My husband and I are heading to Florence for a few days while we visit Italy for our first time in 2 weeks. We plan on spending 3 days in Florence to visit the city, museums, etc. I have read in Rick's book that the Firenze card is a good purchase, but I am wondering if it is necessary in low-tourist season? I priced tickets to three of the attractions we want to visit and we were at $75 for both of us. I have no idea if it is better to get the card and not have worry with reservations or save money and go with individual tickets. Any advice?
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
In my opinion, reserving a couple of the biggest-draw museums (Uffizzi and Accademia) is not a big hassle: http://www.b-ticket.com/b-ticket/uffizi/default.aspx. For instance, if you schedule those as the first event of each day, then the rest of the day remains flexible. The Last-Minute Strategies listed on p. 493-4 of Rick's Italy book are also more likely to work in off season than high season and looking at Uffizzi availability online, it seems pretty wide open. But if all else fails, then the Firenze Card is for sale there at any time, including the same day. (Firenze Card no longer covers city buses and trams.)
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
In addition to Laura's tips about getting reservations for the Uffizi and the Accademia, your hotel will often do this (sometimes for free, sometimes for a small fee) if you're having difficulty doing it yourself.