Florence: Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour: 24, 48 or 72-Hour Ticket

Florence’s best feature on this tour is the ride up to Piazzale Michelangelo, where the city opens below you in one grand view. Line B continues to Fiesole, an old hillside town with broad views over Florence. That gives you more than a loop around the center. You get a taste of the city, its hills, and the Arno without spending the day climbing streets.

I like the open-top views, especially along the river and through the green hills near Porta Romana. I also like the freedom to use the bus as both a sightseeing ride and a practical way to reach places that sit beyond the compact historic center. The main drawback is timing: buses can be 40 minutes apart on weekends, up to 75 minutes apart on weekdays for Line A, and every 120 minutes on Line B.

Key points to know before you board

• Two very different routes: Line A covers central Florence in about one hour, while Line B reaches Fiesole and takes about two hours.
• Best panorama: Get off at Piazzale Michelangelo for one of Florence’s finest city views.
• Useful for less walking: The bus reaches hillside viewpoints and outer neighborhoods that can be tiring to reach on foot.
• Audio in eight languages: Choose English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, or Portuguese.
• The app helps: The free Sightseeing Experience app provides route information and real-time bus location.
• Plan around the timetable: Line B is much less frequent, and it is suspended Monday through Friday from November 3, 2025, to March 31, 2026, apart from limited daily service from December 20 to January 6.

What this Florence bus tour is really good at

This is not a substitute for walking through Florence’s historic center. The Duomo, Uffizi Gallery, Ponte Vecchio, and Piazza della Signoria are best explored on foot, and attraction tickets are not included. The bus works best as a broad introduction, a rest break, or a way to connect central Florence with its higher viewpoints.

For about $24, the 24-hour ticket can make sense if you use it for more than one loop. The 48-hour and 72-hour tickets are better for a slower visit, particularly if you want to get off at Piazzale Michelangelo, spend time in Fiesole, and use the bus again later. Your value depends less on the number of days than on how often you actually ride.

I would use the first circuit to get oriented. Watch the streets, note the stops, and mark the places you want to revisit on foot. Then use the bus as a moving city view rather than sitting through every full loop.

Line A: a one-hour circuit through Florence

Line A is the more central route. The complete ride takes about one hour, although traffic and time spent boarding can affect the schedule. It is the line to choose when you want a quick overview of Florence or a simple ride between several outer points.

The route includes Santa Maria Novella Train Station at Largo Alinari, a useful starting point if you arrive by rail. Assistance is available at the provider’s visitor center in the ticketing area of the station, which makes this a practical place to sort out your ticket and route.

From there, the bus travels toward Piazza Indipendenza and the Libertà area. These stops are handy for seeing how Florence extends beyond the most famous monuments. You will not step directly into every major sight from the bus, but you get a sense of the city’s shape and its less-touristed streets.

Line A continues to Santa Croce and Lungarno Serristori. Santa Croce is one of Florence’s key historic areas, while the lungarno roads follow the Arno and offer open views that are hard to get from a narrow pedestrian street. The river sections are particularly pleasant from the upper deck when the weather is clear.

The route then reaches Piazza Ferrucci and Piazzale Michelangelo. This is the stop I would prioritize. The square is famous for its wide view across Florence, including the city center and the surrounding hills. You can get off, take photographs, and enjoy the view without having to make the uphill walk from the river.

Line A also serves Galileo, Viale Machiavelli near Villa Cora, Porta Romana, Piazza Tasso, Leopolda and Parco della Musica, and Piazza Indipendenza. Porta Romana and Viale Machiavelli give you a look at the southern side of Florence and the roads near the Boboli Gardens. One useful detail from the timetable is that the bus lets you pass by the Gardens of Boboli without having to walk through the heat, though admission to the gardens is not included.

The route is a good choice for a first afternoon. It lets you see the river, the station area, the southern neighborhoods, and the famous viewpoint in one ride. Just keep your expectations realistic: this is a city overview, not a stop at every major monument.

Line B: Florence views and the hill town of Fiesole

Line B is the more scenic route and the one that gives this ticket its strongest reason to exist. The complete ride takes about two hours and includes Piazzale Michelangelo, the Arno, the eastern side of Florence, and Fiesole.

It begins at Galileo and reaches Piazzale Michelangelo early in the route. If you are starting from the city center, check the map carefully before boarding, since the route numbering and colors can be easy to confuse. The free app is useful here, especially because it can show the bus position.

After the viewpoint, Line B continues through Lungarno Serristori and the Grazie stop. It then heads toward Lungo l’Affrico, the Museo del Calcio, San Domenico, and Fiesole. Some of these sections overlap with parts of Line A, so do not expect two completely separate tours. The benefit is the change in scenery as the route climbs away from the center.

Fiesole is the standout stop. It is a famous Etruscan hillside town above Florence, with broad views back toward the city. If you get off here, allow enough time for the next bus. Line B runs every 120 minutes under the listed schedule, so missing one can create a long wait.

A useful plan is to get off at Fiesole, visit the monastery area, and stop at a local bar for the view. The information provided for the experience specifically points to the monastery and local bars as good places to pause. This is where the ticket becomes more than a sightseeing loop. You are reaching a hillside destination that would otherwise require another form of transport or a long uphill journey.

The route returns through San Domenico and later reaches Viale Fratelli Rosselli near Porta al Prato, Viale Vasco Pratolini, and Piazzale di Porta Romana. It is a long circuit, so Line B works best when you treat it as a half-day outing rather than a quick transfer.

Piazzale Michelangelo and Fiesole are the main reasons to ride

Florence’s historic center is compact, but its best overall views are outside the tight cluster of monuments. That is why the two hill stops matter so much.

Piazzale Michelangelo gives you the classic city panorama. It is a simple stop, but a valuable one if you have limited time or cannot manage a steep walk. One rider specifically found the bus useful because reaching the viewpoint on foot was not practical. The bus lets you enjoy the view without turning the day into a physical test.

Fiesole offers a different experience. It sits above Florence and has an older, quieter feel than the center. The route information identifies it as a famous Etruscan hillside city, and the stop gives you a chance to spend time in the area rather than only seeing it through a bus window.

I would not try to fit Fiesole into a rushed itinerary. Check the return time before you get off, especially because Line B may operate only twice an hour or less depending on the season. The best use of a 48-hour or 72-hour ticket is to give yourself room for this sort of stop.

Audio commentary, Wi-Fi, and the mobile app

The multilingual audio commentary is included in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Portuguese. It adds useful context as you pass the city, and several parts of the route become more meaningful when you know what you are looking at.

The commentary is not perfectly consistent. Some riders found that the audio did not always match the view outside, while others felt it went quiet after a short opening section. You should treat it as a helpful extra, not as a precise guided tour with a constant explanation at every corner.

The app is more practical than the commentary. The free Sightseeing Experience app can help you find stops and check the bus location in real time. That matters because some stops are not clearly marked, and it is possible to wait on the wrong side of the road. Use the map before you leave your hotel or station, not only after you have already missed the bus.

Free Wi-Fi is available on the bus. Headphone sockets are provided, though a few may not work on a particular bus. Bring your attention to the route map as well as the audio, especially if you have a specific stop in mind.

Timetables and the problem of waiting

The bus is most useful when you plan around its frequency. The published winter timetable from November 3, 2025, to March 27, 2026, lists Line A’s first departure from Stop 6 at 9:20 a.m. and its last departure at 4:40 p.m. Frequency is 40 minutes on weekends and 75 minutes on weekdays.

Line B is more limited. Its first departure from Stop 1 is listed at 11:15 a.m., with the last at 3:15 p.m., and buses every 120 minutes. From November 3, 2025, to March 31, 2026, Line B is suspended Monday through Friday, except for limited daily service from December 20 through January 6.

These seasonal changes are important. A 72-hour ticket does not help much if the route you want is not operating during your visit. Check the current timetable before booking, and do not assume Line B runs as often as Line A.

In warmer months, the longer daylight and more frequent service make it easier to combine both routes. In poor weather, the open upper deck loses some appeal. Rain can make viewing difficult, and winter departures finish earlier.

Comfort, accessibility, and getting around

The buses are wheelchair accessible, and children under five can participate free of charge. This makes the tour useful for families with young children and for anyone who finds Florence’s uneven streets and long walks difficult.

The bus also gives you a cool break during a busy day. You can sit back, listen to the commentary, and let the driver handle the route while you move between areas. That is a real benefit in summer, when the city center can feel tiring after several hours on foot.

The upper deck offers the best photographs, but it also exposes you to sun, wind, and rain. The lower deck is less scenic but more comfortable when the weather turns. Buses can fill quickly, so you may not always get your preferred seat, particularly at popular stops.

Use the bus as a supplement to walking, not as your only way around town. Florence’s central pedestrian areas are better experienced at street level, and the bus cannot take you inside museums or monuments.

How to spend 24, 48, or 72 hours

A 24-hour ticket suits a short stay. Start with Line A to understand the city, get off at Piazzale Michelangelo, then use the route to reach another part of Florence. If Line B is running at a useful time, reserve part of the day for Fiesole.

A 48-hour ticket gives you more breathing room. Use one day for Line A and the central viewpoints, then use the second day for Line B and Fiesole. You can also repeat a section at a different time of day, when the light changes over the Arno and the city.

A 72-hour ticket suits a slower visit, families, and anyone who wants a simple transport option between sightseeing stops. It is harder to justify if you plan to walk everywhere and only want one scenic loop.

The best value comes from combining rides with stops. If you sit through one full circuit and never board again, the ticket is mainly a sightseeing ride. If you use it to reach Piazzale Michelangelo, Fiesole, Porta Romana, Santa Croce, and the station area, it becomes a useful part of your transport plan.

Should you book this Florence hop-on-hop-off tour?

Book it if you want a relaxed first look at Florence, need help reaching the hills, or prefer not to walk long distances. It is especially useful for families, older visitors, people with limited mobility, and anyone arriving by train who wants to get oriented before tackling the city on foot.

Book it for the views rather than expecting a detailed monument tour. The commentary can be uneven, the two routes overlap in places, and Line B requires careful timing. But the ride to Piazzale Michelangelo and Fiesole gives the ticket a clear purpose, particularly when the 24-hour price is around $24.

I would choose the 48-hour option for a first visit if the schedule fits your dates. It gives you time to ride both lines, stop at the viewpoints, and still explore Florence’s center on foot.

FAQ

How long is the Florence hop-on-hop-off ticket valid?

You can choose a 24-hour, 48-hour, or 72-hour ticket.

How long does Line A take?

The complete Line A route takes approximately one hour.

How long does Line B take?

The complete Line B route takes approximately two hours.

Does the bus go to Fiesole?

Yes. Line B includes stops at San Domenico and Fiesole.

Does the bus stop at Piazzale Michelangelo?

Yes. Both Line A and Line B include Piazzale Michelangelo.

Is audio commentary included?

Yes. Multilingual audio commentary is included in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Portuguese.

Is Wi-Fi available on the bus?

Yes. Free Wi-Fi is included on the bus.

Is there a mobile app?

Yes. The free Sightseeing Experience app provides route information and real-time bus location.

Are attraction tickets included?

No. Tickets for attractions are not included.

Is the bus wheelchair accessible?

Yes. The buses are wheelchair accessible. Children under five can participate free of charge.