We will be taking a "Best of Tuscany" tour in September. We have purchased online our tickets for an Uffizi tour. Is it advisable To do the same for the following: Duomo Museum, Medici Chapels, Pallazo Vechio, Pitti Palace? We just want to avoid excessively long lines. Are these possible without long lines? What would you advise?
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
6049 posts
You might want to remove your email address
This is a public forum
Duomo Museum and Medici Chapels probably want to book in advance
Palazzo Vecchio and Pitti probably not needed
You might look into the Firenze Card
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
795 posts
I was in Florence last September and outside of the Uffizi and the Academia things were very busy but not overwhelmed. We had booked the "use over x days" kinds of tickets so we didn't have to deal with ticket lines but certainly at the Duomo Museum (great BTW) and Pitti Palace there weren't huge lines waiting to get tickets. But day of week and time of day can really affect these things as well.
My take would be how much time do you have, how long are you willing to wait and what are you willing to miss?
If your time is short you may find yourself spending hours in lines (collectively) instead of seeing things. How valuable are those hours to you if your time is short? So if you aren't willing to miss anything I would trade the freedom of scheduling for being sure you will see everything you want to see. Even if that means a rigid, preprogrammed schedule you will need to stick to.
My $.02, there is no right answer only the right answer for you given your interests and time. And keep in mind even with pre-purchased tickets there will still be airport security style lines everywhere and there is no skipping those.
Have a great trip!
=Tod
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
15807 posts
I don't know how many days you'll be in Florence but for the Opera del Duomo Museum, you'll need to buy a pass which includes more than just that museum 'cause there isn't a ticket JUST for the museum. The least expensive of those passes will be the Ghiberti Pass, and it covers the museum, baptistry and ancient basilica of Santa Reparata, All of these comprise parts of the greater duomo complex. Info here:
https://operaduomofirenze.skiperformance.com/en/store#/en/buy
You will have to choose a start date for the 3-day validity of the pass but you don't have to choose a time slot for any of the three parts of the complex it covers.
I wouldn't expect you'd need to pre-purchase tickets for the other Pitti, Palazzo Vecchio or the Medici Chapels - although I won't swear that you won't have to deal with some sort of queue - and wouldn't buy a Firenzecard as it doesn't cover anything at the duomo, and you've already purchased a tour (which includes tickets?) of the Uffizi.
Posted by
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
507 posts
You don't need to purchase tickets for the Duomo Museum (which, as noted, cannot be purchased alone), but it is more convenient to do so, in my opinion. I've never seen a line at the Duomo Museum and I've been there many times during the height of tourist season since it reopened.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
15807 posts
Right, Jeff. I just wanted to make clear that there wasn't a ticket JUST for the duomo museum: they were going to need to purchase a pass which covers a couple other parts of the complex as well. While more convenient just to purchase in advance, you're right that they wouldn't HAVE to. Good that you pointed that out! :O)