City Sightseeing Turin, the hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus

How the hop-on hop-off bus works in Turin

City Sightseeing buses are red double-deckers with an open or panoramic upper deck that follow circular routes past the city’s most visited sights. One timed ticket lets you get on and off at every stop on the routes it covers, break for a museum or lunch and catch a later bus. On board there is an audio guide in several languages describing what you see from the window, and the operator’s free app shows the stops and the live position of the buses.

The service suits travellers who are short on time or would rather not use public transport: in a couple of hours the route covers both the Baroque centre and areas that are a long walk away, such as the hill across the Po or the Lingotto district.

The three routes and where they go

• Red route: the loop around the centre and the river. It passes the main museums, runs along the Po, stops at Valentino Park with the Borgo Medievale and climbs towards the hill. It is the only route that runs all year.
• Blue route: heading south to the Automobile Museum, Lingotto with the Pinacoteca Agnelli, Eataly and the Olympic sites, as far as the Officine Grandi Riparazioni.
• Green route: heading north to the Lavazza Museum, Parco Dora, the Allianz Stadium with the Juventus Museum and the Reggia di Venaria Reale.

A full loop takes roughly fifty minutes on the red route and a little over an hour on the other two. Buses usually run every thirty to sixty minutes, so bear that in mind when you get off: the next one will not be along in a few minutes.

Season, times and tickets

From April to October all three routes run and you can buy 24, 48 or 72-hour tickets valid on the whole network. From November to March usually only the red route operates, with dedicated 24- or 48-hour fares. First departures are generally in the morning and the last ones in the late afternoon, so if you want a full loop, do not board the final bus of the day.

You can buy on the official City Sightseeing Turin website, which also lists combinations with some museums, or through resellers such as Tiqets, where the basic ticket starts at €28 and the version with the Cinema Museum at €48. Always compare duration, routes included and cancellation terms, since the same product can carry different names on different sites. For the current offers, see our page on the Turin hop-on hop-off bus.

Tips for making the most of it

• Ride a full loop first on the red route without getting off: you get your bearings and see where you want to come back to.
• Sit upstairs in good weather, but bring a layer and sun protection: it can be scorching in summer and cool in spring and autumn.
• Use the bus for sights far from the centre, such as the Automobile Museum, the Lavazza Museum or the Reggia di Venaria: that is where the ticket pays off.
• Check the app or website on the day: demonstrations, football matches or roadworks can cause diversions.
• Keep your ticket handy on your phone: you show it every time you board.

Sightseeing bus, GTT or on foot?

Turin’s historic centre is compact: Piazza Castello, the Egyptian Museum, the Mole and Via Po are a few minutes’ walk apart, so here the bus is mostly a way to get an overview. For places further out there is GTT public transport, with metro line 1 (useful for Porta Nuova, Porta Susa and Lingotto) and a dense tram and bus network, cheaper but less straightforward if you do not know the city.

The sightseeing bus makes sense when you want to combine distant sights in one or two days without studying timetables and connections, or when you are travelling with children or people who cannot walk far. For a full comparison, read our guide to getting around Turin.

Contacts and official information

City Sightseeing Turin is part of the international City Sightseeing network, which runs the same red-bus format in many Italian and European cities. Up-to-date times, any route suspensions and prices are published on the operator’s official website, together with customer service contacts. This page is an independent guide: we do not sell tickets on behalf of City Sightseeing and we are not connected with the company.