Plan your visit to AUF
Discover firsthand all that AUF, the city of Florence, and Italy have to offer!
Visit our state-of-the-art campus facilities, accommodations, and get to know our staff.
Learn more about studying at AUF:
Visit the AUF campus and discover all that we have to offer!
Following options to visitors interested in learning more about the Institution and campus:
Join Our Open Days
Open Days are held twice a year in the fall and spring. They are an opportunity for students world wide to learn about the institution, educational programs, learning model, and campus. Open Day periods feature virtual and on-campus options for prospective students and their families.
Dates can be found in the Academic Calendar.
Where to Stay in Florence when Visiting AUF
The Hospitality Learning Lab of Apicius
Visitors interested in coming to AUF can opt to stay in the student-run guest apartments, Dimora.
Dimora – Guest Apartments Learning Lab is the Hospitality learning lab operated by the students and faculty of Apicius International School of Hospitality. Dimora welcomes AUF students, alumni, their families, and friends.
Dimora embodies the philosophy of AUF The American University of Florence, of going beyond the classroom and integrating students in the Florence community through experiential learning. Find out more about our Community Engagement Member Institutions (CEMI)
Alternatively, visitors can choose among all the hotels/Airbnb options that the city of Florence has to offers. We recommend to book your stay within the city center of Florence to be walking distance from the AUF facilities. Do not hesitate to reach out to us in case of questions!
How to get to AUF
from Firenze SMN-Santa Maria Novella Train Station
Once at Florence SMN Central Station, you can easily reach the AUF premises or your selected accommodation by Taxi. Since visitors will usually be carrying luggage, we generally suggest that they take a taxi. Taxi stands are located right outside the train station and they are easily accessible.
Alternatively, see below the two Taxi companies’ number:
from the Airport (Amerigo Vespucci – Peretola)
Taxi stands are located right outside the airport on the right side and they are easily accessible.
The Tram Station is located right outside the airport on the left side.
to Firenze SMN-Santa Maria Novella Train Station
The Bologna airport is only 7km from the city center. The Marconi Express is the train connecting the airport to the central train station. It takes about 27 minutes and leaves the airport every 7 or 15 minutes during peak hours and runs 24/7. The first train leaves the airport at 5:00 am and the last of the day departs at midnight.
- After collecting your luggage, follow the signs for the train platform. The Marconi Express can be accessed by going up to the departures level, which is connected to the Marconi Express station by a covered walkway.
- Before entering the railway, you must purchase a ticket. Tickets for the train can be easily bought at machines located in the Marconi Express station and in the baggage claim area of the airport. Tickets can also be purchased at Tper stores at the Bologna Centrale railway station, at the bus station, and in Via Lame, at the Bologna Welcome offices, located in the arrivals area of the airport and in Piazza Maggiore. Students will need euro to purchase tickets in cash, but payments can also be made with credit card.
- Once you have your tickets in hand, head to the platform where the trains stop. Monitors, together with frequent loudspeaker announcements, inform you of the route and the time when the next train will leave for Bologna Centrale.
- Once you arrive at Bologna Centrale, you can take a train to Florence. Trains leave for Florence every 20 minutes. The trip takes about 37 minutes on a high-speed train “Frecciarossa” or “Italo.” Ticket prices may vary.
from Galileo Galilei Airport
Pisa Airport, known as Galileo Galilei International Airport, is just under 7 km from the center of the city and offers a few easy ways to access the city by train. The Pisa mover is a train connecting the airport to Pisa Centrale train station. The journey takes about seven minutes.
The first train leaves the airport at 5:00 am and the last of the day at 12:00 am.
- After collecting your luggage, follow the signs for the train area. It's about a five minute walk from the baggage carousels. There are restrooms and snack stalls along the way if you need to stop.
- Before entering the railway area, buy your ticket. Tickets for the train can be easily purchased from the vending machines, ticket office or newsstand (the easiest and fastest way) which you will find in the area just before the tracks. Students will need euro, but the payment can also be made with credit card.
- Once your tickets are in hand, head to the Centrale Gare FS / PISA next to platform 14. It is also accessible from via San Giust
- Note: Before boarding the train, it is important to remember to validate your ticket at the small machines that you will find at the entrance to the train. These machines are much smaller than ticket kiosks and are easy to miss, so be on the lookout for them.
from Pisa Centrale train station
Once you arrive at Pisa Centrale station, you can take a train to Florence. Trains leave for Florence every 10 - 20 minutes, and the trip takes about an hour. Be sure to select the high-speed trains: "Frecciarossa" or "Italo”
Milano Malpensa Airport is about 40 km from the Milan central train station. The Malpensa Express is the train connecting the airport to the central train station. It takes about 40 minutes. Taxi is also a feasible option at a higher cost.
Once at the Milano Centrale Station, one can purchase a high-speed train ticket to Florence Santa Maria Novella (SMN) station. Be sure to select the high-speed trains: "Frecciarossa" or "Italo”.
AUF is located in the city center of Florence. Entrance to this area is restricted to residents. However, by making reservation to a garage inside the city center of Florence, visitors can access the area to park. The ZTL (LIMITED TRAFFIC ZONE) zone is supervised by cameras. At the moment of your arrival at the garage, the operator will provide to regularize the transit through the electronic gates.
List of nearby garages:
About Florence
Florence, capital of the region of Tuscany, has a population of around half a million inhabitants, spreads on the banks of the Arno, between the Adriatic and the Tyrrhenian seas, almost in the middle of the Italian peninsula. It is a city which bustles with industry and craft, commerce and culture, art and science. Being on the main national railway lines, it is easily accessible from most important places both in Italy and abroad. The Florence "Vespucci" airport, where both national and international airlines stop, is located 5 Km. from the city centre. The main motorway, A1, connects Florence with Bologna and Milano in the North and Rome and Naples in the South. The motorway A11 to the sea joins it to Prato, Pistoia, Montecatini, Lucca, Pisa and all the resorts on the Tyrrhenian sea. There is also motorway which connects Florence to Siena. The climate is temperate but rather variable, with breezy winters and hot summers.
Florence contains an exceptional artistic patrimony, glorious testimony to its secular civilization. Cimabue and Giotto, the fathers of Italian painting, lived here, along with Arnolfo and Andrea Pisano, reformists of architecture and sculpture; Brunelleschi, Donatello and Masaccio, founders of the Renaissance; Ghiberti and the Della Robbia; Filippo Lippi and l'Angelico; Botticelli and Paolo Uccello; the universal geniuses Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Their works, along with those of many generations of artists up to the masters of the present century, are gathered in the city's many museums. In Florence, thanks to Dante, the Italian language was born; with Petrarch and Boccaccio literary studies were affirmed; with Humanism the philosophy and values of classical civilization were revived; with Machiavelli modern political science was born; with Guicciardini, historical prose; and with Galileo, modern experimental science. Up to the time of Charlemagne, Florence was a university town. Today it includes many specialized institutes and is an international cultural center. Academies, art schools, scientific institutes and cultural centers all contribute to the city's intense activity.