We just returned from a trip that included London, Florence, Lake Como and Milan and I wanted to alert you about one of my favorite places. My wife and I went to Florence six years ago and returned earlier this month. The Uffizi museum in Florence was the only attraction we repeated this time around and what a mess it is now. There are tons of tour groups going into the museum now and as some of you know the museum is a series of small rooms. Almost every time we walked into a room there was either a 20-25 person tour group in there or one followed us in. The would stand there for up to 5 minutes listening to their guide and taking over the room. This was NOT a pleasant experience and my wife and I just blew through the building just to get out and away from these groups. The guides acted like they owned the place and really took over almost every room. If it's your first time going to the Uffizi I would maybe recommend going during really off hours and hope that these groups are gone from the building.
Posted by
Phoenix, Arizona
219 posts
Thank you for the update/info!
Posted by
Chicago
2140 posts
Joe---aren't those tour groups a function of high season? I'd consider September still high season.
Although I will say, having also been there in March, that the tour groups are still ever-present on the weekends. I'm afraid that's the case all year long in Florence. It's the relatively-quiet weekdays that appear to be the difference between low and high season.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10844 posts
That was our experience a couple years ago in May. I wonder what the long term effect must be on the art work to have so much human presence in such a small space day after day.
Posted by
Fulda Germany and Rhode Island USA
335 posts
I was there a few weeks ago on a tour. Our guide was very mindful where the small group would be standing and how much time we would take up admiring art. Yes it was busy , perhaps you need to go in December?
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
The tour groups are everywhere in the major cities where museums and/or major tourist sites abound. It's just a fact of life especially in high season.
Posted by
OP
Boston, MA, USA
262 posts
Hi Jay, this was the same week we went six years ago and the traffic was very different this time. Maybe it's the weak euro but it was packed
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
Those tour groups are indeed annoying. You'll find them in every major museum. The trick is to try to get ahead of them or lag far enough behind that you're not in the same room.
The one time I did enjoy a group touring a museum was at Palazzo Barberini in Rome last year. The group was a class of Italian high school kids. Each kid had been assigned a particular painting, one per room. As they went from room to room, the teacher would call the student forward. He/she would then give their oral report (from memory) about their assigned painting. In one room, the student reported on a famous portrait by Raphael, probably worth millions of dollars. Can you imagine living in a city where that's one of your standard field trips from school? I love Rome.
Posted by
Chicago
2140 posts
Maybe it is the Euro, Joe. But maybe it's something else as well. I was at the Uffizi in mid-October 2010, just after you, when the Euro was 1.43 : 1 (as opposed to 1.13 : 1 now). There definitely were lines to get in, made even worse by a scheduled 2-hour 'strike'. But once in there, while I saw a lot of people, I did not notice many tour groups and was able to maneuver just fine from room to room.
I think over the last 5 years--whether it's because of the Euro or not--there has been a proliferation of tour groups to Florence (and probably Venice & Rome as well), many from the Far East. While these groups have a right to be there as much as we do, 50 or 75 at a crack blocking doorways and views of the art can be tiresome and sometimes downright rude. Even outside the Duomo on a cold Saturday in March last year, the tour groups and selfie sticks were all over the place.
I guess with the popularity of Florence, off-season and during the week is the way to go for the popular museums.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Michael, I ran into a school group like that, too! It was great fun to listen, and I did not feel like I was eavesdropping. I had to stop myself from applauding.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
16890 posts
I LOVE listening to the school groups in museums. The kids make such interesting observations!
I often wonder, when we see huge tours in the art museums, how many in those groups are really, truly interested in art? It's like the Vatican Museums: I'm betting there's a pretty large percentage of visitors who are only there for the Sistine.