Excited singlet states of bicyclobutylene-benzene (2), 1,2:4,5-bis (bicyclo-butylene)benzene (3), 2,3-bicyclobutylene-naphthalene (4), and 1,8-bicyclobutylene-naphthalene (5) are investigated by means of linear dichroic absorption spectroscopy of molecules oriented in stretched polyethylene films and by semiempirical model calculations. The results indicate a strong hyperconjugative impact of the bicyclobutylene group on the aromatic chromophores in these compounds. Valence isomerization to aromatic products is predicted as the preferred photochemical pathway.