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Firenze Card - Yes or No?

Please help - I have read so much conflicting information about the Firenze card --
"we" are 2 female travelers, 70 and older, traveling as friends -
We will be in Florence from February 25 thru March 3rd, 2019 -- after spending 3 days in Siena.
I will assume that the top 3 or 4 museums will be busy even during these Spring months. We do want to visit about 5 or 6 of the major museums in Florence, but do not want it to turn into a 'must see' marathon. (we prefer visiting a top site -or 2--- then exploring that neighborhood, and see where that takes us. I understand that the museum pass is convenient, but also read online reviews that stated the pass did not always allow you to skip the line. Is this true or are those reviewers mistaken/uninformed? I have to say that some of these reviewers did not sound like they planned very well - but I'm welcoming the well-informed opinions that I know I will find on this website :) - we'd like to know what your actual experience was, good or bad - with or without the card.

For convenience sake, we don't mind popping for the pass if it makes our ramblings more spontaneous and carefree, even if we do not get every single euro out of it. I myself just do not travel like that anymore - However, if due to the time of the year and/or your personal experience using the card (good or bad), is it better to just get reservations for the main museums? I have been following and taking advice from RS since he published his first travel books, but I am really on the fence with this one.
We appreciate your help.

Posted by
336 posts

I was in Florence for 3 full days last year and got the card after checking sites and their costs, compared to the Firenze card price and convenience.
I knew that I would get my money's worth just by calculating costs of attractions I wanted to see versus the cost of the card. So it was a no brainer for me.
So, everything was very positive about it.
When there's a line, you know you won't be waiting much. This is especially important at Uffizi, Accademia, etc.
But what I think we liked the most, is we got in places we might not have gone.
You know, you have your A places, your B places to visit, then, you tend to watch your budget. With the card, you don't watch budget, it's paid.
So if you are close to a Firenze card attraction that could be of interest, you can go without any questions.
So, all positive here.
Have a great stay in Florence, such an artistic and beautiful city
Claude

Posted by
3112 posts

Keep in mind that the Firenze Card is only valid for 72 hours from first use, so it might not be the right option if your plan is to take the entire week of your stay in Florence to leisurely visit 5-6 sights covered by the card.

Posted by
28429 posts

I'm very cautious about buying city sightseeing cards because I typically spend a lot more time at each sight than the average tourist (making the card less likely to pay off), and I like to organize my sightseeing geographically. If some of the things I want to see are not covered by the card or are free, I don't want to feel I should walk right past them during the period of the card's validity in order to get the most benefit from it, as could be the case with a 3-day card during a much longer visit.

Posted by
149 posts

Hot spots like the Accademia and Uffizi allows a certain number of people in the museum at one time, therefore you may need to wait a bit even though you are in the "skip-the-line" line. But those with Firenze card and reservation have the priorities to go in. That being said, I went there before their doors are opened so I do not have to wait too long and also there are fewer people in the morning. I also used the card to visit the St. Croce church, the Medici Chapel, and Bargello (There was no line at all, just went right straight in.) So yes, I considered Firenze card is a good investment.

Posted by
16688 posts

Specific to the time of year you'll be in Florence, there is a combo ticket for the Uffizi, Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens that may be of interest? It's good for a single entry to each over three days, and comes at a bargain price of 18€ per adult ticket. This price is only good for visits BEFORE March 1, and you must pre-reserve an entry day/time for Uffizi when you make your purchase. ALL pre-reserved Uffizi tickets allow you to skip TICKET lines but no one can skip security-check queues; that's standard procedure anywhere security checks are in place.

https://www.uffizi.it/en/tickets

These museums are closed on Mondays but if you reserved your Uffizi visit for Tuesday, Feb. 26th, you'd have the 27th and 28th to explore the Pitti/Boboli gardens and surrounding neighborhoods.

Additionally, you could purchase a separate combo ticket for the duomo complex for 18€ through their website:

https://www.museumflorence.com

This ticket allows you 3 days to visit all the pieces of the complex which require an entry fee (belltower, baptistry, museum, crypt, cathedral dome) during their visiting hours A climb of the cathedral dome, however requires a pre-reservation, and whatever time you make that reservation for is when the clock starts ticking on your 3 days. Reservations are mandatory for the dome even if using a Firenzecard. Anyway, you could buy one of these to use on a different 3 days than your Uffizi/Pitti/Boboli ticket so as not to have to cram all of it - plus anything else you want to see - into a single 72-hour, € 85,00 pass.

Total for both= 36€.
Tickets for the Accademia will be € 12,00 at the door or € 16,00 in advance.

http://www.galleriaaccademiafirenze.beniculturali.it
You might just try being in line first thing in the morning for that one or going later in the afternoon versus advance tickets. I don't expect there to be long lines at any other of Florence's better attractions so just buy those tickets as you go.

Posted by
224 posts

If the cards let you jump the line, we always get them for the time save.

Posted by
77 posts

wow - a lot of excellent advice and range of experiences - and explanations . Thank you all so much.!!
We will have 4/1/2 consecutive days in Florence to see the sights - plus one additional day will be a 'free' day - and the other additional full day is for the daytrip by train to Arezzo for the giant Antiques Market.

After considering your suggestions and revisiting the entrance fees etc, I think we are opting for the Pass, just for ease of use, and maybe popping in to see something we may not have considered (sometimes these places are unexpectedly wonderful - like the Cloister at St Trophime in Arles...)...

We arrive in Florence on a Monday, in the early afternoon, about check-in time for our accommodation. As the pass is good for 72 hours, we thought that if we start the pass that Monday afternoon for a main attraction (say about 3 or 4 pm) we will then have until 3 pm+ on Thursday to use the pass, and can make sure that we enter our last attraction before that 3 pm deadline. -- this spreads out the level of activity to 4 days, with other wanderings/happenings and lot of gelato in-between.
Thanks again---you all really helped.