We're just finishing an extended stay in Florence and I wanted to pass along our experience with the Amici Degli Uffizi card for anyone who might be considering it for a future visit.
Our circumstances were admittedly unique - we're a retired couple here to celebrate a wedding anniversay and who have been to Florence several times, so we'd already seen most of the major sights and visited all of the museums before. The idea this time was to settle in for a more extended stay, just soaking things in and selectively revisiting places we particularly liked from previous vists to the city.
With that in mind we opted for the Amici card, believing that it was probably more tailored to our particular circumstance and would therefore provide value for us.. We've not been disappointed. Upon arrival here we purchased the family card for 100 Euros - which actually covers two adults and two children under 18 years of age, but in our case it was just the two of us.
Buying the thing was pretty easy. I simply approached one of the "line monitors" (or whatever they're called) near Door number 2 and mentioned that I was interested in purchasing one and was immediately hustled into an office just inside the door where the whole transaction was completed in about 15 minutes. The effect of the cards at the Uffizi itself was pretty impressive - we wound up going there several times and each time I flashed the cards at the entrance we were granted priority access ... felt like real VIP's. No waiting, no calling ahead to reserve a time slot - just showed up and walked straight in.
Given what they're charging for entry these days, plus the booking fees, I figure that the cards paid for themselves after about two visits. As many of you will appreciate the museum itself can be pretty overwhelming. An unexpected benefit for us was that the cards allowed us to visit specific parts of the museum for an hour or so and then get out of there before it got to be mind numbing. Made a big difference being able to take it in bite sized chunks rather that gutting it out for several hours just trying to get our money's worth.
The card included entry to the Pitti Palace, the Boboli Gardens and the Bardini Gardens. Since we were staying over on the Oltrarno side of the river anyway it made it quite convenient to visit each of those several times as well. Might add that the card now includes free entry to the Museo Archeological Nationale which we visited on a whim just because it was free. Well - it's fabulous. One of the best displays of Etruscan, Egyptian, and Roman artifacts we've ever seen. In any other city it would probably be a headliner, but it suffers in relative anonymity here. Still, if you're looking for a break from all of the winged cherubs it's a great alternative for a few hours.
Bottom line is that I estimate our initial 100 Euro investment for the card provided about $400 in value for the two of us during the course of our stay. While it mght not be for everyone, I would say that if you plan to stay in Florence for more than 3 or 4 days it might be a very cost-effective alternative to the Firenze Card ... especially for a small family.