Florence buses

Using the public bus system in Florence

Bus info:
tel. +39-055-565-0222; in Italy toll-free 800-424-500
www.ataf.net

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You'll rarely need to use Florence's efficient bus system since the city is so wonderfully compact. Many visitors accustomed to big cities like Rome step off their arriving train and onto a city bus out of habit, aiming to reach the center. Problem is, unlike in most other major European cities, the Florence train station is already in the historic center; ride more than ten minutes on the bus and you'll find yourself out in the suburbs.

Seriously. The cathedral is a mere five– to seven-minute walk from the train station. In fact, it only takes about a half an hour's stroll to traverse the city from one end to the other.

Outlying sights and the buses you need to get to them
• Fiesole (bus no. 7)
• Piazzale Michelangiolo (bus no. 12 or no. 13)
• San Miniato al Monte (bus no. 12 or no. 13)However, to get your bags from the station to your hotel, or to visit the most outlying attractions (see sidebar), the bus system might prove useful.

The Florence bus system

Almost all buses begin, end, or stop at Piazza Stazione, in front of the main train station, Santa Maria Novella. many also pass through Piazza San Marco (near the Accademia and its David). Except for the minibuses (see below), the historic center itself is not very well serviced—though line 23 is useful (see sidebar below).

You can see maps of the lines at the ATAF bus service website (www.ataf.net), though it is buggy and poorly laid out, so good luck. Also, those maps divide up the city a bit too finely—putting the peripheral sights of the greater historic center onto map sectors that lie beyond the edges of their own "historic center" map.

Line 23 - The Useful One
Perhaps the most useful of the main bus lines in central Florence is the no. 23. It departs from Piazza Stazione, loops right around the Duomo, then heads down Via del Proconsolo—past the Bargello and the back sides of the Palazzo Vecchio and Uffizi—turns up the Arno River, then up Via de' Benci in front of Piazza Santa Croce, left up Via S. Egidio crossing Via Ricasoli (two blocks south of the Accademia), then down Via de' Martelli—the southernmost block of Via Cavour—and past the Duomo and Baptistery again en route to the train station.Practially speaking, this means you really need to look at nine different maps to get the full picture. I say nuts to that, and have created my own version that includes all those peripheral sights so you can download this shortcut bus map of the historic center as a single image.

Just remember: On most lines, after three or four stops, you're already out of Florence on your way to the hills. The exception are the four minibuses:

The minibuses of Florence's historic center

There are four lines of minibuses that trundle around the historic center. Again, this area is so small most visitors will have no trouble walking from place to place. Also, it must be said that the buses don't follow the most logical routes for tourists, just ones that manage to work around the pedestrian zones and Byzantine system of one-way streets (in other words; they tend to go the long way around to get to the major sights).

However, for the mobility impaired, these minibuses have been a welcome relief. In brief, they are:

The tram cometh
Florence is busily building tram lines. Most will serve the suburbs, but Tramvia Line 2 will kiss the historic center. It will start at the airport before trundling along to Santa Maria Novella train station, past the Duomo, then up Via Cavour past San Marco to Piazzale Libertà before doubling back down to San Marco. More info: www.comune.fi.itLine A: Leaves from in front of the train station and tours the neighborhood around Santa Maria Novella before making an east-west route through the central part of the centro storico: Duomo, Piazza della Repubblica, Orsanmichele, Bargello, nearish Santa Croce, nearish Piazza della Signoria (which also means nearish the Uffizi and Palazzo Vecchio).
Line B: Makes an east-west loop through the southern part of the centro storico, much of it along the river, stopping near: Santa Trìnita, Ponte Vecchio, the Uffizi, nearish Santa Croce, and the Palazzo Vecchio and Piazza della Signoria.
Line C: Spends most of its time over on the eastern, Santa Croce side of town (convenient to Santa Croce and the Casa Buonarotti, also SS. Annunziata and San Marco), though its other terminus is just across the river two blocks east of the Ponte Vecchio.
Line D: This is the Oltrarno line, serving the south side of the river and passing by such attractions as the Pitti Palace, Santo Spirito, and Santa Maria della Carmine.

Bus tickets in Florence

Useful Italian for bus travel
ticket - biglietto
city bus - autobus
bus stop - fermata
excuse me (in a crowd) - permesso
I'm getting off! - scendo!

A regular bus ticket in Florence costs €1.20 and is valid for 70 minutes once you validate it. You validate it by stamping one end in the machine on the first bus you board. You are allowed unlimited transfers within the 70 minutes, but must stamp the other end of the ticket when you board the final bus.

There's little point in buying the €5, 24-hour ticket or €12 three-day ticket.

Where to buy bus tickets in Florence

You can buy bus tickets at most newsstands and tabacchi (tobacconists)—which means any shop (often including bars and cafes) marked by a sign with a white "T" on a brown background.

There are also ticket machines placed near 500 parking kiosk/meters around Florence. These tickets are validated the moment you buy them (no need to stamp on the bus), and remain valid for 80 minutes from the time you purchase them.

If you wait to buy a ticket on board the bus (there's a machine on board), it costs €2.

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This material was last updated January 2011. All information was accurate at the time.

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