We will be visiting Florence in June and plan to visit the Uffizi and Accademia museums. RS Italy hardly ever seems to spend even two hours in a museum, but we're pretty thorough museum visitors. So how long should I really plan for these visits, given that we will have lots of things to see on our list, but also really want to do each visit justice?
Posted by
Jacksonville, Florida, USA
101 posts
The Accademia is pretty small - it's just David (which we stared at for about 30 minutes) and one other room that I recall. You could go through it in about an hour - 90 minutes tops. Uffizi is a completely different animal. We spent about 2.5 hours there and didn't see everything. We were kind of burnt out on art and after a while everything starts to look a like. Either way - they are must do's in Florence!
Posted by
Seattle, WA, United States
5 posts
I just spent a semester in Florence, and I still can't get enough of the Uffizi. The Academy won't take you very long at all, no more than an hour and a half, and depending on how much you enjoy art , you could spend half a day in the Uffizi easily. Also consider going to the Pitti Palace and the Bargello if you have time. I'll be happy to answer any Florence questions for you! [email protected] Anna
Posted by
Dallas, Texas, USA
70 posts
The caveat with the Uffizi is how crowded it is and how long you have to wait in line before actually getting in. I don't know how you can do the Uffizi justice in less than half a day.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
90 posts
We did both in a day with Accademia about 1 hour (2 hours tops I think) and the Uffizi 3-4 hours (you could easily add an hour or two .... it's a beautiful museum). You definitely need reservations at both and your hotel can make them for you. Rick's audio tours were great for both of these. We did Uffizi first but if I go again I will reverse this. Have breakfast, go to Accademia in the morning, do some shopping, have a lite lunch at the Uffizi (I guess the restaurant has a great view but unfortunately we did not try it.) Do the Uffizi from late morning until closing. When you're done the Michelangelo Piazza is just across the bridge and if it's a nice evening you can watch the sunset from there (highly recommended) and have dinner in the area. We walked to the top but next time will take a taxi and walk down. Our favorite photos are from there.
Posted by
Bellevue, WA, USA
811 posts
you can zip both in a day, but will miss a lot of stuff in uffizi. accademia can be done in a couple of hrs wihtout feeling missing very much, but uffizi needs more than half a day. if you really have to miss one, you may just save uffizi for another trip - everyone has to see David in Florence.
Posted by
Oak Park, Illinois
4535 posts
I like "David" very much, but I honestly can't see spending more than 45 minutes at the Accademia. The whole museum is about that piece and some other nice Michelangelos. And the plaster gallery is cool to walk through. Uffizi - plan a half day. Maybe even plan a lunch break to avoid fatigue. The audio guide is well worth it and if you listen to all the stops, it will be several hours.
Posted by
OP
Lewisburg, PA, USA
346 posts
Thanks to all. Our very co-operative hotel hostess has booked us a 4PM reservation at the Accademia-should be fine and then a 9AM Uffizi reservation with the whole day free. I suspect in 3-4 hours we'll be stumbling over our Italian masters and there's just so much to see. Climbing the Duomo dome is the #1 reason I want to go to Florence, maybe Italy-the stories of it's construction is just incredible.