We will be traveling to Northern Italy in August, visiting Milan, Genoa and Turin (along with day trips to the Italian Riviera). While in the larger cities I was curious if it is easier to travel by subway or bus to local destinations? We are traveling by train to the larger cities. I was wondering if there is a bus pass or subway pass that can be used in all 3 cities? If not I was hoping to obtain something similar to what London offers, an Oyster card for traveling the subways, that was super convenient, hoping to obtain something similar if possible. Thanks!
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23996 posts
Just hit the local TI and they will explain the options available. Each city will have it's own system.
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
1791 posts
Systems tend to be regionale for Tuscany generally shares bus tickets but each geographical area will have it's own. Implementation is also different - for instance in all of Tuscany now they have tap in buses using credit cards but not all regions have caught up.
Subways - la metropolitana - tend to be rarer in Italy but you will see it big cities like Milan and in a very limited way in Turin and Genoa. But most places tend towards buses and sometimes trams to get around.
Google maps generally does an OK job of connecting public transportation but City Mapper is a more dedicated app and many local cities will have public transport apps or portals. Definitely get the Trenitalia app for the train system.
Have a great trip,
=Tod
Posted by
Firenze, Italy
2027 posts
Tuscany is a sort of exception as all local bus transportation within the region was subcontracted to a single firm, so while there are different classes of bus tickets according to town sizes, ticket can be somewhat exchanged between cities.
In all towns tickets and passes are mostly valid for all forms of city transport, be it subway or bus; so you can begin a trip, say, by subway and switch to a bus on the same ticket, within its time limit. In some cities you can also use regional trains on a bus ticket within city limits; but this should be inquired locally. But as each city is subcontracted to a different firm, there are no general passes.
Where available, subways are usually much quicker than buses. But I would say that the only city with an extensive subway network is Milan, that recently added a couple of lines. Genoa and Turin have limited subway networks.