Free Sundays - Uffizi Museum?

Hi Jenn - welcome to the RS forum gang!
A free Sunday during high season would be the LAST day I'd persosnally want to try and visit the Uffizi. You would very likely kill a long, long time standing in a long, long line. If you really want to see the museum, I'd go on another day and spend the $ for a ticket.

I don't know where you got the link above but it's not the Uffizi's site; in fact I get a warning that the site is not private so I didn't look any further into it than that warning. This is the site you want:

https://www.uffizi.it/en/the-uffizi

And to my knowledge, they do not sell tickets nor can you make reservations for free Sundays. For instance, plugging Sunday Feb. 5th - a first Sunday of a month - into the b-ticket site (the official booking vendor for Florence's state museums), it shows no booking availability for any of them.

https://www.b-ticket.com/b-Ticket/uffizi/default_eng.aspx.html

If not a big art fan but would like to see some treasures of the "Cradle of the Italian Renaissance" there are easier ways via some of the churches and less visited museums. Give a shout and we can suggest a few?

I'd like to piggyback onto this question, if that's OK, and ask what SMALLER state museums might be good to visit on one of these free Sundays? I'll be in Florence for the next free Sunday (in February), but still won't go anywhere near the big museums.

Good question, Morfal, and I wish I had a solid answer for you. You might try the Bargello and the Archeological Museum? Someone had mentioned awhile back that they enjoyed the archeological museum very much (I haven't been), and I can recommend the Bargello from firsthand experience, although I've not been on a Free Sunday. If you choose the Bargello, I would probably get there before the opening hour.

Hopefully we'll hear from other fans of Firenze!

But if looking for some economical, interesting things to do that are NOT necessarily museums, I'll recommend these: Piazzale Michelangelo, San Miniato al Monte, Santa Trinita (for the Ghirlandaio frescos), Loggia dei Lanzi (sculpture collection), Bardini Gardens (for the OP who will be in Florence in May but not for you in February), Santissima Annunziata (for the frescos in the entry cloister) and Santo Spirito, for starters.

https://www.villabardini.it/en/hours-and-tickets/
https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-churches/santa-trinita.html
https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-churches/santissima-annunziata.html
https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-churches/basilica-santo-spirito.html
https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-churches/san-miniato.html
https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-monuments/piazzale-michelangelo.html
https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-monuments/piazza-della-signoria.html

Thanks Kathy, I think I'll take your advice and just purchase a ticket. The forums have been so helpful (and you're not the first person to warn me against 'free' days), I'd be silly to ignore the wisdom for this decision.
Good luck to Morfal (let us know how it goes). I appreciate your time and suggestions.

One day in October, we were walking to the Palazzo Medici Riccardi to see the Benozzo Gozzoli chapel, and were surprised to see long, long, long lines of people snaking around the blocks. It was one of the free days. Yes, go to see the Gozzoli (one of my favorites in Florence) or anywhere else that is not the free museums.

As everyone else has said, do not go on a free Sunday. If you don't want to miss the Uffizi, change your travel plans and go on a different day instead.

Just reporting back on my experience in February with the museums that are free on the first Sunday of the month.

I was able to see the Accademia (David) and Medici Chapel for free. Both opened at 8:15 AM. For the Accademia, I started standing in line at 7:40 AM, although it didn't get long until close to 8:00. There were just two people in front of me, one of whom came early to get unobstructed photos of David -- which she did. I then waltzed into the Medici Chapel where there weren't many people.

I'd already seen the Uffizi and Pitti Palace. I entered both of them at 8:15 AM as well. In the Uffizi, I headed straight to the Boticelli room and had those to myself for as long as I wanted, then went back and did the Rick Steve's audioguide at a leisurely pace. Neither museum ever got very crowded, although I spent four hours in the first and three in the second. From March to October, there are reduced prices for entering the Uffizi before 8:55 AM -- a double boon for early risers.;-)

There are many more museums (municipal + state) that are free on the first Sunday to Florence residents. Tourists are limited to the state museums (on the b-ticket.com website).

We avoid all free museum days. The locals are not stupid and that is when they show up in mass. The lines can be massive and once inside it is shoulder to shoulder. Not a fun time to visit.

Thanks for the firsthand report, Morfal! Glad you were able to see a couple of the biggies without much ado!

There is, however, a big different between when you were visiting Florence and when the OP will be visiting. I wouldn't expect their experience in high-season May to be the same as off-season early February. You didn't imply that, of course, but just making that distinction for anyone using this thread for their own research. :O)

Thank you all! This is a wonderful resource and I'm grateful for your time.
Jenn