museum timed entry

Depends. If the museum is the Vatican Museums, with almost everyone intent on getting to the Sistine Chapel at the end, the earlier your timed entry ticket, the more ahead of the crowd you’ll be, at least until the rushing masses catch up. The early bird catches the less-busy worm.

If the sight is the Alhambra in Granada, Spain, they just don’t want 2,000 people pushing to the entrance at the same time. Then again, sometimes going later in the day gets you fewer crowds. After the early birds have hit the place and left, you could get there and enjoy it with less hustle and bustle.

If 8:15 is just a little too early for you, get a 9:00 entry, and sleep in an extra 15 or 30 minutes, grab an extra cup of coffee, or be just a bit more relaxed getting to your museum.

In June? Any museum that requires timed-entry will be a top attraction (or too small to accommodate more than a few at a time) and VERY busy in June. That's when your trip is, right? Yes, timed-entry is both for crowd control and also to reduce the frustration/stress/time waste of standing for a very long time in a very long ticket line. DO be there when they state that you should be as sometimes that's 15 minutes or more before your slot, and some attractions involve passing through an airport-type security line that slows things down a bit but still moves along pretty efficiently.

Personally? I'd take the earliest slot, although Cyn is right that closer to the END of the day can be a less busy time.

Doesn't matter for the Borghese in Rome: ALL of their tickets are advance, timed-entry, there's a set limit of tickets sold for each 2-hour slot, and they completely clear the museum between the end of one 2-hour slot and beginning of the next so it's no busier at any one 2-hour time period than another. Great crowd control!

Thanks for your feedback. I should have shared I was speaking of the Accademia, but it really can be applied to all the sights. I actually read that if you go into Pitti Palace before 8:59, it is reduced (don's know if that is so), so maybe that's an incentive to get up and go : )

Academia, the earlier the better. Crowds form around the David, then disperse, then swell again. If you stick around, there will be times to grab a seat on the bench behind the statue to look closer at it, or to get a better view from the front and sides. Pop into the exhibit of musical instruments, too. My brother-in-law, a professional jazz bassist, was really interested to learn there was a 350-year-old 5-string double bass, way ahead of its time!

Do arrive just a bit early. We had to ask around to find our line, and other people in other lines with later times had been there earlier, standing in their queue for some time. They were earlier than they needed to be. Don’t arrive ridiculously early, but definitely don’t be late!

thanks so much. given the early arrival time (before the actual entry), think we will get the 9:00 time. It's hard to rally 3 teens, even if it is to see David ; )

I actually read that if you go into Pitti Palace before 8:59, it is
reduced (don's know if that is so), so maybe that's an incentive to
get up and go

Yes. There are reduced price, early entrance tickets for the Pitti and for the Uffizi as well, although the UFFIZI 5-DAY PASS (The Passepartout: includes the Uffizi, Pitti, Boboli Gardens, Museo Archeologico Nazionale and Museo dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure) might be an even more economical ticket but do the math? You do have to choose an entrance time for the Uffizi but not for the others included on the pass. It does not include the Accademia.

This is the official ticketing site:
https://www.b-ticket.com/b-ticket/uffizi/default_eng.aspx.html

A note about the Pitti? That one can be a real time suck - lots and lots and lots of rooms - so unless your teens are really into art, they may be ready to stick a fork in it halfway though. I'm an art lover and even my eyes were crossed before we were done! Looks like the Imperial and Royal Apartments and Museum of Costume and Fashion sections are currently closed.
https://www.uffizi.it/en/pitti-palace

Such good information thank you! I actually have been to the Palace before and while the art was nice, we enjoyed seeing the palace rooms itself and i thought they would enjoy the costume part (we didn't do that). SO BUMMER! We will be coming form Paris and chose not to do Versailles, so was thinking of using this as their "Palace" experience, and i do love the gardens (which we will do regardless). I wonder if we should change our plans....

You're welcome ... although not the news you wanted to hear! :O(

So did you do Palazzo Vecchio when last you were in Florence? If not, would you possibly find that one interesting enough to substitute for the Pitti? Your young people might also be keen to climb its tower?

https://cultura.comune.fi.it/pagina/musei-civici-fiorentini/museo-di-palazzo-vecchio
(use an English translator on your device)

Ticketing for both:
https://bigliettimusei.comune.fi.it/?ref=portale

Both are also included on the Firenzecard, and neither require a reservation if using the card. Looking at your previous posts, you were considering purchase of that card awhile back? Not sure where that decision shook out.
(I'm not pushing the card; just saw that you had a question about it so....)

We walked around Palazzo Vecchio (i believe the free areas), but tbh, i don't recall seeing inside other than reading about the history on maybe the first floor area. Are there rooms in this like there are in the Palace? i was under the impression it was the city hall, not living quarters. We actually intended to see it as well, so maybe we skip the palace and just do this. Thanks for the idea.

It does have some lavishly decorated former living quarters but not as heavily furnished like the Pitti. For example, look up Apartments of the Elements and Apartments of Eleonora of Toledo.

Personally? I'd find Palazzo Davanzati more interesting. It's a look at a typical wealthy nobleman's Medieval residence with all the domestic necessities, such as bathrooms and kitchen. We didn't get to do it last time we were in the city but it's on the list for the next.

http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/palazzo_davanzati.html
https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-museums/palazzo-davanzati.html

While not as lavishly decorated, and the furnishings are typical but not original to the structure (the Pitti's apartments have also been altered since it belonged to Cosimo I de' Medici) it's in its way more 'real' as far, far fewer individuals would have lived in fancyshmancy palaces like the Pitti. That's not to say that the family who owned this palazzo weren't on the more elite end of the spectrum!

this is a great suggestion. I really don't think going to the Palace if the apartments and the costume museum are closed makes sense, as this is what i recall enjoying and what i thought would interest the girls. The bright side, we have another few hours to fill with something wonderful in Florence : ) I do wonder how long they will be closed, June is a bit away.

I do wonder how long they will be closed, June is a bit away.

Hard to say; I couldn't find anything at all on projected re-openings, and I don't find that's unusual for Italian attractions undergoing overhauls. The Costume Gallery appears to have been closed at least since fall of 2021, given a complaint on TripAdvisor reviews of the palace. The Uffizi website notice simply states:

Due to renovation works, the Museum of Costume and Fashion will be closed until further notice.
The Royal and Imperial Apartments are temporarily closed for maintenance and restoration work.

Will keep my eyes open, though. LOL, my tolerance for over-the-top opulence only goes so far but the costume gallery was one of the more enjoyable parts of the Pitti.

I was looking into the Palazzo Vecchio and in Steves most recent Tuscany book it talks about "nighttime terrace tours" 5 euro (no museum ticket needed) check on-line to confirm schedule. I am having trouble seeing anything about this. Anyone know about this?

Coming in late here, Lisa, but I looked everywhere for booking info on a nighttime terraces tour and can't find anything. It doesn't appear on the current list of tours offered by the museum, and their visiting hours don't even extend beyond 7:00 at night; definitely not dark during the spring/summer/fall months.

https://musefirenze.it/en/musei/museo-di-palazzo-vecchio/

Will give a shout back if something pops up; maybe they'll add this tour in the spring.

Thanks Kathy. I actually emailed them to inquire if they will bring it back in the summer, but they did not confirm anything about extending hours in the summer. So we are not going to count on that as an option. Thanks for checking in.

Hi there: sorry to revisit this thread, but our trip is fast approaching and i have looked at other sources and can't find the info. I was under the impression that you could enter the Boboli gardens without a timed entry (saw that in relation to getting the pass associated with entry to the Uffizi), but when i try to buy tickets it makes you choose a time. If you are buying tickets just to the gardens, must you choose a time ? Or can you enter without a set time or maybe a better question is can you choose a time and enter at a different time than stated?
Thanks for any help.

Lisa, I may be confused (probably so!!) but are you trying to purchase the 5-day Passepartout?

https://www.uffizi.it/en/pages/combined-ticket

It does look as if wishing to purchase tickets in advance JUST for the gardens that you have to choose a time slot for entry. You do not have to do that if purchasing the Passepartout (although you must choose a time slot for the Uffizi, which is included in that pass).

You can also just stand in line for tickets to the garden but I've no idea how long that line may be. Hopefully someone else might know?

Lisa, are you trying to buy just the boboli garden tickets now? Have you already scheduled your entry to Uffizi? I am surprised to see just buying the timed tickets from the official site for the gardens you have to select a time, but if you are doing the 5 day passport, you start with the timed entry for the Uffizi and then the rest of the museums/gardens are not timed.

The ticket office for the Piti palace and boboli gardens is outside of the main structure. Once you have your ticket there's a line to get through the main gate, someone is just checking that you have a ticket. But then you enter into a big courtyard and there are several choices - if you are going just to the gardens you cross the courtyard and present your ticket there. I can't remember, but I don't think we passed through the security line inside the courtyard the day we came back to go to the gardens. I think that was just for entering the palace itself but I may be remembering that wrong....

Thanks everyone. I was actually just trying to buy tickets for the garden. My crew has decided not to try and tackle the Uffizi on this trip. Given this, it appears that maybe a timed entry is the only option. I do wish we could have the flexibility to enter at any time. I wonder if we just buy tickets when we get there, but my fear is that the lines for tickets in June might be really long. Anybody been there in June?

I tried a separate thread and got no takers, so I thought I might hop on here since my question is similar and also involves Florence.

Like @lisajord, I'm trying to figure out timed entry struggles. Mine is on the Bargello combination ticket. We want to see Palazzo Davanzanti, and will physically arrive there first. I'd love to buy the combination ticket and have it in hand, but that requires a timed entry to Bargello - 15 minute window. Does anyone know if I can buy the combination ticket at Palazzo Davanzati upon arrival there, and avoid that timed entry requirement for Bargello?

Thank you!

@lisajord I am in the same boat, traveling with a young teen, with the same questions about Boboli (and so disappointed about the apartments and fashion exhibit!). Did you find any answers about garden entry?