Tips and tours for explorers and travellers
Arezzo City Guide
Ciceru walks Arezzo from the station up through St Dominic's Square and Piazza Grande to the Abbey of Saints Flora and Lucilla, where the bell tower plays an optical trick on anyone looking up from below. The route also passes Via Cavour's Piero della Francesca frescoes and the Roman amphitheatre.
- Country
- Italy
- Language
- Italian
- Currency
- Euro (EUR)
- Plug
- type L
- Time zone
- Europe/Rome
- Emergency
- 112
- Tap water
- Generally safe
- Dialling code
- +39
The stops
Things to do in Arezzo
Ciceru's Arezzo route concentrates on the hill climb from the station through St Dominic's Square and the medieval streets to Piazza Grande, then on to Corso Italia, the Pieve di Santa Maria and the Abbey of Saints Flora and Lucilla.
The Cathedral, centuries of beauty
The Medici Fortress and "The Lawn" of the Aretines
Piazza Grande, in the heart of Arezzo
Corso Italia and the Pieve di Santa Maria
Via Cavour and the cycle of Piero della Francesca
The Abbey of Saints Flora and Lucilla and an incredible optical illusion
The great ancient history of Arezzo: the Roman Amphitheater
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Weather & crowds
Best time to visit
May and June balance mild days with June's evening Giostra del Saracino. September repeats the joust in daylight but starts the wet run into autumn: rain nearly doubles to 96mm and keeps rising to 120.8mm by November, the year's wettest month. Winter stays mild, averaging 10.0°C by day.
Winter
Dec–Feb1–10°C/ 33–50°F
Few visitorsOccasional rain
- Fiera Antiquaria monthly
- Near freezing nights, cobbles can ice
Don't miss
Fiera Antiquaria (first Sunday and preceding Saturday, monthly)
Spring
Mar–May6–19°C/ 43–66°F
Getting busierOccasional rain
- Rain builds toward 74.5mm by May
Summer
Jun–Aug15–30°C/ 58–87°F
Peak seasonDry
- Giostra del Saracino, June
- 31.7°C August afternoons
Don't miss
Giostra del Saracino, evening joust (third Saturday of June)
Early autumn
Sep12–26°C/ 53–78°F
BusyWet
- Giostra del Saracino, Sept
- Rain nearly doubles to 96mm
Don't miss
Giostra del Saracino, daytime joust (first Sunday of September)
Fiera Antiquaria (first weekend)
Late autumn
Oct–Nov7–17°C/ 44–62°F
Few visitorsWet
- Wettest weeks, up to 120.8mm in November
Transport
How to get to & around Arezzo
Arezzo station
| Walk uphill to the old town | 15-20 min | €0.00 |
|---|---|---|
| AT urban bus up to the old town | 10 min | €2.00 |
Firenze S.M.N.
| Trenitalia Regionale to Arezzo | 55-90 min | €9.80 |
|---|
Florence Airport (FLR)
| T2 tram to Firenze SMN, then train | 90-120 min | €11.80 |
|---|
Pisa Airport (PSA)
| PisaMover, then train via Firenze | about 2h30 | €19.80 |
|---|
Walking
Flat once you're upThe old town sits on the hill of San Donato, closed to most traffic by the ZTL. Piazza Grande and Corso Italia are flat and close together on foot; the only real climb is getting up from the station.
Urban bus (AT)
Skips the climbA single AT urban ticket is €2.00 and covers the ride from the station up to the old town in about ten minutes. It is Arezzo's only urban route, so buy a return for the trip back down.
Taxi
For luggage or rainA rank waits outside the station. Worth it with heavy luggage or in wet weather, since the walk up into the old town is on stone paving with a real gradient.
Driving
ZTL cameras fine youThe walled centre is a ZTL, zones A and B, enforced by camera. Only residents, permit holders and guests whose hotel has registered their plate can drive through; everyone else is fined.
Walk or take the €2.00 Autolinee Toscane bus up from the station, and validate it on board. Do not drive into the walled centre: it is a camera enforced ZTL and visitors without a permit are fined.
Budget
How much does it cost to visit Arezzo?
Arezzo is cheap for a lunch and a bus ticket: a menu del giorno and the €2.00 urban fare cover most of a day. The tourist tax is tiered by room price, €1.50 to €5.00 per person per night for up to four nights, paid at the property rather than at booking.
| Espresso or cappuccino at a bar | €1.20–€2.50 |
|---|---|
| Lunch (menu del giorno) | €12.00–€18.00 |
| Local draught beer, 0.4L | €3.00–€5.00 |
| Bottled water, 0.5L (shop) | €0.20–€0.69 |
| Urban bus, single ticket | €2.00 |
| Urban bus, 10-trip carnet | €18.20 |
| Tourist tax, per person per night | €1.50–€5.00 |
Cash or card?
Cards are accepted in shops, bars and restaurants. Keep some cash for the monthly Fiera Antiquaria market stalls, where small antique dealers in the old town's narrow streets often prefer it to a card reader. ATMs are easy to find in the lower town near the station.
Where to stay
Where to stay in Arezzo
Centro Storico (Città murata)
First visit, atmosphereThe walled hill town, closed to outside traffic by the ZTL. Piazza Grande and Ciceru's route are inside it, but it's a real climb from the station and cars need a resident's or hotel permit.
Saione
Flat, near the stationThe lower town below the walls, level and a short walk from the platforms. It trades the old town's atmosphere for an easy arrival with luggage; you still climb or take the bus up to Piazza Grande.
Giotto
Budget stays, parkingA residential district further from the walls with easier parking than the historic centre. Expect a bus ride or a 20 to 25 minute walk to reach the old town, longer than from Saione.
Pescaiola
Quiet, local lifeA residential quarter away from the tourist route, with everyday shops rather than visitor-facing ones. It is the area least set up for short stays, so check transport links before booking.
The tours
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Safety
Is Arezzo safe?
Arezzo is a provincial city with low visitor crime, and it does not feature on foreign ministry travel advisories in its own right. The real risks are practical rather than violent: crowds at the monthly antiques fair, steep stone streets into the walled town, and cars that misjudge the ZTL cameras. Petty theft here is opportunistic, not organised.
Fiera Antiquaria crowds
The monthly antiques fair fills the old town's streets with stalls and browsers on the first Sunday and the Saturday before. Dense, slow moving crowds are exactly where an open bag or a back pocket goes missing.
Steep, uneven streets
The walled centre climbs the hill of San Donato on stone paving that is uneven and can be slippery when wet. Wheeled luggage and heels struggle; flat shoes make more difference here than in a flat town.
ZTL driving trap
Camera gates ring the historic centre. Drive in without a permit, even briefly to unload, and the fine arrives by post later. If your hotel is inside the walls, ask it to register your plate before you arrive.
Reporting a theft
Insurance needs a denuncia, the official police report. File it the same day at a Polizia Municipale or Carabinieri station; the comune's information line, 0575 3770, can point you to the nearest one.
Medical help
Call 112 for any emergency, the single number used across Italy for police, ambulance and fire. For non-urgent problems, ask your accommodation for the nearest out-of-hours doctor or Pronto Soccorso.
Good to know
Good to know
Fiera Antiquaria, every month
Arezzo's antiques fair has filled the old town on the first Sunday and preceding Saturday since 1968. Streets are busiest then; book old-town accommodation ahead for that weekend or plan around it for quiet streets instead.
Giostra del Saracino, four quarters
Porta del Foro, Porta Crucifera, Porta Sant'Andrea and Porta Santo Spirito joust in Piazza Grande twice a year: an evening edition on the third Saturday of June and a daytime one on the first Sunday of September.
Two railways share the station
Trenitalia's mainline trains share Arezzo station with La Ferroviaria Italiana, whose separate line runs into the Casentino toward Stia and to Sinalunga. Check the operator on your ticket: they use different platforms.
Questions
Arezzo FAQ
It is uphill. Walking takes 15 to 20 minutes on streets that climb the hill of San Donato, past St Dominic's Square, or you can take the Autolinee Toscane urban bus for €2.00, about 10 minutes. A taxi rank waits outside the station, useful with luggage or when the stone paving is wet.
Yes. It is tiered by your room's nightly rate: €1.50 up to €40, €3.00 for €40.01 to €400, and €5.00 above that, per person per night, for up to four consecutive nights. Children under 12 and Arezzo residents are exempt. It is not included in the booking price; you settle it at the property, in cash or by card, when you check out.
Not without a permit. The walled centre is a ZTL, zones A and B, enforced by camera around the clock, covering the same streets Ciceru's route follows up to Piazza Grande. If your accommodation is inside the walls, ask it to register your number plate in advance; otherwise park outside the walls and walk or bus up.
A single Autolinee Toscane urban ticket is €2.00 and valid for 70 minutes from validation. If you will ride more than five times, the 10-trip carnet at €18.20 works out cheaper per journey, and it covers Arezzo's whole urban network, not just the run between the station and the old town.
The old town itself is compact and flat once you are inside the walls, with Piazza Grande and Corso Italia close together. The catch is getting there: Arezzo's centre sits on the hill of San Donato above the station, so the arrival is the one genuine climb, on uneven stone paving in places.
May, June and September balance mild weather against the wettest months. June brings the evening Giostra del Saracino in Piazza Grande; September repeats it in daylight but also starts the wet run into autumn, with rainfall nearly doubling to 96mm and climbing further to 120.8mm by November.
Yes, in the ordinary sense: violent crime against visitors is rare in a provincial city this size. The main risk is pickpocketing in the monthly Fiera Antiquaria's crowds, not the evening old town, which stays busy with locals eating out around Piazza Grande well after dark.
Generally yes: cards are accepted in shops, bars and restaurants across Arezzo. Keep some cash for the Fiera Antiquaria's antique stalls on the first weekend of the month, where small dealers often prefer it and card readers can be less consistent in the old town's narrow stone streets.