Uffizi and Accademia tickets

Julie, these are the official websites you need:

For the Accademia and Uffizi:

http://www.b-ticket.com/b-Ticket/uffizi/default_eng.aspx

You will need adult "Full" tickets for you and your husband, and € 4,00 reservation-fee-only tickets for your young people (they will otherwise have free entry to these two museums).

For the Duomo:
https://www.museumflorence.com

In this case, your children are not free so you'll need full-priced € 18,00 pp tickets for all 4 of you. Understand that the tickets cover visits to all of the duomo COMPLEX (bell tower, dome (pre-reservation mandatory!), crypt, museum and baptistry) but does not provide priority entry to the main body of the church itself. That one is free so everyone stands in the same line. IMHO? The cathedral is much more interesting outside than in so unless making reservations for the dome - you can see down into some of it from above - you could just concentrate on the other parts.

Editing to add: it would be kind expensive to buy ticket for 4 JUST to do the dome. The interior mosaics of the baptistry are stunning, and the museum is very good too. No, they don't sell a cheaper ticket just to do the dome.

Kathy provided all the info you need. I just wanted to suggest getting your view of Florence elsewhere if the only thing you want to do on the Duomo ticket is climb the dome. We had planned to climb it (we had the Firenze card), but scheduling was bad, and really I wanted my view of Florence to have the Duomo in it. The plan was to climb the tower at the Palazzo Vecchio.However, the first evening we went up to the Piazzale Michelangelo and San Miniato. We thought the view (FREE!!) was spectacular. Then as it turned out, the day we had planned to climb the Palazzo Vecchio tower was very rainy so we skipped it and felt no great loss.

Great suggestion from Jules for Piazzale Michelangelo and San Miniato. The church is very old and important, and that view....!!!! The cemetery surrounding the church is very interesting as well. Yep, all for the bargain price of FREE.

https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-monuments/piazzale-michelangelo.html
https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-churches/san-miniato.html

Thanks Jules and Kathy for the replies. That is good to have the websites for bookings. Yes I am very keen to walk up to piazzale michelangelo and to go higher up to the church sounds very nice too, and free as you point out. My 16 year old is keen to climb up some towers, domes etc but I wonder if I would find it claustrophobic a bit, the view would be great though. I have found a tower in NZ that you can walk up a couple of hundred steps and am passing by it in a couple of weeks so will try it as a trial run!! Are most of the stairs in the domes and towers in Italy tight spiral narrow steps or do they have a bit more room? Still undecided about the The Duomo ticket, will keep mulling it over. So many other nice things to see too. We will be visiting other big churches etc too in Venice and Rome so not vital to do them all. Some of the gardens in Florence sound nice to wander through too, way more than we can do in a couple of days. Will try and get the 2 museums booked anyway as a starting point. Thanks

I am in no means endorsing the pricey Firenze card, but it did work well for us. If you are thinking of Boboli Gardens, the Uffizi and the Accademia, you are getting close to the price of the card, especially if you want to do the Duomo. Just do a price comparison. In terms of how tight your options are for climbing the various options, I did do some reading, and my impression was that the Duomo dome was the tightest and it seemed like the views from the Duomo bell tower were more obstructed by mesh, etc. Thats why we were thinking of doing the tower at the Palazzo Vechio.

If you get the Firenze card, you can still reserve your times at the Uffizi and the Accademia, but you need to do it through the numbers provided on the official Firenze card website.

Julie, there are umpty videos on youtube people have created of their climbs. Here's one of them, although he doesn't film every step.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuCitJ9_XwQ

But really, the value of a duomo ticket is to be able to visit multiple sites within the complex so I'd question spending €80 (four €18 tickets + €8 in processing fees= €80) if not intending on doing any of those.

Going back to Uffizi, there's a "PassePartout 3 Days" combo ticket available that includes the Uffizi, Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens. Info here:
https://www.uffizi.it/en/tickets

It's 38,00 € per adult and 4,00 € per minor child. While you still have to choose a specific entry time for the Uffizi, you can visit the Pitti and gardens anytime during the life of the ticket (3 days AFTER you do the Uffizi). The Pitti collection can be overwhelming, and the gardens (some pix here: https://www.uffizi.it/en/boboli-garden) are not exactly what many might think of as "gardens" (not much for florals) but there's another nice view of Florence from the top of the gardens. The nearby Bardini Gardens - which I've not yet seen - are rumored to be nicer, and I believe that entry is included with the Pitti ticket. They're also supposed to be at their best in mid-April - early May.

More Boboli pix:
https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-museums/boboli-gardens.html

Bardini pix/info:
https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-museums/bardini-gardens.html

I didn't go to the Bardini garden, now I wish we had. The views at Boboli garden were nice, but other than that we were underwhelmed by Boboli gardens. It was raining, tho, so surely that colored our view. Pitti palace went on and on and on. . . .

Pitti palace went on and on and on. . . .

LOL, Jules, isn't THAT the truth! 😳 I think we managed a little over half of it - and I'm an art geek! - and finished the rest at a dead run. I'm also 100% with you on the Bardini: wish we'd have done that versus the Boboli but there's next time, eh?

Just a couple of additional comments about the Firenze Card...
That one, while can work OK for adults, could be a bit messy if trying to use it in tandem with minor children. Best of have someone with firsthand experience weigh in here but I'm not sure how it works at museums where minor children above a certain age are normally not free, such as the duomo complex. Advance reservations are also not possible for the dome if using the card: you can't make those until you arrive in Florence, and slots can be full by that point. For priority entry, it's strongly recommended that you make reservations for the Uffizi and Accademia per instructions on the website; this includes taking care of the 4€ "free" tickets for the minor children at the same time. You might want to read the FAQ sections of the card's website carefully before committing?

http://www.firenzecard.it/en/faq

Hi Julie. If you plan on visiting a few more sites, the Firenze Card is well worth it. I was there in May with my 15 year old. They just swipe the card and let you in. I made the online reservations through the official b-ticket site for Accademia and Uffizi. Choose the "free" ticket and only pay the reservation fee. Then purchase the Firenze Card when you get there. Show up at your appointed time and give them the card and reservation print out. Very easy. I did make online reservations for the Duomo also. I was afraid they would be booked up when we got there. The climb is well worth it. I also climbed the bell tower at the Palazzo Vecchio. It was a little disappointing. The edge was roped off which made it hard to get a good view. Hope this is helpful. Enjoy!

Oooh, Jennifer, glad you're here!
Could you clarify something? How did the Firenzecard work for your 15 year-old at the duomo complex? At the National Museums, such as the Uffizi and Accademia, everyone under age 18 is free (aside from the small priority-entry reservation fees where applicable) but only children under age 6 are free at that one plus there are reduced-priced tickets for ages 6-11. As you said you made reservations for the dome before you got to Florence - and you can't do that with a Firenzecard - did you just buy advance tickets +reservation for the 2 of you and forego using your card for that one? Otherwise, how did you work it with a teenager?

There have been so many changes to so many passes this past year, and the Firenzecard site isn't crystal clear on the duomo procedures for card holders with children above the age of 5. Thanks in advance if you have wisdom to share!

There were some changes to the Firenze card last spring, and it might have been in May. The way I understand the card and the way the staff at my inn also explained it, if you have or will have a Firenze card, you need to book the Accademia and Uffizi times through the Firenze card website (no charge) and at that point you are committed to the purchase of the card (unless you want to give up your reservation). I'm not sure the process described above will work for the Firenze card, however, it seems to change a lot, and also, the museums may or may not follow the Firenze card procedures, I don't know.

Hmmm. There's no function on the Firenzecard website for pre-reserving slots at the Uffizi or Accademia. The 3 ways they list are on the FAQ page and are by phone or in person at a few stated ticket offices.

And for sure, advance dome reservations cannot be made online or by phone if using the card; can only be done after showing the card and picking up the tickets for the complex at the stated office in Florence. It's only if you buy tickets online from the duomo's website that you can reserve your dome slot before arriving in the city...which is what Jennifer seems to have done for both herself and her teen but which subtracts from the value of the card.

As Julie and Co. are going just before High Season, it's possible there will still be slots available when they get into town so prior reservations won't be a necessity. Still, it's a matter of taking the risk if it's a must-do?

With the Duomo climb I did not use the Firenze Card. I booked online for myself and my daughter. Full price for both. I didn't trust that there would be availability when we arrived. This was too important to risk it.
When I was there in May/June you could call and make reservations for Uffizi & Accademia in anticipation of purchasing the Firenze Card. I couldn't get through. So I had my travel agent do some investigating. She found out about making the reservations on line and only paying the reservation fee (though b-ticket) .then purchasing the Firenze Card when we arrived. I showed up at the appointed time at the Uffizi ticket office, handed over my card and reservation and then was given the official tickets. They also gave me the tickets for the Accademia which we were visiting the next day.

We are returning in April and plan to do the same thing with the reservations and Firenze Card. I'm a total history/museum junkie. Hope this is helpful. Hope the procedures don't change again!

Ah, gotcha. Yep, it would work to just make €4 reservations (for Uffizi and Accademia) through b-ticket in advance for each member of Julie's family, and then have the adults use those in combo with their Firenzecards, if electing to go with those. Good to know that's another acceptable method. Julie would want to lengthen the must-see list a bit, as Jules very likely did, to try make good on those cards, though... not that there aren't enough ways to do THAT, right? :O)

Thanks for explaining what you did for the dome; sounded like you'd just opted for tickets but wanted to make sure. Wow, lucky you to be going back so soon after the last trip!!!!

Kathy, it seems you and I are saying basically the same thing. What I meant is that the directions are on the Firenze card website. The time slots must be reserved by calling the Firenze card phone number for the particular museum. It is my understanding that you cannot reserve for the two museums on the museum website if it is your intention is to buy and use the Firenze card for the payment. I had multiple sources on this. (We reserved in July for October)

Again, I would double check the process Jennifer used because I used the "chat" function on the FIrenze card website and was told that you cannot reserve with the museum if you intend to pay via firenze card. You do not have to purchase the card prior to making the reservation, but after you make the reservation via firenze card you are committed to using to purchase of the card. Actually, it makes no sense to me to pay for a reservation when there is no charge for the reservation thru the Firenze card (if you have determined that you will use the card).

I offer the caution because the whole process was changed in the spring, so what worked for Jennifer may likely not work any longer. My inn keeper made our reservations for Uffizi and Accademia because i do not have cell service for Italy. She had no difficulty getting the reservation and the reservations were free.

The exception is the Duomo. The firenze card does include the duomo but you cannot reserve the dome in advance. However, there were spots available when we arrived to Florence and the longer the stay, e.g. like 4 days vs 2, the greater the likelihood of finding dome spots when you arrive.

I just read the procedure on the FirenzeCard site. My interpretation is that yes you can make a reservation for free by calling or in person at Orsanmichele. They give you a time and confirmation code that you present along with your card at the museum. I did the same thing. Just paid the $4 reservation fee and showed up with the card and confirmation code at the museum.

Also, it looks like the phone number given for reservations on the Firenze Card site is for Firenze Musei call center. So, Firenze Card is not actually making the reservations for you. When you show up at the museums they want the code and the card . That's what I did, I just paid $4. Totally worth it to me.

Kathy, it seems you and I are saying basically the same thing. What I
meant is that the directions are on the Firenze card website

Ok, got it now! When you said that, "you need to book the Accademia and Uffizi times through the Firenze card website", it wasn't clear that you meant per the DIRECTIONS on the website. Yep, we were saying similar things.

Hello again from a very wet Wellington morning! thanks everyone for the information. Thanks Kathy for the links for the Utube Dome climb clip. Looks amazing but unsure if my head would cope with so many closed in winding stairs, not worried about fitness. The view is so good though at the top. Have started reading up on the Firenze card so will decide if it is worth it for us, possibly not. I have looked at Bardini Gardens before and thought they looked pleasant for a wander, especially as the wisteria may be flowering when we are there. So many options of things to do. Hard to chose as we originally had 4 nights 3 days but I have booked a day trip, San Gimignano and Siena including a 10 k bike ride, so only 2 days now plus a late afternoon/evening the day we arrive. We may go to a football game too on one of the afternoons as my kids would love to do that and there is a game on. So much to research as the only adult on the trip! Thanks everyone.

Yo, Julie -
Risking a rotten-veg pelting for the very suggestion, how would you and family feel about skipping the Uffizi? It's no sin to admit that there might be other things you 4 might enjoy, and you do not HAVE to go just because it seems everyone else does. I am an art nerd so it was a gotta-do for me but, well, different strokes, you know? Shoot, I'll cheerfully admit that my fave "David" isn't the one in the Accademia (ducking flying tomatoes....)

Thing is, with limited time, there are all sorts of other places in Florence to get terrific doses of art without spending the time, $$, and dealing with the mob at the Uffizi. Just ask some of us. Some of those may actually be more memorable as, unless you're REALLY into art, smaller doses won't leave you as crosseyed as the rooms and rooms of stuff at Uffizi or Pitti. While I do think everyone should see at least SOME of Florence's lovely Renaissance treasures, there are different ways to skin that cat.

If interested in some alternative ideas, just give a shout? :O)