Academia v. Uffizi v. Bargello v. Pitti in Florence

With 3 full days in Florence, I think you could easily do all of the above. All of your choices would be covered by the Firenze Card. With the Firenze Card, you wouldn't need to reserve times for the Academia and Uffizi, and the Bargello and Pitti Palace museums don't need to be booked ahead of time. The FC won't eliminate wait times completely, but it will give you some flexibility.

Make reservations at the Uffizi and Accademia even if you have the Firenze card. I had reservations at both and pretty much breezed in. Those without reservations waited and waited.

Thtat was about 10 days ago.

If those are the only museums you want to see, you can easily do those in 3 days, with either advance timed tickets or the Firenze card. But with only those 4 places, I don't think the card would pay for itself, so maybe tickets would be the better (cheaper) route.

Thanks for the immediate replies and insights. I agree we could visit all of them. I just think we might experience art-overload. That's why I think we may want to "save" one or more of these museums for a future visit -- and give ourselves reasons to lure us back. Last year we saw so many great works of art in Southern Spain, that to some extent they began to all run together in a blur. And the awe and majesty of the works of any one museum lost a bit of their awe-inspiring power when stacked one after another. So, to avoid the potential of that art-overload, we are thinking we should winnow down our list for this year's vacation.

Congrats on your upcoming trip to Rome and Florence! Great questions about prioritizing your time, especially being mindful that you intend to return in the future. I plan exactly the same way: always leave something for next time - it's motivation to return! :-)

Thoughts/considerations:

• DEFINITELY invest in the Firenze Card as mentioned by others. The card's validity (72 hours from the time of the first activation) fits well with the amount of time you will be in Florence. The "skip the line" feature is incredibly helpful. As mentioned, even with skip the line privileges, you'll still wait at the bigger museums, but you'll breeze right in at the 2nd tier sites.
• Accademia is a very quick visit. While there is other art there, the focal point is Michelangelo's David. With that in mind, you can check this block in a 1-hour visit. Be sure to take time to contemplate Michelangelo's Unfinished Saints which line the hall leading to the David. The David is transcendent, but I was even more mesmerized by the Unfinished Saints. Consider going later afternoon to minimize the crowds. I went through around 5:30pm on my first visit to Florence and was in the museum about an hour.
• Uffizi... whew... this museum is a very subjective topic, and everyone has their thoughts on the matter. The Uffizi is definitely worth of a visit by virtue of the many masterpieces housed in the museum (the new Caravaggio rooms I saw in February were fab!). That said, the museum is a crush because so many people are in the museum at one time (even with time entries to control crowds). Best recommendation is to go early or later to minimize the crowd factor.
  
• Bargello is a dream for sculpture lovers! I spent several hours in the Bargello lingering at my own pace without ever feeling rushed or cramped. They have some of the most unique reliefs and sculptures I've seen, and the fact that it's a former prison offers a different experience.
• Palazzo Pitti can be saved for next time. I visited Pitti on my second trip to Florence, and I don't feel like I missed out from the first experience. Since you will get the Firenze Card, you can wander through the Boboli Gardens at Pitti, and take the back exit across to the Bardini Gardens - this is a fantastic and relaxing mosey with wonderful views of the historic center. I did this garden wander on the first trip and loved it! Especially helpful if walking off a large Tuscan meal! :-)
• Other places included in the FC that you would enjoy: Santa Croce (hands down my favorite church in Florence), Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, San Lorenzo, Santo Spirito, San Marco, and much more.
• Consider a food tour with Curious Appetite Travel. I treated myself to their Medieval & Renaissance food and spirits tour, and it was so cool!! They offer regular walking tours of Tuscan favorites, gelato, etc., as well. Highly, highly recommended.
  
• Prioritize walking around Florence, people-watching, and enjoying the moment. Florence's historic center is an ideal snapshot of Medieval and Renaissance architecture. I can't get enough of the architecture!

Let us know if you have additional questions, and we're happy to help further. Happy planning!

Your decision should be based on the kind of art that you like, and you want to see.

Painting with a very broad brush:

Uffizi - The best museum in the world for Italian art (IMHO), but I would say most known for Renaissance paintings (early to late). And Caravaggio (who is from the Baroque era, but very important in terms of the huge numbers of artists who used and built on his techniques). You would likely recognize Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus," the "Venus of Urbino," by Titian, some Raphels, Michelangelo, etc. As said before, tends to be very busy (for good reason). I could spend most of a day here, but most people reach art fatigue before that point. If you visit here (which I would highly recommend), maybe no other museums this day, but spend time visiting some of the churches that were already mentioned.

Accademia - People go here primarily to see Michelangelo's "David." It's awesome, and very important as a symbol to the people of Florence (especially in earlier times). A shorter visit.

Bargello - This is a sculpture museum, and has some important pieces. It has more to see than the Accademia, but less than the Uffizi. If you don't like sculptures so much, then spend your time elsewhere.

Pitti Palace (Palatine Gallery, there's other stuff at the Palace too) - I love this place, but it's kind of "messy," with paintings all over the walls, and not so neatly described where everything is (though it could have changed, it's been a couple of years since I've been here). I would put this lower on the list, unless you really love paintings. There is a beautiful Raphael here, though, and several Caravaggios, and a bunch of other great stuff. And there are two paintings here by Artemisia Gentileschi, one of the few female Baroque painters (there's one of her paintings at the Uffizi, too).

I missed seeing David when I was in Florence last October-the lines were unbelievable-but my friends got “timed”tickets and went very early-they said it was the best time to go -very spacious. Also-even though Rick says a Hop-On/Off bus tour is no good in Florence-my friends took it to see the outer neighborhoods and loved it . Florence is in a beautiful setting if you can somehow get out if the crush of the Duomo and Ponte Vecchio