Florence Pass

We were there in mid July and got the Firenze card http://www.firenzecard.it/?lang=en
It worked great for skipping the lines at the Accademia and the Uffizi. We just walked up to both and got in the same line as the reservations. The Galileo Museo didn't have a line. With the Duomo, you have to get the tickets at the office near the baptistery, so it didn't help with the lines. Overall, we thought the card was worth it. BTW, I'd recommend the Boboli gardens. We went there late in the day and there are some great views of the city and the green is a nice break from the city streets.

May I add a question or two here about the Firenze card? We were also thinking about getting the card when we go but I've been all over that website, Joe, and I cannot for the life of me find the price of it. Could you tell me where it's listed? Also, is it best to buy it online or can you just walk up and buy it at the "collection points" listed on the site? Many thanks!

I recently returned from Italy and the cost of the Firenze Card is now 72 Euros. It has gone up from the 50 Euro price in the 2013 Florence book. Everyone I was with had been to Florence a number of times and all the biggies, i.e. Uffizi, Accademia, etc. but we still thought we would purchase the card at 50 Euros. After figuring out what we wanted to see we would have about broken even but we thought we would pop into lesser sights too. After finding out the price had gone up to 72 Euros we decided against it. Keep in mind that it is valid for 72 hrs. from when you validate it and some sights are closed on Monday. If you have any daytrips planned you would need to plan around your card too. I think if it is your first visit to Florence and you are going during peak season, April-Oct., I would probably buy the card if you are going to the Uffizi, Accademia, dome climb, campanile, etc. As far as the bus benefits, yes, it does include public buses but we do Florence mostly by foot and don't spend much on buses except for maybe a bus to Piazza Michelangelo or up to Fiesole. Don't know if you can buy the card online but I wouldn't bother as you can easily buy the card at TI's or many of the included sights. We were going to buy ours at Palazzo Vecchio which is right on Piazza Signoria and there were no lines. I probably wouldn't choose to buy it at the Uffizi or Accademia as those are busier sights.

As mentioned earlier, the card is 72 euros. I was originally going to order the card online, but dicy Internet connections prevented me from doing so before we arrived in Florence. We purchased the card at the Tourist office across from the train station. At 3:30 or so on a Thursday there wasn't a line, but only a specific cashier could take credit cards. I don't know if that would be different at other locations. Again, we thought the card was worth it to skip the lines. That's going to be an individual call, but with two teenagers the ability to walk up to a site and bypass the lines without trying to hit a specific time was worth it to me.

I don't think a pass would be worth it. Here are the museum admission fees: Uffizi(with booking): $20 Accademia(with booking): $20 Galileo Museum: $12 Duomo: free (unless you want to climb the Duomo)
Giotto's tower: $8 Total: $60 Florence card: $100 So you will save $40 by buying individual tickets. You won't even need to take the bus or tram. All those sights are within walking distance. You should buy a pass only if you're planning to visit many museums.