ZTL Pisa: there is a free way in, and almost nobody uses it

We do not publish hours for Pisa, and that is deliberate: the times are set by council ordinance and PisaMo, the council's mobility company, does not publish a single timetable on its ZTL index page. Rather than invent a figure, the honest answer is to use one of the access routes below, or check with PisaMo directly. If you need certainty for a specific day, ask us and we will confirm it with the council.

Two sectors: Centro Storico NORD and Centro Storico SUD. Inside them sit further pedestrian areas (APU) with stricter rules again. Electronic gates read plates at the entrance to each sector, and a permit is tied to the sector it was issued for.

Yes, and it is the best-kept secret in Pisa: vehicles heading to a GARAGE or a commercial car park inside the zone are admitted FREE OF CHARGE. If you book parking in advance, the ZTL question resolves itself at no cost. Ask your accommodation whether they have an arrangement with a garage inside the walls.

EUR 20 for 6 hours, EUR 28 for 12 hours, EUR 40 for 24 hours. These are available to anyone — you do not need to belong to a category — and are arranged through PisaMo or by the property on your behalf.

No. Pisa charges non-residents EUR 101 a year for an electric-vehicle ZTL permit. There is no automatic exemption, which surprises people who have read that electric cars enter Italian restricted zones freely — true in some cities, not here.

Yes. Motorcycles, mopeds, quadricycles and bicycles may enter, circulate and also PARK in the bays reserved for them. This is one of the more generous two-wheeler regimes in Italy.

Pisa allows temporary access for badge holders from elsewhere by telephoning the plate through to a freephone line, open every day 09:00–18:00, up to 24 working hours before or after the journey. Two things to note: Italian freephone numbers do not work from abroad, so this must be done once you are in Italy or by your accommodation on your behalf. And remember that the camera reads the plate, not the badge on your dashboard — without the registration you are fined regardless.

Usually not. The airport is minutes from the centre and the Pisa Mover shuttle links it to Pisa Centrale station, and for a short visit to the Leaning Tower, leaving the car outside and walking in avoids the whole question. Pisa is a small city and the Field of Miracles is a comfortable walk from the station.

By midnight of the following day — and if that falls on a Saturday or the eve of a public holiday, by midnight of the next working day. Better still, the access is treated as authorised for the 120 MINUTES BEFORE you reached the garage, so arriving first and letting the garage sort it out afterwards is exactly how the system is designed to work. A garage can even white-list a car it had to turn away for lack of space.

Not always, and this is worth asking about. A hotel inside the zone must declare its NUMBER OF ROOMS when it applies for portal access, and the council decides from that how many plates it may enter per day. So the quota is capped by the size of the property. Ask when you book whether they can register you and whether there is space on your arrival date.

Telephone the freephone line 800 086 540, open every day from 09:00 to 18:00, up to 24 WORKING HOURS BEFORE OR AFTER the journey — so an entry can also be regularised afterwards. Have six things ready: the badge holder's name, the companion's name, the municipality of residence, the dates of access, the number plate, and the badge number with its date of issue. Italian freephone numbers do not work from abroad, so this must be done once you are in Italy or by your accommodation.

Almost certainly not. It costs €101 for a non-resident, covers one plate, and expires on 31 December regardless of when you buy it. For a few days in Pisa, a garage (free) or a temporary permit (€20 to €40) costs far less.

Yes, by one of three routes, and the first costs nothing: drive to a garage or commercial car park inside the zone and you are admitted free, with the garage registering your plate afterwards. Otherwise a hotel can enter your plate within its daily quota, or you can buy a temporary permit at €20 for six hours, €28 for twelve, €40 for a full day.

The camera reads the plate and a fine follows. But if you were heading to a garage inside the zone, the garage can still register you by midnight of the following day — and the access counts as authorised for the 120 minutes before you arrived. That two-hour window is the most forgiving rule in the city.

Yes, and there is a free way to do it that almost nobody uses: vehicles heading to a garage or commercial car park inside the zone are admitted FREE OF CHARGE. The garage registers your plate by midnight of the following day, and the access counts as authorised for the 120 minutes before you arrived. Otherwise a temporary permit costs €20 for six hours, €28 for twelve, €40 for a day.

No, and this surprises people who have read that electric cars enter Italian restricted zones freely. A non-resident pays €101 a year for the whole zone, one plate per permit, and the permit expires on 31 December whatever month you buy it. For a few days in Pisa, a garage (free) or a temporary permit costs far less.

We do not publish them, and that is deliberate: the council does not publish a single set of hours for visitors, and we do not invent figures. For a visitor it matters less than it sounds, because the ways in — a garage or a temporary permit — do not depend on the clock. If you need certainty for a specific street and day, ask and we will confirm it with the council.