Travel, Culture, Food, Shopping

Hotels

Useful information can be found on the Monash Prato website.

The Prato tourism information service is also very helpful

Trains

Florence's Santa Maria Novella station is the main rail node from the rest of Italy and Europe. The Galilei from Paris and the Italia Express from Frankfurt stop at Santa Maria Novella. However, Il Pendalino, Italy's express "bullet" train, stops at the Firenze Rifredi station. You can take Eurostar (the faster ones) trains from Rome to Florence of course, and there are direct Eurostar trains from Prato Centrale to Rome (but not the other way around). Check the Trenitalia website.

Prato is on the Florence-Lucca-Viareggio and the Florence-Bologna lines, with more than 30 trains daily from Florence (about 30 min.).Trains are less frequent in the middle of the day. Have lunch. You can see an online timetable, though it is in Italian, but type in Firenze S.M. Novella (the main station) and Prato to see the times (in the drop-down box for Prato that will appear, choose P. Centrale or P. Serraglio).

IMPORTANT: At the Santa Maria Novella Florence railway station pay attention to the 'airport screen' in front of the platforms for trains (see the picture above: the screen is on the far left in the middle), which stop in Prato, though big timetable posters behind glass are at the start of each platform. However, these don't appear to always be accurate, especially in the middle of the day, so you may need to get an extra cup of coffee.... The two Prato stations appear in smaller fonts in the list of other trains (eg Via Reggio, Prato Centrale, Prato Al Serraglio Pistoia on the airport screen). Useful information in English about services at the station. Enjoy the 1930's architecture.

All trains on Florence-Lucca-Viareggio and the Florence-Bologna routes stop at Prato Centrale station, a 15-minute walk southeast from the Monash Center, but only some trains (again, check the information sign at Florence) stop at very convenient Prato Porta Serraglio station, outside the gate very close to the Duomo piazza, and Monash is just down via Garibaldia, left on Via Pugliesi. The chocolate shop just opp. the station is sensational. Trains run in both directions until about midnight. Don't try to buy a ticket in the main booking hall in Florence - get one from the newspaper & tobacco kiosk on the 'concourse', or from a ticket machine. Tickets are about 2.50eu. If you don't have a validated ticket (put it in one of the machines on the platform), you can get a hefty fine .

Maps

The animated maps on the Prato Centre website can show you exactly
how to walk out of the stations to the Centre. Also see the map below . The centre is next to the letter 'K'.

Other information

Buses also go to Prato from outside the Florence railway station, but it is a bit confusing trying to find the right stop, unless your Italian is good enough. CAP and LAZZI buses go there.

The taxi from the Stazione Centrale may take far longer to get to the Monash Centre than by foot, but on your first visit, you may get lost or tired carrying luggage!

There is a excellent Coop supermarket - with high tech personal price scanners that may defeat your tech. skills - not far from the Monash Centre on Via Tiziano, up from the corner with Via Archivesovo Martini (near the river), but local food is of course outstanding.

Trains also service Florence from Pisa Airport.

About Prato

A Brief Background

Prato is a small but thriving Tuscan city, with a beautiful historic
centre and a vibrant cultural and economic life. Famous since the
renaissance for its textile industry and still renowned for its
manufacture of fine Italian fabrics. The city has a population of some
180,000 inhabitants. A growing percentage of these are immigrants from
mainland China, the Indian sub-continent, north and west Africa and
elsewhere. The story of textiles in Prato is told in its textile museum.
The communal, provincial and regional governments, are progressive in
outlook and active in European community affairs. They have welcomed
the presence of an Australian academic institution, Monash University,
in the heart of their city. For further information about the city,
visit Prato's Civic Net site.