Firenzecard and the Uffizi: well this is new.

Sad. I remember when with a Friends of the Uffizi pass you could walk to the head of the lines at most museums and had a special entrance at the Uffizi. They got rid of that advantage because tourists figured out it was better than the Firenze Card. But he FC did give you this sort of line priority. If you now need reservations there is no point in buying this overpriced piece of junk. Just make reservations for the museums you want to visit.

Janet, we LOVED the Friends of the Uffizi pass! It was a good deal if visiting the city for over 3 days, which we were. Had fully intended to purchase that one on a return trip but it sadly bit the dust a few years back. :O(

I'm with you: it's probably best to just order timed-entry tickets to the Uffizi and Accademia, and the duomo complex as well if one wants to make a reservation for the dome in advance. Ticket lines were not, as I recall, long enough at other attractions to worry about priority access.

On the Uffizzi page within the Firenze Card site (firenzecard.it/index.php?option=com_eventifc3&view=vistas&task=viewplace&idplace=16&tipo=musei&lang=en) I now see similar language in the fine print, so at least that's another point of consistency within that site, although the big banner type tends not to mention such detail.

Priority access with free required reservation. You can make reservation with your name and surname:

1) calling the multilingual call center Firenze Musei to phone number + 39 055-294883 (from 8.30 to 18.30 from Monday to Friday; from 8.30 to 12.30 on Saturday). Closed Sunday and holidays. You will receive by phone a code to show at the ticket offices of Orsanmichele, My Accademia and Uffizi to collect your booking confirmation. You have to show your booking confirmation and your Firenzecard at the priority access doors of the museums;

2) in Florence at one of the following ticket offices, showing your Firenzecard: Orsanmichele (Orsanmichele Church, Via dei Calzaiuoli, from Monday to Saturday 9.00-16.15; Closed Sunday and holidays); My Accademia (via Ricasoli n.105/r, from Tuesday to Sunday 8.15-17.30; Closed Monday); Uffizi (door n.2 and n.3, from Tuesday to Sunday 8.15-18.05; Closed Monday).

3) at the ticket offices of Uffizi Gallery, Bargello National Museum, Palazzo Pitti, when you purchase Firenzecard. In this case you can make directly the reservation at the ticket office at the moment of purchase and collect the booking confirmation to show at the priority access doors of the museums.

This is all the Uffizi itself has to say on the subject:
https://www.uffizi.it/en/pages/faq

How do I enter using the Firenze Card?

The Firenze Card entitles the holder to priority admission in the same
way as a visitor with a ticket including booking. An entry receipt
must be collected at the entrance to the single institutes and used
together with the Card.

Not especially detailed, eh? Maybe they'll flesh that out if confusion ensues.

Anyone know if this policy also applies to the Amici degli Uffizi card? Their website is pretty vague but still says that the card includes priority entry ... no mention of the need to reserve a time however.

Robert, I'm curious why you are considering purchasing the Amici degli Uffiz (Friends of the Uffizi) card? I know that I said above that "it bit the dust" a few years ago but what I meant was that they eliminated the majority of the museums it used to cover so it's no longer a worthwhile purchase for most short-term tourists: It "bit the dust" in its previous, valuable form. It would only be worth the $ if intending to visit the Uffizi (and Pitti complex) enough times during a calendar year.

http://www.amicidegliuffizi.it/diventa_socio.php?pg=8&ln=en#

That aside, the website doesn't mention a change in entry process: "....holders of our membership cards have free privileged access to the Uffizi Gallery (4 members admitted every 15 minutes, recommended entrance no. 2) . "

Kathy, we have a month long trip coming up and will be staying on the Oltrarno side of the river, close to the Uffizi, the Piti Palace and the Bardini Gardens - all of which are still included with Amici membership. We've been to Florence several times, have visited most of the obligatory stops on the tourist trail, and now look forward to revisiting places we especially like at a slower pace. The Amici card has value for us because it covers attractions that we'd like to revisit at our leisure, and priority entry at the Uffizi will allow us to pop in and out whenever we like.

Excellent, Robert! Yes, with a month to spend in Florence (I'm SO jealous!) and desire to pop in and out of the Uffizi on a whim, then this pass will be a good value for you. Yours is one of those unique cases where the thing can still work!

Still thinking about getting the Firenze card even with the new rules for the Accademia and the Uffizi although the flexibility was a big selling point. However, we are planning to visit a lot of museums so it still might be worth it. Need to do the math.

If we want to visit the Duomo and visit everything (cathedral, museum, baptistery, crypt, etc) but NOT climb the dome, would we be able to get entrance on the moment we show up in mid-May. Or should these be booked ahead which again probably makes the Firenze card not as appealing. Just didn't quite understand if it is difficult to get into every thing but the dome on the spot.

Any information would be helpful. Thanks for posting regarding the new rules for the Accademia and Uffizi.

If we want to visit the Duomo and visit everything (cathedral, museum,
baptistery, crypt, etc) but NOT climb the dome, would we be able to
get entrance on the moment we show up in mid-May. Or should these be
booked ahead

As far as I know, the ONLY part of the complex which can be "booked ahead" (as in for a time slot) is the dome. For the rest, this is what the Firenzecard card says on the page for the Baptistry (which is stunning, BTW).

http://firenzecard.it/index.php?option=com_eventifc3&view=vistas&task=viewplace&idplace=77&tipo=musei&lang=en

For the visit to Baptistery, Dome, Bell Tower, Cryipt and Opera del
Duomo Museum you have to go to the ticket office in Piazza San
Giovanni 7, you have to show your Firenzecard and to collect the free
ticket to put in the automatic turnstiles.

As you'll be using the collected ticket for entry to the baptistry, campanile, crypt and museum, you'll be using the same turnstiles as visitors who purchased tickets on the Duomo's website or at the ticket office. As the cathedral is free, there is no ticket line for that one: everyone stands in the same queue.

I just booked both the Accademia and the Uffizi Gallery on two separate days in June for three people without first having a Firenze Card. It was pretty easy. At first when I called the number, it was hard to understand what button to push for English, but I guessed "two", and that was correct. Then it switched to an English-language automated phone lady, and it was really hard to understand the first two questions because the computerized voice was sort of tripping over its words. I don't really remember what the automated computer voice asked me about, but I ended up pressing "one" (yes) for the first question and "two" (no) for the second question. After that, it put me in a waiting queue and I was number five in line. It didn't take very long to reach a real person who spoke very good English. She was super nice and wanted to know if I had a Firenze card yet, how many people total in my party including kids, and when I wanted to go to each museum. She gave me separate booking numbers for each museum and told me where to go for each place, too. She said I will need to present my Firenze card at each location and give them my booking number. That's it! :o)

Well done, Adrienne, and thanks for the "been there, done that" report!

Question: are your booking confirmations for specific entry times or can they be used any time during the life of your card? That part hasn't been very clear from either the Firenzecard's site or the museums'.

Kathy, reading this strand I'm a bit concerned I'm not as prepared as I thought for my trip to Florence this May.
I called and made a reservation for the Accadamia months ago. I have the confirmation number, and know I need to change this number in for the tickets and pay at that time. Do I need to have a Firenzecard now?

Kathy, I booked the Accademia at 11:30am on June 25th and the Uffizi at 9am on June 26th. I forgot to ask the lady if I had a specific window of time to show up before the reservation becomes invalid. It seemed like she had pretty much any entry time available - those were the times that I wanted to show up already, and those were the times I got.

I read some info about Uffizi Gate #3 here:
http://www.uffizi-gallery.com/visiting-the-uffizi/how-and-where-to-enter-the-uffizi-gallery.html#.XLdaHjBKiUk

"Door Number 3, which is across the Piazza degli Uffizi on the west side or wing, is where you may pick up your tickets if you have made a prior reservation. They ask you only do this 10 minutes before your reserved entrance time, I guess to try to keep the line down."

Here is a photo of the sign which shows this info:
http://www.uffizi-gallery.com/images/uffizi-door-3.jpg

More great firsthand info, Adrienne.
So it appears that mandatory reservations for using the Firenzecard ARE for specific entry times. That answers my question, thank you! I would plan to be there shortly before your appointed times, OK? Don't risk losing your spots 'cuz with the crush of folks wanting to see these two places, they don't exactly have to be forgiving. :O)

suzc224, no, you don't need a Firenzecard in addition to your reservation so you're fine!
This thread was only for visitors intending to purchase and use the card as their entry tickets to the applicable museums. Formerly, pass-holders could just show up at the Uffizi and Accademia for priority entry at any day/hour during the life of those passes. That policy has recently changed and pass holders now must make prior reservations so they no longer have that nice bit of flexibility.

Thank you Kathy!

I have the FirenzeCard and I tried the number and never received an option to reserve a time slot. I tried several different options and called several times. So I booked a time slot for the Academia directly through their website and paid so I could ensure a slot, since their website was mostly sold-out for the days I would be in Florence.

I noticed above that someone was able to figure it out, but I'm pretty sure I selected the same options and never got the queue.

Signed up to post this since I just went through the same thing and was terribly confused about the process at first.

You can go to door #3 at the Uffizi and use the Firenzecard to book reservations for the time/day you want to go. I went on a Saturday evening at 530 (ticket office is open until 605) and booked tickets for Sunday for Uffizi at 1015 and accedemia at 4. You can get BOTH at that ticket office.

It seemed they had plenty of time slots available despite it being mid May but not sure anything will change as the height of the season moves on.