Will be in Florence in Sept for four days. One site I plan to visit is Chiesa San Miniato. I understand that bus 12 or 13 goes there. Where do you catch the bus? Are there only specific stops? I will be stay not far from Ponte Vechio. Can you buy tickets on board, or strictly in tobacco shops (generally speaking)? Is there a Florence multi-day bus pass?

If you're going to be there for 4 days pick up a Carta Agile- it's an electronic ticket- for €10 or €20. You can buy tickets anywhere you see the orange ATAF sign, newstands, bars, etc.

You can pick up both the 12 and 13 in Piazza Serristori, which is on the Oltrarno, just after Ponte alle Grazie.

Bus routes and stops in the center, especially many that are near the train station, are changing on Monday, and again maybe at the end of July, due to construction of the tramvia. You may wnt to wait until closer to the date you'll be in Florence to chose an actual stop.

Assuming the bus 13 route doesn't change, as described above, the closest place to catch a bus to San Miniato al Monte is one of the Bus 13 stops near Ponte alle Grazie, the next bridge upstream (East) from Ponte Vecchio as Maureen describes. From the Ponte Vecchio, I think you can take bus D from a stop on Borgo San Jacopo. See the bottom of the attached PDF map. Be sure to take bus 13 from the Ponte alle Grazie location. Bus 12 is coming from San Miniato al Monte at these stops. The route for buses 12 and 13 are the magenta routes. Your stop for San Minato al Monte will be the first one after you pass Piazza Michelangelo.

Bill

Ataf_tav_001.pdf (481 Kb, 46 downloads) ATAF 1

I always walk up through San Nicolo, and the September weather should make this a great option. It's wonderful area, reserve dinner in the Osteria Antica Mescita San Nicolo on your way up, a chiesa sconsecrata (vaulted ceilings underneath) and some great, very authentic, cucina povera (try the bruschetta with lardo, yum) and vino sfuso served in tiny tumblers. There are hipper places and enoteche around that area too, but we wouldn't expect me to know about them, would we?

Thanks for the restaurant tip. I was hoping someone would recommend one. This area looks like a good place to watch the setting sun over Florence, with glass of wine in hand.

I totallly agree with the restaurant recommendation - it's a great place with some character.

I bought bus tickets at various places - newstands, tobacco stores,even a bakery - there are signs in the windows of the places that sell tickets as I recall.

Does anyone know if this bus info, re getting to San Miniato from the Ponte Vecchio area, is still accurate? The station renovations must be well under way by now and hopefull the bus routes are set for the time being.

If you goto Google Maps, you can lookup "Florence,Italy". Then zoom into your desired location and you can see markers for each bus station. If you click on the marker, a small window open up showing you upcoming buses, times, and their next stop.

Hope this helps!