need help planning our days - 2 in Florence, 3 in Rome

By the way...we'll be leaving in 2 weeks and will be in Florence/Rome Feb 8 to the 12! Thanks again!

Florence has the two must see museums - Uffizi & Academia (where David is). To get into these make sure to get a reservation time. It saves hours in line. There is a phone number but I would email your hotel and most will make a reservation for you and then charge it to your hotel room. They will ask for specific times.

Almost forgot - my suggestion is to bring earplus especially for Florence. There are so many Vespa's and it can get pretty loud when you are trying to sleep.

Florence has some of the best gelato so make sure you always have spare change....

The Uffizi and Accademia are the two most popular museums to see but if you can sneak it in, I suggest the Duomo museum. From the front of il Duomo it's behind and to the left and across the street. It's actually called the Opera del Duomo Museum. It's much better than il Duomo itself IMO. Also, for a 2 day visit, you probably can skip anything across the Arno river (Pitti Palace, Boboli Gardens, etc.). However, don't miss the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) across the river. It's very close to the Uffizi. If you're staying near il Duomo, you're within easy walking distance of things you want to see.

And yes, there is scooter noise. You've never seen so many scooters.

A definite must is that you must have gelato every day. It's great stuff.

Since we'll be there in the off season, will the lines for all of these popular museums be as long? I'm wondering if it's necessary to purchase our museum tickets online ahead of time or just buy them there? We'd love to do a tour, but they all seem so expensive!

Hi Angela--We gambled in Florence and did not make Uffizi reservations (our B&B proprietor assured us getting tickets the "day of" would be no problem as we were visiting in November). Crowds were non-existent everywhere--except Uffizi. We bailed on seeing it because of the several hours wait to get in. If Uffizi is a "must see" for you, don't gamble; even though you will be there in February, make reservations ahead of time. On the plus side, we decided to spend our time at the Boboli gardens, which were fabulous even in winter! I second the recommendation about the duomo museum, and David is, of course, a must-see. I really enjoyed climbing the dome of the duomo, especially as I had read Brunelleschi's Dome first.

For wonderful art that is still in the setting for which it was created, go to the Convent of San Marco (where Fra Angelica did remarkable frescos). They also have an extensive collection of his altarpieces and other paintings on panel. A beautiful church that's less crowded than most is San Miniato el Monte across the Arno, on a hill overlooking Florence (escaped Baroque rework, so you really experience the interior as it was created); Vespers is sung every evening (time varies depending on season).

I have been reading that one day isn't enough for Florence, but if that's all we have this time around, is it worth taking a peek?

We realise that we would only be getting a little taste of the city.

Has anyone made reservations online? Do you have to pay for tickets ahead of time?

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I hope you had a nice trip! Your program anyway was pretty good!

San Diego Reservation

hello angelo, it's a fantastic trip well done!

if you want book ticket for uffizi museum o Doge's Palace in Venice or other italy's museum whitout queue you can visite the www.museum-ticket.it

ejoy it!