You can cover almost all of Florence by foot, but on the first day we took the bus. Most of the attractions are closely grouped together and signposted by the whirr of camera shutters. Visitors who are lost and do not feel up to asking directions should follow the umbrella hovering above the crowds – it’s guaranteed to be guiding a band of tourists to another one of the city’s attractions.
The open top tour bus is a cheap way to find your way around the city. Get on the bus, stay on for the whole tour, then jump off on the return journey if there is something you fancy seeing and jump back on when the next one comes along. You get a free pair of earphones included in the price of your ticket, which is valid for 24 hours. All tours have either a guide or audio commentary, with frequent departures throughout the day. Most tours take an hour if you don’t hop on and off, although some may take approximately two hours.
The start point is the central train station (Santa Maria Novella). Look for the red open top double-decker bus - you can't miss it! Tours depart every 30-60 minutes, depending on the season, and children four and under travel for free.
tel: +44 (0)1708 866 000;
email: info@city-sightseeing.com;
www.city-sightseeing.com
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Although the open buses (double-decker and open on top and closed downstairs) can be a great way to see the city, there were a few facts that don't become known until after we got the tickets. A ticket doesn't guarantee that you'll get on a bus if it's full - there's no standing on these buses - they're not like a London bus.
There doesn't seem to be any limit to how many tickets will be sold - bars and cafes sell them, the bus staff sells them and a few off-bus staff also sell them. So this week we couldn't get on the bus at the station - and it was 30 minutes for the next - and you'd take the same chance of not getting on the next one (and no queue system either).
When we did get on (by walking a couple of miles away) we then saw others who were left on the pavement (even with children) who couldn't get on as it was full. Out of five seats I used only two had inoperative audio sockets. And the commentary is with a USA accent (thought we were in Europe and the signs for English commentary showed a Union flag?!). And although quite factual and informative, to the English ear, some comments are just laugh aloud. For example, I'm not at all sure that the “1930's German style train and bus station balances in perfect symmetry with the 700 year old classical church” on the opposite side of the square.
At 20 euros this is not much of a bargain if it’s raining and/or you can’t get on and off when and where you want – and we also didn’t experience much timetable keeping. Perhaps it was just a bad day for them – but they don’t seem to have a system to stop ticket overselling which was the cause of all our problems.