The Florence Card

I think it depends upon which museums you plan to see and what the total cost would be to go to them if you paid individually. The Florence card costs €50, but a single admission to the Galleria degli Uffizi is only €6.50 (and it can be booked online in advance). So you would need to determine if what you hope to see with the Florence card in the 48 hours that you have is really worth €50, or if it wouldn't be better to buy individual tickets for the other places. If memory serves there is a card that you can buy at the baptistery of the Duomo that will also get you into some other places. In other words the Florence Card is not the only way to go. Unfortunately I have no more information than that; only a fairly vague recollection. I am sure others here can help. Also, be alert when you are going to the web sites of these places. If you type "Galleria degli Uffizi" in on Google you will come up with an unofficial web site among the first search results. Make sure that you are at the official web sites. For example, here is the official web site for Uffizi http://www.uffizi.firenze.it/ Take care

Thanks Bryan. That's very helpful. Maybe it would be better to just buy as we go. But book ahead of time to avoid the lines.
Lorraine

We arrived on a Monday, and although the Uffizi and Accademia are closed, there are museums open. We quite enjoyed visiting the Galileo museum on Monday. There's a chart you can find on the website for the Firenze Card that has a chart with all the museum opening times. Do take note that the 6,50€ does not represent the true cost of reserving a space in line at the Uffizi. Paying for entry to any special exhibits is mandatory, and there is also a fee for reserving online. You'll need to check what the current price is for the date you wish to go, but it is likely to be much higher than 6,50€.

Lorraine,
We just returned from Florence on Monday 4/30/2012.The comment about the true cost is correct. They require you to pay for traveling exhibits so the cost may be 10-11 Euro's. The point on the Ferinze Card is no lines. We were there on Friday and Saturday. The line at Accademia (David) was 1 block long, no line with the card. Uffizi Gallery was 45 minutes to get to the security. 5 minutes with the card. Friday we walked and wore ourselves out. Saturday we rode the mini buses. There are designated routes throughout Old Town C-1 or C-2. What a relief. They hold about 10-12 passengers and showing your card it's included, Thank God. We should have riden on Friday. We saw in 2 days 63 Euro's each of sights and rode the bus 7 times. There's a bus map with the card. Our hotel was by the Duomo and a tourist office was 3 buildings down and a bus stop 1 building down. Time to go to the train station back to Milan, #14 big bus got us there. You will love Ferinze.

Lorraine, good idea to check the individual cost of admissions (plus extra charges for special exhibitions). One other thing to consider: if the Florence card includes city transportation, that's probably a waste - the central part of Florence is packed tight with sights, and most buses don't get into the main streets/squares anyway. Florence is mostly flat and easy to walk.

Lorraine, A couple of things. One, the Duomo Museum does not have the Gates of Paradise on display. It is being restored. You pay extra off the Firenze Card. I would not go. Now if you go to the Duomo Cathedral, Giotto's Tower, Baptistery, Duomo Museum they are extra off the card. It's your decision to walk to the top of the Duomo and the tower. I would definitely go to the Santa Maria Novella Perfumery. It's 400 years old this year and great scents. Now go to Ponte Vecchio bridge at sunset, a band plays and the sunset is beautiful. Go across the bridge and then turn left. A grocery store is there. My wife and I every time buy wine for a wine tasting in Europe. They have 3.5 Euro wine splits and sausage/cheese for a great
evening or a train ride to our destination. You will love Florence/ Ferinze

I know this is an older string, however my wife and I just came upon this very big news for Firenze Card that makes the decision to purchase or not a no brainer for us. From January 1st 2013 nine museums have been added to the Firenze Card circuit! Includes The Duomo, Campanile, and Battistero! Torre di Palazzo Vecchio Museo dell'Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore Battistero di San Giovanni Campanile di Giotto Cupola Basilica di Santa Croce Casa Buonarroti Museo Casa di Dante
Museo del Calcios.

I would like to add that I purchased a Florence Card and would do so again in a heartbeat. The pluses are: You can pick it up at the airport the moment you arrive. It comes with lots of info about the various museums. The 72 hours do not begin until you actually visit your first museum.
You don't have to carry as much money or use your credit card as often. But mainly what it gives you is FLEXIBILITY. I know that the idea of trying to cram things into a 72 hour block may seem frantic, but it isn't. Especially when you consider the alternative is scheduling a vacation around pre-scheduled appointments. With the Florence Card, you can show up at the Uffizi at 9 or 9:30 or 10 or even the next day, then beat the line and zip in. Florence was such a fascinating city. It was great to know that I could take a little more time discovering things on a looser itinerary. Even if in the end you might end up overpaying a bit (which is doubtful, you will probably save a little) the convenience and saved time not standing in line is worth it.

Thanks for the updated information. We will be in Florence for 3 days in early May. I had planned to reserve tickets online for the Uffizi and the Academia but had been looking at the Florence card. For the little extra I have decided that its worth it not to have fixed times that I need to be at the museums. Plus with the additions they made this year, it looks like its a no brainer. I'm glad someone has confirmed my analysis!

I saw someone posted that starting from 2013, 9 more museums have been added to the list of those covered by this card, including Museo dell'Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore. Can anybody confirm this? I looked at Firenze Card's webpage, I didn't see those 9 museums in their list.
Thanks.

I haven't been on this site in a very long time. I just wanted to thank everyone who responded to my question. I did buy the Florence card and it was well worth it ... even before the added museums. To everyone who's going to Italy ... pack a BIG bag ... you'll never want to leave.

We are only going to be in Florence for 2 days in May and I plan to get the Card. It is worth it even if I don't max out the savings on entries; just for the ease of being able to walk into a museum when we want. No worrying about what time we had made a prior reservation and rushing around so we don't miss our allotted time. With the added attractions, it is even better!

This has been alot of help....I will be going to florence in June for three days...does the florence card help you in pisa as well?...also how will I know which line in the museums to get into if I purchase the florence card?

This has been alot of help....I will be going to florence in June for three days...does the florence card help you in pisa as well?...also how will I know which line in the museums to get into if I purchase the florence card?

I don't think the Florence card is good in Pisa. But, maybe someone else knows for sure. It's clearly marked which line to get into at the museums with the Florence card. You're going to LOVE Florence ... and Italy, as a whole. Have a great trip!

does anyone know if its a good idea to buy the Firenze Card ahead of time online. I thought you could buy it when arriving to the city.

It is my understanding that you get a voucher when you buy it online and that you still have to go to one of the "sales" points in Florence to trade your voucher for the actual card.

The Florence card is not accepted in Pisa. There are a bunch of entry/discount options for Pisa that Rick explains in his books. Or you can go to the Pisa museum website and look: http://www.opapisa.it/en/home-page.html (and this is the website that you would use to book a time to walk up the Leaning Tower if you were so inclined) :)

We will be in Florence in June with our teenager daughter. Does anyone know if we need to get the Frirenze card for her? I thought I have read some where either through the forum or Rick Steve's books that children under 25 yrs old are free, can someone confirm that? Thanks

There's a good discussion of the relative merits of the two Florence museum cards plus info on how to order them ahead of time here: http://tuscany-toscana.blogspot.ch/2011/01/florence-museum-cards-florence-museum.html

Hi Everyone, Thank you for all of the helpful information regarding the Firenze card. I'm going to Italy next week and am wondering if I should purchase the card online or buy it at the airport or the other places in the city. Any thoughts? Thank you so much!

Also, I know the Roma Pass you can only buy in Rome, but are there any passes or tickets you can pre-buy for the Vatican? Thanks again!

The card now costs 72 Euros. The shorter line for the Accademia was nice but the reservations could have been made online. Not sure we will get our money's worth. However, we noticed the prices for some of the sites went up 50% over the prices listed in the Italy 2013 Rick Steves' guide.

At 50 Euros it would have been a good deal if you plan on spending 3 days in Florence and are going during the busy season (April-October) and want to avoid wasting your day in long lines.

The card has increased to 72 Euros so the savings are no longer as great, but skipping the line at the Uffizi and Statue of David is definitely worth it. Since we have a wine tour and bike tour planned during our three day visit I don't think we'd get our money's worth so I am just buying individual tickets at www.tickitaly.com so I can still skip the lines.

My husband and I plan arrive in Florence from Venice on May 6, 2014. Where do I purchase the Florence Card? and do I understand that it allows us to skip long lines and can go at any time? If we arrive late morning-early afternoon, how best can we use our time after hotel check in. Probably stay 3 nights before we move on to Tuscany hillside and Amalfi Coast. Thank you