Airlines Air France, Borgo SS Apostoli 9 (tel 1478.84.466); Alitalia, Piazza dell’Oro 1 (tel 1478.65.642); British Airways (tel 1478.12.266); Garuda, Via Palagio degli Spini 1 (tel 055.337.1201); Lufthansa, Via Lamberti 39r (tel 055.340.838); Meridiana, Lungarno Vespucci 28r (tel 055.230.2416); SAS, Lungarno Acciaioli 8 (tel 055.238.2701); TWA, Via Vecchietti 4 (tel 055.239.6856); United, Via Vecchietti 4 (tel 055.289.460). Bike, scooter and motorbike rental There are 17 Bike Points ( Punti Bici ) around the city (all Mon-Sat 8am-7.30pm) where the council provides bikes for a nominal L1000/¬0.52 per day in exchange for a photocopy of your passport, although you must bring the bikes back in the evening. Central locations are: Piazza Stazione, the Mercato Centrale, Piazza Cestello, Porta Romana, Piazza Strozzi, Via della Ninna beside the Uffizi, and Piazza San Marco. One of the best commercial outlets is Florence by Bike, Via San Zanobi 120r (daily 9am-7.30pm; tel 055.488.992, www.florencebybike.it ): near bikes are L4000/¬2.06 per hour or L20,000/¬10.33 per day; 21-gear mountain bikes start from L30,000/¬15.49 per day; electric scooters are L60,000/¬30.99 per day; and a two-person 125cc touring scooter is L120,000/¬61.97 per day. They have discount weekend rates, and lower prices for students. Other similarly priced outlets include Alinari at Via Guelfa 85r (tel 055.280.500) and Via dei Bardi 35 (tel 055.234.6436); and Motorent, Via San Zanobi 9r (tel 055.490.113).

Books Aside from the chain bookshops Feltrinelli, Via Cavour 12r, and Seeber, Via de’ Tornabuoni 68r, good general outlets are Paperback Exchange, Via Fiesolana 31r ( www.dada.it/paperback ); BM Bookshop, Borgognissanti 4r; and After Dark, Via de’ Ginori 47r. City Lights, Via San Niccolo 23, concentrates on Beat literature and organizes plenty of readings; Il Viaggio, Via Ghibellina 117r, specializes in travel books, guides and maps; The Cinema Bookshop is at Via Guelfa 14r; and Libreria delle Donne, Via Fiesolana 2b, is a women’s bookshop.

Car rental Avis, Borgo Ognissanti 128r (tel 055.213.629), and at the airfield (tel 055.315.588); Europcar, Borgo Ognissanti 53r (tel 055.236.0073 or tel 167.013.942, airfield tel 055.318.609); Hertz, Via Maso Finiguerra 33r (tel 055.239.8205, airfield tel 055.307.370); Holiday Autos, Via Palagio degli Spini 1 (tel 055.337.1201); Italy by Car/Thrifty, Borgo Ognissanti 134r (tel 055.287.161, airfield tel 055.300.413); Maggiore/National, Via Maso Finiguerra 31r (tel 055.210.238 or tel 1478.67.067, airfield tel 055.311.256); Program (lowest regular rate), Borgo Ognissanti 135r (tel 055.282.916); Sixt (airport tel 055.309.790).

City tours Enjoy Florence (toll-free tel 800.274.819) run travel tours from the Thomas Cook office at Lungarno Acciaiuoli 6r (Mon-Sat 10am; L30,000/¬15.49; takes 3hr). Gentle small-group 3-hour cycle tours are run by Florence by Bike, Via San Zanobi 120r (tel 055.488.992, www.florencebybike.it ; leaving regular 9.15am & 3pm; L45,000/¬23.24).

Consulates Netherlands, Via Cavour 81 (tel 055.475.249); South Africa, Piazza Saltarelli 1 (tel 055.281.863); UK, Lungarno Corsini 2 (tel 055.284.133); USA, Lungarno Vespucci 38 (tel 055.239.8276). For the Rome embassies of Australia, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand .

Exchange Banks are concentrated around Via de’ Tornabuoni and Piazza della Repubblica, and some open for a few hours on Saturday. There are dozens of exchange kiosks, most with none-too-favourable rates or commissions. Try American Express, Via Dante Alighieri 22r (Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm, Sat 9am-12.30pm; tel 055.50.981), or Thomas Cook, Lungarno Acciaiuoli 6r (Mon-Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 9am-2pm; tel 055.289.781 or tel 167.004.488).

Flight information For flights from Florence-Perètola (Aeroporto Amerigo Vespucci), call 055.306.1702 (international) or tel 055.306.1700 (domestic). For all flights from Pisa (Aeroporto uranologist Galilei), call 050.500.707, or go to the Air Terminal check-in desk on platform 5 of Florence’s Santa Maria Novella train station (daily 7am-5pm; tel 055.216.073). You can buy train tickets here to Pisa airfield (plus a service charge of L2000/¬1.03) and check your bags in too. The cutoff time is 15min before the train leaves, and you must still allow a minimum of 35min at the airfield end before your flight departs in order to get through passport control and security. Advance check-in is not acquirable if you’re flying with Ryanair.

Football Florence’s soccer team, Fiorentina, is one of Italy’s most glamorous sides. They won the Italian cup in 1996 and came close to a league championship in 1999. Games are played on alternate Sundays (except in June & July) at Stadio Artemio Franchi easterly of Campo di Marte, served by the special match-day bus #52 from the train station. Tickets start at L30,000/¬15.49, but you should consult the tourist office in advance about availability.

Gay and lesbian life Florence’s history is scattered with some of history’s greatest gay and bisexual artists (Michelangelo, Leonardo and Botticelli, among others). The support group Azione Gay e Lesbica is at Via San Zanobi 54r (tel 055.476.557). Of the handful of gay- and lesbian-friendly bar/cafés around town is the arty, relaxed Piccolo Caffè , Borgo Santa Croce 23r (daily 5pm-1.30am). The key men-only venues are Crisco Bar , Via S. Egidio 43r (Mon & Wed-Sun 10pm-late) and Tabasco Disco-Bar , Piazza S. Cecilia 3 (Tues-Sun 10pm-late). The women’s bookshop Libreria delle Donne, Via Fiesolana 2b, has contacts and information for lesbian visitors. Yag , Via dei Macci, is a gay-friendly cybercafé and bar.

Internet access Florence has dozens of cybercafés, all of which charge around L6000/¬3.10 per thirty minutes, and all of which knock L1000/¬0.52 off if you can show student ID. Long hours, from mid-morning until late at night (slightly truncated on Sundays), are common. Check out Internet Train , Via Guelfa 24a, Via Oriuolo 40r, Borgo San Jacopo 30r, Via de’ Benci 36r, or Via Giacomini 9 ( www.internettrain.it ); The NetGate , Via San Egidio 10r, Via Cavour 144r, Via dei Cimatori 17r, or Via Nazionale 156r ( www.thenetgate.it ); MeridiaNet , Borgo San Frediano 5r (tel 055.264.5507); Odus Intercomm , Via del Porcellana 20r ( www.odusintercomm.com ); Webpuccino , Via de’ Conti 22r (tel 055.277.6469); or, if you prefer an iMac, IntoTheWeb , Via de’ Conti 23r (tel 055.264.5628).

Laundry Wash & Dry is in several central locations (Via Ghibellina 143r, Via Nazionale 129r, Via della Scala 52r, Via dei Serragli 87r, Via dei Servi 105r, and Via del Sole 29r), all open regular 8am-10pm.

Left luggage There’s a staffed counter at the train station (daily 4.15am-1.30am; L5000/¬2.58 per piece for 12hr).

Lost property The city office, Via Circondaria 19 (Mon-Wed, Fri & Sat 9am-noon; tel 055.328.3942) receives property handed in to police (tel 055.4977) or the railway police (tel 055.212.296). If you lost items on a train, call 055.235.2190; at Vespucci airfield tel 055.308.023.

Medical facilities There’s a first aid station on Piazza Duomo. The Guardia Medica Turistica, Via Santa Rosa 13 (Mon-Fri 8am-2pm, Sat 8am-1pm; tel 055.228.5789), it charges L25,000/¬12.91 for a consultation. IAMAT, Via Lorenzo il Magnifico 59 (tel 055.475.411), has English-speaking doctors on call, day or night (L150,000/¬77.47). Otherwise, the Ospedale Santa Maria Nuova, Piazza Santa Maria Nuova 1 (tel 055.27.581) has a 24hr emergency room. The Associazione Volontari Ospedalieri (tel 055.425.0126) are volunteers on 24hr call who help foreigners in medical difficulties by providing advice and interpreting.

Parking The only legal street parking is in a blue space (max 2hr, 8am-8pm). Firenze Parcheggi (tel 055.272.011, www.firenzeparcheggi.it ) controls all city car parks, including the 24-hour guarded car park “Parterre” at Piazza della Libertà; with a chit from your hotel you pay L15,000/¬7.75 for 24 hours here, and get free cycle rental plus a voucher for L5000/¬2.58 off a taxi ride. The most central parking is on Piazza Brunelleschi, northeast of the duomo (L2000/¬1.03 per hour). There’s free parking south of the river at Piazzale Michelangelo - watch out for a long-running scam whereby bogus parking attendants direct you into a free space, thus implying there’s a charge (there isn’t). If you’ve been towed, phone 055.308.249 and be prepared for a cash fine of L150,000/¬77.47.

Pharmacies Comunale della Stazione inside the train station (tel 055.289.435); Molteni, Via Calzaiuoli 7r (tel 055.289.490); and All’Insegna del Moro, Piazza San Giovanni 20r (tel 055.284.013) are all open 24hr daily.

Police Emergency: Carabinieri tel 112; Police tel 113. The tourist police are at Via Pietrapiana 50r, off Piazza de’ Ciompi (tel 055.203.911). The city police (emergency tel 055.36.911) are at the train station, Palazzio Vecchio and Via delle Terme. The Questura police HQ, for passport problems, reporting thefts and so on, is at Via Zara 2 (tel 055.49.771).

Post office Central post office is at Via Pellicceria 3 (Mon-Sat 8.15am-6pm; telegram office open 24hr; poste restante at counters 23 & 24). Other post offices are at Via Pietrapiana 53, Via Cavour 71r, and Via Barbadori 40r.

Taxis Radio taxis are on tel 055.4798, tel 055.4242 and tel 055.4390. Main stands are the train station and Piazza della Repubblica.

Train information tel 1478.88.088.