How we decide

We start with the same places on the same day and compare two ways of getting between them: the hop-on hop-off bus and public transport. Comfort counts, but we never call something a saving when it costs more.

How we decide

The five checks

  • Price vs public transport (0 to 3 points)

    • We divide the 24-hour adult bus ticket by what an adult pays for one day of unlimited public transport in the central zone.
    • Up to 2.5 times: 3 points.
    • Up to 4 times: 2 points.
    • Up to 6 times: 1 point.
    • Above that: none.

  • Stops near the sights (0 to 2 points)

    • We list the ten sights a first-time visitor most often wants and measure the walk from the nearest bus stop to each entrance.
    • Eight or more within 7 minutes: 2 points.
    • Six or seven: 1 point.

  • Waiting time (0 to 2 points)

    • We take the longest gap between buses on the main routes.
    • 15 minutes or less: 2 points.
    • Up to 25 minutes: 1 point.
    • If the operator publishes no frequency, the city gets none.

  • Shape of the city (0 to 2 points)

    • A bus helps more where the sights are far apart or uphill.
    • Hilly city, or 6 km or more between the farthest main sights: 2 points.
    • Between 4 and 6 km: 1 point.
    • A compact, flat centre gets none.

  • Loop time (0 or 1 point)

    • If the shortest full loop takes two hours or less, you can ride it once for orientation and still have the day: 1 point.

From points to verdict

  • Worth it

    7 to 10 points: worth it. The bus does a job public transport does not do as well here.

  • Depends on your trip

    4 to 6 points: depends on your trip. Each city page says who it suits and who it does not.

What the score leaves out

  • The quality of the commentary, how clean the buses are and how the staff treat you.
  • Those change from one day to the next and we cannot measure them from a timetable.
  • For that, the traveller ratings on the booking page are a better guide, and we show them next to each ticket link.

Where the data comes from

  • Routes, stops, frequency and operating hours: the operator's official website.
  • Public transport fares: the official website of the city's transport authority.
  • Ticket ratings and number of reviews: the Civitatis catalogue.
  • Walking times: distance from the stop to the sight entrance at 80 metres per minute.

Every city page shows the date we read the sources. When we could not confirm a figure on an official page, the page says which one.

Limits you should know about

  • We cover one operator per city, the one sold by our booking partner, so we do not answer "which company is best".
  • Prices are standard adult online fares; promotions and combined tickets can change the sum.
  • Timetables are seasonal.

About the ticket links

  • The score uses the same thresholds in every city.
  • When a city scores "skip it", the first thing we recommend is the cheaper alternative.

Sightseeing bus vs public transport, city by city

Adult prices in local currency. The ratio is the 24-hour bus ticket divided by one day of public transport.

CityOperatorBus 24 hTransport 1 dayRatioScoreVerdict
London Big Bus Tours £32 £8.90 3.6× 7/10 Worth it
Edinburgh Big Bus Tours £22 £5.70 3.9× 7/10 Worth it
Munich Gray Line Münchener Stadtrundfahrten €24.30 €10.10 2.4× 7/10 Worth it
Barcelona Barcelona Bus Turístic €29.70 €11.25 2.6× 6/10 Depends
New York Big Bus Tours US$62 US$18 3.4× 6/10 Depends
Berlin City Sightseeing Berlin (Berlin City Tour GmbH) €24.30 €11.20 2.2× 6/10 Depends
Athens Sights of Athens €20 (48 h) €4.10 4.9× 6/10 Depends
Florence City Sightseeing Firenze €23.20 €12 1.9× 6/10 Depends
Porto City Sightseeing Porto €28 €5.35 5.2× 6/10 Depends
Paris Big Bus Tours €39 €12.30 3.2× 5/10 Depends
Madrid Madrid City Tour €29.70 €10.30 2.9× 5/10 Depends
Lisbon Yellow Bus (Carristur) €22 €7.25 3× 5/10 Depends
Amsterdam City Sightseeing Amsterdam €27.50 €10 2.8× 5/10 Depends
Budapest Big Bus Tours €39 €7.45 5.2× 5/10 Depends
Dublin Big Bus Tours €31.50 €6 5.3× 5/10 Depends
Milan City Sightseeing Milano €22.50 €7.60 3× 5/10 Depends
Brussels Tootbus Brussels €24.75 €8.50 2.9× 5/10 Depends
Vienna Big Bus Tours €37 €9.70 3.8× 4/10 Depends
Rome City Sightseeing Roma €28.05 €8.50 3.3× 3/10 Skip it
Seville City Sightseeing Sevilla €28 €5 5.6× 3/10 Skip it