Public transportation in Florence is widely used so it makes perfect sense to make use of it while visiting the city. If you're staying in the historical center, you might actually NOT need to ride the bus at all - but if you arrive at the airport, the easiest way to get downtown to the center of Florence is the T2 tram line, so you do have to understand how both trams and buses work in general, especially because they are interlinked. Don't worry, it is easy! Understanding makes it easier to avoid the main problem of using buses and trams here: the risk of incurring fines!
First off, here in Italy you don't usually pay as you get on the bus or tram. You need to buy a ticket ahead of time BEFORE you ever get on the bus. That "blank" ticket is good until you actually "use" it, by printing a date and time on it when you get on the bus. Easy, right? When you get on the bus or tram, you use or "validate" it by putting it into one of the yellow machines found near the entrance (but not exactly at the entrance) and the machine PRINTS the date and time on your ticket essentially setting off the timer on the validity of your ticket. This is the system for buses, trams and many regional train tickets as well.
Since this system depends on a sort of "honor" system and it continually is abused, and the company's solution is to send ticket controllers to get on buses and trams and check everyone for tickets. This means that these controllers can be pressing and quite unpleasant at times, telling you that you have to pay any fine on the spot if your ticket doesn't check out. But if you pay the fine, you cannot contest it after that! So, if for some reason, you know you shouldn't have to pay the fine, refuse to pay it immediately, telling them you will pay it later.
One system for buses across Tuscany
First, let's cover the bus system. This used to be a headache as each province across Tuscany had a different bus company, with schedules that didn't match if they crossed provicial lines and each had their own tickets. Finally, in November 2021, the bus service in Florence (called ATAF) and across all other provinces in Tuscany became one company, the Autolinee Toscane, a new company formed to offer bus service throughout all of Tuscany, including all of its major cities, within the cities and between them.
That means that finally tickets are the same across all of Tuscany with just two distinctions: urban (or city) fares which are set at either €1,70 or €1,50 and "non-urban" fares, where cost depends on distance traveled. Within the urban fares, the two types of tickets with two fares mentioned just now are: "capoluogo" and "maggiore". Florence, as well as Lucca, Pisa, Siena, Arezzo and the other capital cities in each province are called "urbano capoluogo" and their ticket costs €0,20 more than the ticket in other towns across Tuscany (those are called "urbano maggiore"). So, for Florence, tickets cost €1,70 at the time of this writing.
Where can you buy tickets? You can purchase paper tickets from official ticket offices, machines and any authorized retailers that display the Autolinee Toscane (AT) sticker as well as digital tickets through the official AT Bus app, from the driver directly on the bus (not recommended as it costs more and sometimes they don't have any) and now contactless on buses that have the "TAP" machines, which makes it possible to use a credit card or your phone or smartwatch: you just tap the machine when you get on! This is the simplest but also only allows one ticket to be purchased with a card. So if you're traveling with more than one person, the new Blink system will let you buying tickets by email ahead of time and should be easier.
The bus network takes you pretty much everywhere in Florence
It is likely you stay very centrally in Florence and never need to take a single bus in Florence, but know that the network is very wide and crosses the city - including the center with 4 smaller buses - and takes you from one side to the other. The tram system in Florence is relatively new and is useful to get to and from the airport and downtown, but it's more likely for now that if you need to move further out of the center, you'll need to take a bus. There aren't printed bus maps easily available anymore: everything is online. Check the official bus website AT Bus (who finally created their English version!) and use their travel planner to plan your movements. This is easier ahead of arriving in Florence. If you're already here, it is easier to download the AT Bus app on your phone and use it while you're already here since it can geolocate your position and tell you nearest bus stops and bus numbers to take.
Tickets for buses and trams in Florence can be used on both!
So we covered cost and where/how to buy, let's cover a few more details as regards the interlinking of buses and trams. While city buses are run by Autolinee Toscane and the tram system is managed by GEST, bus tickets can be used on the tram and tram tickets on the buses! They are similar looking but aren't the same.
The basic ticket is a single use ticket that is valid for 90 minutes from the time you get it stamped, but know that you can also buy a set of 10 tickets called a "carnet" (saves you €0,15 on each ticket) and these can be bought in paper form as well as digital. can be purchased from authorized sales points such as coffee "bar" shops and from the bus ticket booth within the SMN train station.
Tram tickets can be bought at every single stop of the tram stop as there are automatic machines at every stop and you can pay cash but with a card it is much easier. Please make a mental note that these also need to be validated: even if you buy it right before you get on the tram at a tram stop, you still have to "validate" the ticket once you get on!
Since both tickets can be used interchangeably on trams and buses, you can start your journey on a bus and change over to the tram with the same ticket while your 90 minutes are still going or vice-versa.
Fines are a major headache, please try to avoid them
So now that you know that you have to buy tickets ahead of time and "validate" them when you intend to use them, please do it! After you get on, the "ticket validating" machine is near the entrance or right around to the left as you start to walk down the bus. No one checks that you do this nor reminds you to do it, and if you forget, it is on you. Controllers get on the buses and trams throughout the day and request to see your validated ticket. If you're caught without one, you are fined, no "buts" about it! Fines start at 40 euros if paid on the spot, then goes up if you choose to pay within 30 days.
There are two doors on the newer city buses, while older ones had three doors (there are still a few out there). You generally get on the bus using the front doors and get off from the back or middle door. If you still find a 3-door bus in use, you can get on from the front or last door, then use the middle door solely to get off.
You can get on and off onto a different bus or tram with the same ticket, as long as your 90 minutes are still active. If you haven't reached your destination within the time on your ticket, you actually would NEED to activate another ticket. For most trips across Florence, the 90 minutes is sufficient to get some place, but plan to have a second ticket for your return trip. A popular destination to reach by bus? Take bus 7 from outside the SMN train station or Piazza San Marco to Fiesole, a hilltop town that is older than Florence and has a great Etruscan and Roman archeological site, as well as views of Florence. You definitely need two tickets to get there!
PLEASE CHECK THAT THE MACHINE PRINTS OUT THE TIME AND DATE after you validate it! The machines can run out of ink and you hear the printing sound but then no date or time are actually printed. If that is the case, tell the bus driver about the machine not working and check if there is another machine toward the end of the bus, most buses do have two ticket machines and get it validated. The trams have similar machines near the doors, so there are multiple machines. Move on to a different machine and get the ticket stamped. On the bus, if there isn't another machine, stay near the bus driver. If controllers get on the bus, the bus driver usually will tell them about it. Otherwise, a ticket with no date or time on it will GET YOU FINED!! Again, they will assume you are trying to cheat the system, fine you and ask you to pay on the spot. In this particular case, make sure to tell them the machine was not working BEFORE they fine you. They will ask for your ID to write out the fine, do not provide it if you feel you are in the right and should not be getting the fine. They will usually tell you they will call the police if you don't provide ID, I would agree with that and have them do it.
One last thing I want to place emphasis on: it is your right to REFUSE TO PAY ANY FINE ON THE SPOT! Many visitors write to us saying they bought tickets and validated them but the machine was not working, or they simply did not validate their tickets not knowing that was the process. Unfortunately, not knowing does place you in the right. I hope you read this information before coming to Florence and avoid ruining your vacation with a fine, so I will repeat the information again to make sure it is understood: always validate your ticket, CHECK your ticket has time and date on it and that way travel without worries!
The "tramvia" or tram
Now let's talk about the tram system! Florence got its first tram line, the T1, in 2010 and this line runs from Scandicci to the main train station in town, the Santa Maria Novella (SMN) train station and then continues along the Fortezza to reach the Careggi teaching hospital in the north-western part of the city.
The T2 line to the Florence airport opened in February 2019 and goes from the Vespucci airport to the SMN train station making it the easiest - and cheapest! - way to travel from the airport to the center of Florence. Just recently, on January 25, 2025, this T2 line was extended beyond the SMN station and heads toward the Fortezza da Basso, then on to Piazza della Libertà and makes a turn to arrive at Piazza San Marco.
The tram system is expanding - a third line is in the works for all of 2025 and 2026 and more lines are planned. This third line will connect Piazza della Libertà to Bagno a Ripoli and another part of the same line will later heads toward the soccer stadium in Campo di Marte. This accounts for a large amount of traffic in Florence at the moment but we look forward to the time when they will all be active, reducing traffic and cars in Florence. For now, traffic in Florence is a nightmare - and at least tram lines seem to travel faster than buses when they get gridlocked in traffic! That's another story...
As written above, the same tickets for the bus work on the tram and vice-versa. You can buy tickets for the tram at the ticket machines available at all tram stops - again, buy your ticket BEFORE you get on, then stamp your ticket after you get on and, from that moment, your 90 minutes begin.
Trams for the T1 line starting from Careggi Hospital run from 4:44am and from Villa Costanza at 5:00am. They actually start from the nearby stop De Andrè from 4:35am to 5am. Trams from Villa Costanza end at 12:12am everyday except for Friday and Saturday, when they run longer until 1:38am. In the opposite direction, from Careggi, the last tram is at 12:12am everyday, and until 1:41am on Fridays and Saturdays.
For the T2 line, trams start at 5:10am from the San Marco stop (area near the Accademia) and run until 12:20am (until 1:50am on Fridays and Saturdays). From the airport, the trams run from 5am until 11:58pm (until 1:15am on Fridays and Saturdays).
One last thing: avoid fines! ;-)
Some last tips on avoding fines:
- If you get on and need to ask the driver for information (for example, to ask if you are on the right bus), first go validate your ticket, then return to ask the driver! An "I didn't know" will not get you off the hook if you get caught without a stamped ticket.
- Buy several tickets beforehand and use them as you need them. Tickets are valid for 90 minutes and cost €1,70 each so if you don't end up using a ticket or two, it isn't a big loss.
- If you don't have a ticket and no means to get one beforehand, you can sometimes buy one directly from the driver for € 3,00 (no change is given so make sure to hand the exact amount). It's more expensive but worth buying rather than risk riding without a ticket. If he has run out tickets or says he doesn't have tickets, get OFF at the next stop! If you stay on the bus, it is as if you were riding without a ticket and can be subject to fines if you're asked to show your validated ticket and don't have one. So if the driver says he has no tickets, get off the bus and go get one before getting back on!
- Buy tickets on your phone before you get on the bus! Sometimes your connection can be slow or the app is slow, you want to activate the ticket BEFORE you get on the bus.
- The easist way to buy tickets I've found is with the "tap" system but this only really works if you pay only for one person. Each person you're traveling with has to have their own phone or card to use for their ticket.
- If you're traveling with others as a family, the new BLINK system let's you buy tickets ahead of time by EMAIL. This allows you to pay for all of them at once, you activate them by clicking the link in the email for each ticket.
Downtown City Bus Maps
The new AT website has no maps, it relies on its "trip planner" to show you which buses to take. But I have an old map that shows the 4 lines that cross the center.... they are NOT up to date, as the lines have already changed names. But the colored routes of the old C1, C2, C3 and D lines still generally match the new ones. Since the Duomo area, Via Tornabuoni and Piazza Pitti are all now pedestrian-only areas, most of the buses going outdide of the center either can be picked up outside the SMN train station or in Piazza San Marco but if you need to move from one end of the center to the other, these are the lines you will need to take and that is why I want to highlight them here. Just for informational and visual help in seeing them mapped out over the historical center.
For more information: You can find contact information for the Autolinee Toscane here. In person, you should go to the AT booth located in the ticket area within the SMN train station: you can buy tickets here, particularly for city to city ("extraurban" service), and they give out information and used to provide MAPS of the bus routes, not sure that is the case anymore. The small bus office in Piazza San Marco on the side opposite the church also gives out information. Try to know exactly which bus to get on before getting on and which stop you need to get off on. Normally drivers are not the ideal source for general information on routes - they are trying to concentrate on driving and respecting the route schedule. If you're not sure you're on the right bus, try asking one of the other passengers! Likely they will be happy to help.
Sightseeing Tours within Florence
They've only been in Florence for a few years, but the open top, two story sightseeing buses seen in other cities of the world offer an interesting way to view the city. The buses follow a route to take you by all of the main sights as well as passing by the more panoramic points that you might otherwise not visit if you're going through Florence quickly (meaning limited time like a day in Florence). View details and book your tour of Florence now ».
Visiting nearby areas outside Florence
Tourists interested in seeing areas outside of Florence by bus will find the new company a boon! All of the main cities are now run by AT bus company across the region! The BusItalia company offers "The Mall" bus service between Florence and The Mall shopping center in the Valdarno, you should look at their schedule here.
Questions?
If you have any specific questions about how to move around Florence - how to get to a specific landmark or which buses to take, feel free to post your questions on our Florence section of our Forum! We will gladly offer any assistance we can :)!
Last update: September 30, 2025
