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Florence experts-am I doing this correctly?

We switched our days in Florence to arrive there a few days after Easter, rather than arriving on Easter Sunday. I'm starting to feel overwhelmed with planning and some of the ticket websites are confusing, so I was hoping someone could make sure I am booking these tickets correctly. I know it will be very crowded and busy everywhere we go, but a good plan and the right tickets always helps!

Does this sound correct?

Uffizi- Book tickets for earliest time available on first morning there. Teenage kids don't need a ticket but I should book a reservation spot for them for 4 Euro, and we have to swap out the reservation email voucher for the actual tickets while there. Kids need to have an ID or passport to verify their age since they are free to get in.

Accademia-Book tickets for as early as possible on our second day there, rather than doing both Uffizi and this on the same day. Same procedure for getting tickets.

Cathedral/Duomo ticket-Purchase the 18 Euro tickets for each of us since the kids are older than 11 and don't get in free. No need to reserve an entry time for any of the monuments under this ticket unless we want to climb to the top of the dome.

Medici chapel-Purchase the B-ticket for all of us since the kids are older than 11 and be aware the closing is very early, sometimes in the afternoon at 2 pm.

Final question. If I book the earliest entry time in the morning, does the window to exchange the voucher for the actual tickets open before the earliest entry time? Or do we just have to expect it opens at the same time the museum opens so we'd lose time exchanging the voucher for the ticket?

Thanks for all of your help.

Posted by
1059 posts

Not to throw a wrinkle into your planning, but have you looked into just getting Firenze card? It grants entry to all of those sites without a reservation, and includes entry for plenty of other places you don’t list but may want to explore on the fly. Depending on how long you’re staying it may be worth it. It made Florence a breeze for us.

Posted by
8447 posts

We loved the Hotel Balesteri, which is right on the Arno and close to city center.
Also, if you bike, check out bike tours, it is a great way to familiarize yourself with the city. The one we took was not strenuous.

I suppose you may go up to the top of the dome in the Duomo. My kids enjoyed that.

Posted by
16688 posts

Medici chapel-Purchase the B-ticket for all of us since the kids are
older than 11 and be aware the closing is very early, sometimes in the
afternoon at 2 pm.

Are you sure that you need tickets for the teenagers? Are they under 18?
Just IMHO but the Medici Chapels paled in comparison to some other attractions in Florence. Museo San Marco, Museo Bargello, Santa Croce, San Miniato... we found all more interesting to us than that one. It's opulent, for sure, but, well, it was the one thing in Florence that left us sort of cold.

We had time to easily fit quite a lot into our stay in the city but if your time is short, I'm not sure I'd choose this attraction over some of the others.

Posted by
7314 posts

Do the math and determine if Firenze Card works- even if it costs you a few bucks more overall than all your single bookings I think the convenience would be worth it. Simplifies it all, much less to worry and wonder about and gives you the ability to just pop in to somewhere you may not have planned.

http://www.firenzecard.it/index.php?lang=en
Free admission for those under 18 years of age who are members of the same family unit of the Firenzecard holder

We spent 3 nights in Florence- with the Card and never waited or worried about any tickets/vouchers/ times, etc.

Also agree with Kathy- Museo San Marco, Santa Croce, Bargello were all very interesting and none took a huge amount of time. We did also visit Medici Chapel and I have to admit it's my most fuzzy memory of Florence.

Posted by
224 posts

We bought the card and used it at 2 locations. Even with the card we stood in line to see David for about 2 hours. It was a waste for us but maybe not others.