Going to be in Florence for a long weekend. Current plan is to visit Academia early in the morning and then Ufizi after an early lunch.
As most people will try and do these sites in a day, are there advantages or disadvantages for one or both of these locations with regards to time of day? Should we do Ufizi first then work up to Academia? Or Stick with the current plan?
1) I can't handle more than three or so hours in a single day in museums. Of course, some don't mind, but that is a lot of standing and if you have a bad back, look out.
2) Both museums take hours to go through. I have been to both twice and spend about three hours in each. Check you admission times. Last time, we did Academia in the morning and I think we were in line for quite a bit (even though I reserved our ticket) and entered about 10am. Ufizi is a larger museum and will take longer. Not sure it matters which one you go to first, just see when the booking times that are available.
"... most people will try and do these sites in a day."
Don't think so, and not an especially wise strategy if you do attempt to combine the two (IMO).
Each is worth several hours and can be overwhelming once sensory overload kicks in ... An extended visit (in order to get your money's worth) can become a bit mind numbing after a while. Better (I think) to split your visits up and go on separate days in order to maximize your enjoyment of the experience in the midst of all that beauty.
You can certainly do both, but it depends on your intensity when visiting art museums. If you get really lost and absorb in them I would not try both in a day, but if you are a casual art enthusiast, doing both is very doable. It is always up to your level of interest that answers your question.
I found Accademia more of a waiting to get in situation even with a timed entry. I would probably visit there first thing in the morning and Uffizi in the afternoon.
On our VFR Tour last October, our group visited the Uffizi first thing in the morning. We were there for about 3 hours. Granted, we didn't see everything (we were with a local guide who focused on the art work on the top floor), but I felt we saw enough. After the Uffizi, we were on our own for the rest of the day until late afternoon when we had group tickets to the Accademia. In the interim, we visited the Bargello Museum (not to be missed in my opinion), had lunch (and gelato, of course), went back to the hotel to recharge, and then headed out to meet the group for the Accademia tour. I didn't feel that it was too much to see or cram into a day. And, to echo what Threadwear said, there's definingly a "waiting to get in situation" at the Accademia, even with timed-entry group tickets. I'm not sure why, though; maybe they need to adopt the policy of the Borghese in Rome...everyone gets 2 hours max.
I think the Accademia is a 1 to 1.5 hour visit and the Uffizi will support as much time as you can devote to it.
You can do what you want with that schedule but I would hate to do the Uffizi on any deadline short of exhaustion. I would schedule the Accademia as early in the day as possible and then see the city or some other light attraction, grab an early lunch and then tackle the Uffizi for as long as you can manage.
Juggling sights in Florence is a problem but a good problem to have.
Enjoy,
=Tod
