54 —72 km
-
A11 Autostrada Firenze-Mare67 km
-
A11/A12 Diramazione Lucca ovest - Viareggio19 km
-
C-33 —13 km
-
A 7 Autoroute du Soleil11 km
-
C-31 Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes4 km
-
B-10 Ronda Litoral3 km
Route character
How much of the drive is motorway vs. secondary vs. rural.
Motorway drive — fast, predictable, uneventful.
- Motorway
- 95%
- Secondary
- 0%
- Other / rural
- 5%
Drive difficulty
At-a-glance feel: how demanding is this drive for one driver?
Overall
Demanding
Tough drive — multiple complicating factors compound fatigue. Strongly recommend splitting across days.
- Long drive: 11h 55m behind the wheel at free-flow speeds.
- Cross-border: es → it. Keep documents accessible and check border rules.
Elevation profile
Highs, lows, and the total climb / descent along the route.
- Lowest point
- 1 m
- Highest point
- 340 m
- Total ascent
- ↑ 905 m
- Total descent
- ↓ 900 m
Fuel & tolls
Rough cost expectation for a typical EU passenger car. Treat as an estimate — pump prices change weekly.
Petrol (RON 95)
≈ €166
81.1 L × €2.05 / L · 7.5 L/100 km
Diesel
≈ €146
64.9 L × €2.25 / L · 6 L/100 km
Electric (DC fast)
≈ €116
189 kWh × €0.61 / kWh · 17.5 kWh/100 km
Public DC fast charging — slower AC charging at home or hotels typically costs about half.
Motorway tolls & vignettes
≈ €95
- ES — €0.09/km on the motorway network (≈ 129 km in-country ≈ €12) Toll-free on the A-network; charged only on AP roads.
- FR — €0.10/km on the motorway network (≈ 464 km in-country ≈ €46)
- IT — €0.08/km on the motorway network (≈ 489 km in-country ≈ €37)
Prices last refreshed 2026-10-26.
Fuel and EV charging along the route
Stations within a few kilometres of the road, sampled at evenly-spaced waypoints.
EV charging
33 at 50 kW or above (fast / ultra-fast).
Fastest first
- Andamur La Junquera (Endesa) — la Jonquera 400 kW
- Electra - A9 - Aire de Loupian (direction Montpellier) — Loupian 400 kW
- Ionity AdS Ceriale Sud — Ceriale SV 350 kW
- Ionity AdS Brugnato Ovest — Brugnato 350 kW
- TotalEnergies - Aire de Lançon de Provence Ouest — Lançon-Provence 300 kW
- TotalEnergies - Aire de Lançon de Provence Est — Lançon-Provence 300 kW
- Engie-Vianeo - B&B Hôtel Salon-de-Provence — Salon-de-Provence 300 kW
- Electra - Grans - Jardipassion — Grans 300 kW
- TotalEnergies - Relais de l'Esterel — Fréjus 300 kW
- Tesla Supercharger La Junquera 250 kW
- Tesla Supercharger Mandelieu-la-Napoule — Mandelieu-la-Napoule 250 kW
- Electra - Salon-de-Provence - Marie Blachère - Retail Park — Salon-de-Provence 200 kW
Weather by month
Average daytime high / overnight low and typical monthly rainfall, over the past five years.
🇪🇸 Barcelona
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
15°
5°
|
15°
6°
|
17°
9°
|
19°
10°
|
21°
13°
|
27°
19°
|
29°
21°
|
30°
22°
|
25°
18°
|
23°
15°
|
18°
10°
|
15°
6°
|
| 19mm | 38mm | 74mm | 66mm | 66mm | 41mm | 61mm | 42mm | 123mm | 86mm | 40mm | 66mm |
hot mild cold
🇮🇹 Florence
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
12°
4°
|
13°
4°
|
16°
7°
|
19°
8°
|
23°
12°
|
30°
17°
|
33°
19°
|
33°
19°
|
27°
16°
|
22°
13°
|
16°
7°
|
12°
4°
|
| 105mm | 109mm | 146mm | 84mm | 132mm | 51mm | 35mm | 61mm | 104mm | 169mm | 129mm | 76mm |
hot mild cold
Next 5 days at Florence
Live forecast — refreshes every few hours.
-
Thu 5
⛅
16° / 10°
—
-
Fri 6
⛅
14° / 9°
124.7mm
-
Sat 7
🌧️
13° / 10°
85.6mm
-
Sun 8
☀️
16° / 8°
—
-
Mon 9
⛅
15° / 4°
—
Forecast: MET Norway
Directions
Turn-by-turn summary of the main manoeuvres, generated by OSRM.
Show all 42 manoeuvres
- Carrer d'Aribau
- Carrer de València 2 km
- Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes (C-31) 4 km
- Ronda Litoral (B-10) 3 km
- (C-33) 13 km
- Autopista de la Mediterrània (AP-7) 136 km
- La Catalane (A 9) 52 km
- La Languedocienne (A 9) 120 km
- La Languedocienne (A 9) 53 km
- (A 54) 72 km
- — 0.6 km
- Autoroute du Soleil (A 7) 11 km
- La Provençale (A 8) 206 km
- La Provençale (A 8) 17 km
- Autostrada dei Fiori (A10) 134 km
- Autostrada dei Fiori 19 km
- (A7) 0.5 km
- A7 dir. Milano - Genova Ovest/Genova Bolzaneto (A7) 2 km
- A12 dir. Livorno - Raccordo A7/Genova Est (A12) 3 km
- A12 dir. Livorno - Genova Est/Genova Nervi 7 km
- A12 dir. Livorno - Genova Nervi/Recco (A12) 11 km
- A12 dir. Livorno - Recco/Rapallo (A12) 6 km
- A12 dir. Livorno - Rapallo/Chiavari (A12) 7 km
- A12 dir. Livorno - Chiavari/Lavagna (A12) 3 km
- A12 dir. Livorno - Lavagna/Sestri Levante (A12) 8 km
- A12 dir. Livorno - Sestri Levante/Deiva Marina (A12) 11 km
- A12 dir. Livorno - Deiva Marina/Carrodano Levanto (A12) 10 km
- A12 dir. Livorno - Carrodano Levanto/Brugnato Borghetto Vara (A12) 5 km
- A12 dir Livorno - Brugnato Borghetto Vara/Bivio A15 Parma (A12) 18 km
- A12 dir. Livorno - Bivio A15/Sarzana (A12) 15 km
- A12 dir. Livorno - Carrara/Massa (A12) 7 km
- Autostrada Azzurra (A12) 20 km
- Raccordo A11-A12 (A11/A12) 0.3 km
- Diramazione Lucca ovest - Viareggio (A11/A12) 19 km
- Diramazione Lucca ovest - Viareggio (A11/A12) 0.7 km
- Autostrada Firenze-Mare (A11) 67 km
- Viale degli Astronauti 0.2 km
- Viale Alessandro Guidoni 0.2 km
- Via Alessandro Allori 0.5 km
- Via del Ponte alle Mosse
- Piazzale di Porta al Prato
- Sottopasso Fratelli Rosselli
By coach from Barcelona to Florence
Indicative duration of the fastest direct long-distance coach found in the FlixBus and BlaBlaCar Bus EU schedules.
- Travel time
- 14h 30m
- Direct
- Operator
- FlixBus-eu
- Departures / day
- ~1
- Approximate based on the published schedule.
Show coach corridor on map
Schedules sourced from the FlixBus and BlaBlaCar Bus GTFS feeds via transport.data.gouv.fr. Times are indicative; verify on the operator's site before booking.
Booking link coming soon.
By train from Barcelona to Florence
Fastest cross-border rail itinerary from the public Transitous planner. Times reflect a typical Monday-morning departure on the next available service-day.
- Fastest journey
- 19h 6m
- 5 changes
- Lead operator
- TRENITALIA
- + 2 more
- Alternatives
- 5
- Itineraries returned by the planner.
Trains on the fastest itinerary
- FR 9511
All operators across alternatives
- TRENITALIA
- Renfe Cercanias
- ZOU ! TER
Includes a high-speed rail leg (TGV, ICE, AVE, Frecciarossa-class).
Show route on map
Routing via the public Transitous OTP planner (community-run MOTIS instance). Cached 24 hours; verify on the operator's site before booking.
How this page is built
Compiled by COD Solutions Oy from open European data — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for the route geometry, Open-Meteo for monthly climate normals, OpenTopoData SRTM 30m for elevation, EU Weekly Oil Bulletin for cross-border fuel-price bands, and Open Charge Map for EV charging stations. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.