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Accademia and Uffizi

Hello! We will be in Florence on May 30, 2020 and want to visit both Academia and Uffizi. Would reserving ticket at firenzemusei.it for one in the morning and then the other in the afternoon be the best route to take? These are the only things we really want to do besides maybe going inside Duomo to look up at dome. Any other suggestions would be helpful. We will arrive in Florence around 7pm on May 29 and be leaving on May 31. Plan to rent a car and drive to Montepulciano for 3 days in Tuscany.

Posted by
1049 posts

Timed entrance tickets for both places will make that day possible. My new favorite in Florence is the Opera Duomo, operaduomo.firenze.it I'm not a museum person but I hit this one every year since it reopened almost 3 years ago. Up close, personal, hands on and not crowded. Oh yes, the air conditioning works! the one ticket gets you into all the Duomo sites.

Posted by
261 posts

My wife and I did a day trip to Florence (from Siena) in Sep 2019, and focused on the two sites you mention. It went perfect for us.
We had reservations for both sites.

8:30am: Arrived Florence (bus station near the main train station).
We then did the Rick Steves Renaissance Walk from the Duomo, using his audioguide. After ending the walk at Ponte Vecchio, we had time for coffee and light food at a café near the Uffizi.

10:30am: UFFIZI. We arrived at the Reservation Entrance and exchanged our prepaid voucher for tickets. (Voucher time was 10:45am.) We used Rick Steves audioguide inside Uffizi.
We left the Uffizi about 12:15pm.

From there we walked back towards the Duomo, making a quick stop at Orsan-Michele as it had been closed when we did the Renanissance walk earlier.

LUNCH: Caffeteria delle Oblate, on the terrace with view of Duomo dome a few meters away. This place behind the Duomo was recommended to us by a friend whose daughter had attended university in Florence, and who himself had lunch there while on a business trip. The cafeteria is inside the university grounds. Uncrowded, close view of dome, friendly fast service, surprisingly good basic Italian food at economical price. https://www.facebook.com/caffetteria.delleoblate/

2:05pm: ACCADEMIA. We arrived and were directed to a place where we exchanged our prepaid voucher for tickets. (Voucher time was 2:30pm.) We used Rick Steves audioguide inside Accademia.
We left the Accademia about 3:30pm.

We had plenty of time to stroll about and have a gelato, before busing back to Siena.

BTW, we stayed in Siena three nights with this day-trip to Florence, after driving to Siena from Montepuliciano where we had spent three nights in a nearby agriturismo.

Posted by
15657 posts

I like the Baptistry better than the Duomo - the bronze doors are beautiful and the interior dome has stunning mosaics.

Posted by
2140 posts

Check out Walks of Italy

We did the tour linked above. It was a great way to get a taste of Florence in a day. You start at the Academia when it opens, before it gets really crowded. Then, you visit the Baptistry and Duomo, then spend the rest of the morning being guided through the streets of Florence. After a lunch break, you tour the Uffizi.

Our guide Marco has a Masters in Art History and did a great job. All entrance tickets are included and we skipped the line. The Uffizi was open late the day we visited and we stayed after the tour ended to see some exhibits not covered by the tour. I think it was well worth the cost.

Posted by
3307 posts

Yes - your plan is the best option for one day in Florence.

I would start with the Accademia, admire David, and get out. I say this because the crowds at both the Accademia and Uffizi are likely to be oppressive - and I would rather save my limited crowd tolerance for the Uffizi and its much more amazing collection.

Posted by
7856 posts

We love museums, but have found that about three hours is the most we can take in one day in museums.

We last visited Academia in 2010 and spent over two hours there. Loved it.

Uffizi will take you longer, there is much more to see. Are you sure that you want to go to two museums in one day.
Climbing the dome at the Duomo was fun and the view is great.