I will be in Florence on July 2 and would like to know what is the best way to buy tickets/make reservations at the Accademia. Rick mentioned 2 options: #1- by e-mail/print ticket and prepay or #2- by phone, get reservation # and pay when you pick up the tickets there. I would like to have this checked off as "done". Obsessive planner!:) I appreciate opinions.
Barb
When we lived in Florence, we were at the Accademia (and the Uffizi and other galleries ) most days. Now, we buy tickets online and prepay and are good to go upon arrival. Here is all you need to do> Go to www.accademia.org/plan-your-visit/admission-tickets/ and when you get there, choose the date you want. Then click on to "BOOK YOUR TICKETS" and it will take you to a page where you can book and pay for your Accademia tickets and book for any other Italian museums you want to visit. This means you have your tickets and do not have to get in a line to pay for and pick up tickets which, let me assure you, will be a monster line in July. Though you would have a reservation, you'll need to line up and wait to pay and get the tickets which is tiring and time consuming when you could already be inside the museum out of the hot weather of Firenze.
We were at L'Accademia earlier this month. Granted, it was off-season, but we hadn't bought advance tickets online, so we just went to the ticket office across the street from L'Accademia's exit and booked a time slot about a half-hour out, received our tickets & walked across the street & got in right away.
BTW, the RS podcast for this museum worked great. It is not a huge museum, can be done easily in an hour or two. David and the prisoners are the main attraction, and that's right at the beginning.
I just ordered ticket on line on Friday from the web site that is recommended from the rick steve Italy 2015 book, sorry I don't have time right now to look it up to give to you, but it was flawless. No extra fee's. You print a voucher that you take to the ticket window and pick up your tickets. We have done it a few years ago and is very easy. They also sell tickets to all the other museums in Florence. Just pick your date and time and quantity. Pay with a credit card (if you have a no fee card that is the best). And you will be all set. I really suggest getting the Rick Steve's Italy if you don't already have it, he really makes it easy and gives the best options. I also ordered all our tickets to the Colleseum in Rome too. On another web site.
This is the 'official' site for museum tickets in Florence:
http://www.b-ticket.com/b-ticket/uffizi/default.aspx
Tickets through b-ticket are also little cheaper than florence-tickets.com
I ordered mine from www.polomuseale.firenze.it This is the web site from Rick Steves. I believe it is the B-tickets, no extra charges 16.50 Euro each.
Yep, that's the same one, Judy.
Forgot to mention that the tab for English is all the way down at the bottom of the page.
Does anyone know if the price for the online B tickets is the same as the price at the ticket office there?
Thanks everyone for all your help. I think that I will probably do the prepay online in order to skip the ticket lines. I assume that there is still a line for security.
Barb
Barb, there is a security line but it moves pretty quickly.
Does anyone know if the price for the online B tickets is the same as the price at the ticket office there?
There's a €4 booking fee: absolutely worth it as I've known people who've stood in ticket lines at the Uffizi and Accademia for hours during high season.
We stood in line for over two hours even during a time of year that is considered "off season" so the $4 fee to buy your tickets ahead is totally worth it. :)
If you have time, the little Leonardo DaVici museum near the Accademia is also quite good.
On the same street as the Accademia (via Ricasoli), up about a block or so, is the Museum of San Marco, a former Dominican convent with frescoes by Fra Angelico in every friar's cell (room). Great to see art where it was made to be seen rather than only in museums. Very inexpensive (about 4 or 5 euro last summer), never a line in all the times I've been there.
I don't know if the 16.50 included a fee. It did not say that. Just the flat price.
The website states that there's a €4 reservation fee, as does Rick's own info:
https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/making-museum-reservations-in-florence
I'm thinking that fee doesn't show up until you get past the part where you put in your personal information to finish the booking.
Zoe, San Marco was a favorite of ours as well!
