It depends: 6 out of 10. The 24 hour ticket is €23.20 online, less than twice the €12 that six single rides on Florence's buses and trams cost, and the loop takes about 60 minutes with a bus every 25 minutes.
The numbers behind the verdict
The weak point is the route.
The buses cannot enter the limited-traffic centre, so the Duomo is a 9 minute walk from the nearest stop and only six of our ten sights are within 7 minutes of one.
You want Piazzale Michelangelo without the climb. The Piazzale Michelangelo stop is 1 minute from the terrace.
You arrive at Santa Maria Novella station with half a day and want one 60 minute loop of the hills and the river before walking the centre.
Someone in your group cannot manage the walk of more than 2 km from the station to Piazzale Michelangelo, uphill at the end.
You are staying outside the centre near Porta Romana, Piazza Tasso or Piazza della Libertà, where the bus stops at your door.
Skip it if
Your list is the Duomo, the Uffizi and the Accademia. They are 9, 6 and 9 minutes from the nearest stops, and the Duomo is about 9 minutes on foot from each of the other two.
You wanted the ride to Fiesole. Line B is suspended and AT bus 7 does the trip for €2.
Piazzale Michelangelo at sunset is the plan in summer. The last bus leaves Largo Alinari at 17:45 and service ends at 19:00.
You only want one viewpoint. AT buses 12 and 13 go to Piazzale Michelangelo for €2 each way.
Florence sightseeing bus: the fact sheet
Routes and timetable
Route
Stops
Frequency
Full loop
First / last bus
Line A
13
25 min
60 min
09:00 / 17:45
Line A
The only line running: 13 stops in a loop of about 60 minutes around the ring of avenues, across the Arno and up to Piazzale Michelangelo and Piazzale Galileo.
A bus leaves Largo Alinari, opposite Santa Maria Novella station, every 25 minutes from 09:00 to 17:45, and service ends at 19:00.
The timetable is the operator's current one, marked as daily with no end date.
Line B to Fiesole (12 stops, about 120 minutes, hourly) is included in the ticket but the operator lists it as suspended, with no return date given on 5 October 2026.
Audio guide in 8 languages. Wheelchair access: yes, according to the operator.
Ticket prices
Ticket
Adult
Child
24 hours24h Ticket
€23.20
€12
48 hours48h Ticket
€28
€13.60
72 hours72h Ticket
€31.20
€14.40
The plain ticket covers Line A for 24, 48 or 72 hours from first use.
Online prices checked on 5 October 2026 are €23.20, €28 and €31.20 for adults.
The operator's list prices are €29, €35 and €39.
Children aged 5 to 15 pay €12, €13.60 or €14.40 online, and under 5s ride free.
The ticket includes recorded commentary in 8 languages, on-board wifi and the operator's phone app with live bus positions.
Keeping the ticket gives 10% off the next City Sightseeing tour in another city.
Child fare: ages 5 to 15.
The same day by public transport
Autolinee Toscane
Adult
Single ride
€2
One day, unlimited rides
€12
Autolinee Toscane sells no day pass in Florence, so the day cost is six single rides at €2 each, €12.
The single ticket has cost €2 since 1 August 2026 and is valid for 90 minutes on buses and trams, changes included.
Tapping a bank card on board costs the same €2.
A carnet of 10 rides is €18.20, which brings one ride down to €1.82.
One child under 11 travels free with each paying adult.
A second child under 11 with the same adult pays the full €2.
Do the sum for your trip
Change the numbers to match your group. Fares are adult fares from the tables above.
Sightseeing bus–
Public transport–
Public transport is charged per ride up to the daily maximum. Multi-day passes can be cheaper still.
24, 48 or 72 hours
24 hours€23.20 24h Ticket · €23.20 per day · 1.9 times public transport for the same days
48 hours€28 48h Ticket · €14 per day · 1.2 times public transport for the same days
72 hoursLowest cost per day€31.20 72h Ticket · €10.40 per day · 0.9 times public transport for the same days
Public transport does the hill part of this route for a fraction of the price. AT buses 12 and 13 run from Santa Maria Novella station to Piazzale Michelangelo in opposite directions around the same avenues, and a ride is €2.
Six rides in a day cost €12, and most visitors need two. Bus 7 goes from Piazza San Marco to Fiesole for the same €2.
Inside the centre there is nothing to ride: the main sights sit within 1.8 km of each other. What you give up is the open top deck and the commentary in 8 languages.
Does it suit your trip?
With children
The bus is cheap for families by sightseeing-bus standards. A child ticket for ages 5 to 15 is €12 for 24 hours online and under 5s ride free.
Two adults and two children pay €70.40 for 24 hours. On AT buses and trams one child under 11 travels free with each paying adult, so the same family pays €4 a ride if both children are under 11.
The 60 minute loop is short enough for small children to sit through once. The 25 minute gap between buses is the hard part, so check the live bus positions in the operator's phone app before leaving a museum.
The top deck is open and the lower deck is enclosed. The operator does not state whether a cover goes over the top deck in bad weather, so plan on sitting downstairs if it rains.
From the lower deck the hill views that justify the ticket are mostly lost. A 24 hour ticket started after lunch is still valid the next morning, which helps if the afternoon turns wet.
On a rainy day the Uffizi and the Accademia are a better use of the money, and both are a short walk from each other.
Ride early or late in summer. The top deck has no shade and the loop takes about 60 minutes.
Buses leave Largo Alinari every 25 minutes from 09:00, and the first two departures are the coolest of the day. The last bus leaves at 17:45, well before a summer sunset, so the bus cannot take you up to Piazzale Michelangelo for the evening light.
Take water on board. Stops such as Piazzale Galileo and Viale Machiavelli have little around them if you get off by mistake.
If you cannot walk far
Wheelchair users can ride, with limits. The operator's policy allows a wheelchair only on buses fitted with a ramp and a dedicated space, and each bus is approved for one wheelchair.
The passenger must use the on-board belt and lock the chair's brakes. A passenger with a certified disability of 75% or more rides free when travelling with a paying companion.
The top deck is reached by stairs. For people who can walk a little, note the distances: the nearest stop to the Duomo is 9 minutes away and Palazzo Pitti is 13 minutes from a stop.
Walk the centre and take one city bus for the view. Santa Maria Novella to the Duomo is 9 minutes on foot, the Duomo to Piazza della Signoria and the Uffizi another 6, and Ponte Vecchio is 3 minutes beyond that.
For Piazzale Michelangelo take AT bus 12 or 13 from the station for €2, or climb the ramps from the Torre San Niccolò in about 10 minutes. For Fiesole take bus 7 from Piazza San Marco.
A guided walking tour of the centre covers ground the sightseeing bus is not allowed to enter.
Board at Largo Alinari, opposite Santa Maria Novella station. The timetable is built around departures from there: 09:00 to 17:45, every 25 minutes.
The operator's own stop numbers start the loop at Piazzale Galileo, not at Largo Alinari, so they do not match the order on this page. Go by the stop names.
For the Uffizi, Palazzo Vecchio and Santa Croce use the Santa Croce stop at Corso dei Tintori 40. It is the nearest stop to all three, 4 to 6 minutes on foot.
Line B to Fiesole is suspended. Do not buy a longer ticket on the strength of the route map, which still shows it.
From Piazzale Galileo the first bus is at 09:42 and the last at 18:27.
Single-use headphones are handed out on board for the commentary in 8 languages. Bring your own pair if you have one.
Florence hop-on hop-off bus: quick answers
How much is the hop-on hop-off bus in Florence?
City Sightseeing Firenze charges €23.20 online for an adult 24 hour ticket and €12 for a child aged 5 to 15 (checked on 5 October 2026). The 48 hour ticket is €28 and the 72 hour ticket €31.20. List prices are €29, €35 and €39.
How long does the loop take?
Line A takes about 60 minutes without getting off and has 13 stops. Line B to Fiesole, about 120 minutes, is currently suspended.
How often do the buses run?
Every 25 minutes on Line A. The first bus leaves Largo Alinari at 09:00 and the last at 17:45, with service ending at 19:00.
Does the bus stop at the Duomo?
No. The historic centre is a limited-traffic zone and the buses stay outside it. The nearest stop is Largo Alinari by Santa Maria Novella station, a 9 minute walk from the Duomo.
Does the bus go to Piazzale Michelangelo?
Yes. Piazzale Michelangelo is a stop on Line A, 1 minute from the terrace. AT city buses 12 and 13 also go there for €2.
Is the sightseeing bus cheaper than public transport?
No. A single ride on AT buses and trams is €2 and there is no day pass, so six rides cost €12. The €23.20 sightseeing ticket is just under twice that.
City Sightseeing Firenze · FlorenceOn Civitatis · rated 7.8/10 by 533 travellers
