Academia

We did make reservations for the Academia when we were there in September 2003, and we were really glad we did. You bypass the long line waiting to go in. We called 2 days in advance to get them, so it still could be done with your flexible schedule. We also found the entry time to be "soft"- we arrived 45 minutes early and they let us in. Buona Fortuna!!

The Academia and Uffizi are two places in Florence where it is highly adviseable to have advance reservations. They really do fill up their time slots. We were in Florence for 6 days last year and we were fortunate to get a reservation 4 days out for the Academia. However, reservations for the Uffizi were 4 weeks out. We had to sign up for a tour recommended by our hotel.

I'm told that you can give yourself a great gift of time by purchasing tickets in advance and avoiding the long lines. We did so with Tickitaly (http://www.tickitaly.com). For a small service fee, we thought it was well worth it.

Just call a day or two ahead and get the earliest or latest time slot available. That way you'll have plenty of time to gawk

We got reservations for both museums considering that June can be quite a busy time. And it was worth it. However, we did realize that towards the end of the day the Academia is not that busy anymore. If you just want to go around 5.30/6 pm to see David you won't find long line-ups. And to be honest: after seeing the treasures of the Uffizi we didn't feel that the Academia had much more interesting exhibits to show beyond the David.

Oh but Beatrix...David and The Prisoners is a remarkable experience....

tim,

of course it's a experience not to be missed! But you don't need to schedule 2 hours for that (which would be minimum at the Uffizi) and showing up an hour before the museum closes can be a great alternative considering that the crowds might be a bit thinner.

I would agree that the Accademia takes much less time than the Uffizi. We did the Accademia (yesterday) in less than an hour, and the Uffizi (today) in 2 hours. By the way, the Rick Steves Audio Tours for both were phenomenal! Very engaging and informative. Our kids have enjoyed his tours a lot (we also used them last week for the Colosseum and the Forum).

I'm a tad jealous Leslie...thinking back about our time in Florence in May and wishing we were there again. Fully agree with your comments re the R. Steve's audio tours...it was kinda fun jumping past the tour guides that all stopped at the same places. The one thing we found at the Uffizi was that Rick's tour was so fast paced and it is such an awesome place. So we had a snack and then retraced our route and looked at things again. Enjoy...

Barb, upon arrival at our hotel in July 2007, we had the front desk make reservations for the Academia for the following day. No problem. Have fun!

Thanks all for your suggestions! I like the idea of making reservations when we get there, but we won't be staying at a hotel - we have rented an apartment. I'll check to see if its close to the Academia and then maybe we can go in and make reservations directly with them when we are there. We will be in Florence for 4 nights so that might work.

Barb, you'll have to phone, or as Beatrix suggested just try late in the day to walk in. There are only two doors. One for people with reservations and one for those without, where people looking for same day entry line up. No public box office to make reservations for another day (at least none that I could see).

I will have my laptop with us when we are there. Could I make reservations when we get there online for say a day or two later? I guess maybe we would be better off making them from here before we leave. Probably better to be safe than sorry!

While I agree that David and the Prisoners are not to be missed (and there is a neat collection of music instruments for anyone interested in those), I agree with Beatrix when she says that it's a bit of a letdown after all the wonderful art of the Uffizi. Obviously when you only have one day, you have no choice, but for people who are going to spend several days in Florence, I STRONGLY recommend going on different days to avoid "art burnout".

We had made reservations for both the Uffizi and the Accademia. Our Uffizi guide, however, advised us that there was likely no wait at the Accademia (this was in late afternoon, in December) and that we could save ourselves the reservation fee by simply ignoring the reservation and purchasing tickets directly.

Depending on how much time you have in Florence, you might be able to "scope out" the Accademia at the beginning of your trip, and if the lines look intimidating, have your hotel book you a reservation for a couple days out.

Not sure if this helps, but we made our reservations for 8:15 am when they open. After a quick breakfast we were there when it opened. Actually ended up being the first 2 people in the room with David (others ahead of us lingered in the first rather boring room. If you turn left immediately past the turnstyle, you enter the hall where David and the Prisoners are). We were in and out in less than an hour, and didn't feel at all rushed. So why not book a reservation, before you leave, for first thing in the morning on one of your days in Florence. You'll still have the rest of your day to enjoy things. Last advice (I promise!)....don't overthink things. Just make a decision (res or no) and go with it. You will have a wonderful trip!

In mid June, there was a long line that did not look like it was moving at all and they were out in the hot sun. We walked right in with our reservation.

Thanks everyone! I guess if we really want to go we need to make our reservations from home before we get there! Exactly what I needed to know!