We are planning on a two day visit to Florence late September and wondered how critical it might be to make early reservations for the Uffizi and Accademia, or if it is possible to wait until a few weeks prior to travel. Still trying to contact family there and might have to change our travel plans accordingly. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
Posted by
Chicago, Illinois, USA
586 posts
Ciao, Katie. Email your hotel and ask them to make these reservations for you...and the sooner the better. That's what we did, and it worked it great.
Posted by
San Diego, CA, United States
864 posts
You'll probably be OK making reservations 9 or 10 weeks out but not sure. September/October are high season for Florence. Ditto the galleria Borghese in Rome. Go on-line to a service like RomeMuseum or Viator (not endorsement here just suggestion). If reserving ahead is just not possible (which happened to us once) just be in line at o dark thirty (I think for the Uffizi we were IN line at 0530 coffee in hand). Sometimes you just have to do what you just have to do. That said, watch, you'll get there and breeze in at 10 a.m. Sometimes there's just no figuring.
Posted by
Boston, MA, USA
262 posts
We took no chances, we are going in Sept as well and just put aside a day for the Uffizi and Accademia then ust booked reservations online. We are just going to make our way around Florence working around the reservations. We have 11am for one and 3pm for the other.
Posted by
Denver
835 posts
We visited Florence last year at the end of September. As I recall, I purchased the Uffizi tickets online through their website several weeks before we left on vacation.
For the Accademia, I did not make any reservations. We walked over in the morning and saw a huge line. Per a large board near the entrance, I went to a nearby church and purchased timed tickets there for Accademia later that same morning (I think we had a 10:30 or 11:00 entrance time). We browsed through Mercato Centrale, returned at our entrance time, and walked in with no wait.
Posted by
OP
Los Angeles, CA, USA
12 posts
Thank you for all the helpful suggestions. Very much appreciated! So looking forward to seeing these amazing sites!
Posted by
Houston, TX
87 posts
Please also consider buying the Friends of Uffizi passes - google them or search on this site for more info: then you won't need any reservations at all. See Michelle from boston's post above with an update about her trip. She endorses the passes as well.
Posted by
Florence
362 posts
As has been documented here many times, you can reserve through your hotel, the official Uffizi website (b-ticket, a tour company like Viator (with a guide or without, combined with the Accademia or not), or stand in line. I always recommend going late in the day - most times, even in high season, by the mid-afternoon the line is gone or very small - and - there are just a fraction of the people in the galleries.
Being here for just a couple of days though I can see how you would not want to take a chance!
The Vasari Corridor visit is also available now too -
Posted by
Grandville, MI
3 posts
Katie (or others), have you noticed that the b ticket site says the Uffizi reservation comes with a Splendour and Reason exhibit and the Accademia reservation comes with a Robert Mapplethorpe exhibit? But when I googled these for more information, it seems as though they are both gone?
Posted by
Florence
362 posts
I think the Mapplethorpe was a while ago - the Italian website are pretty notorious for being out of date - :)