Here's a couple of tips. The Duomo Museum is closed for renovation until November 2015. Duomo and Baptistery are open. The Florence Card adds children under 18 to their parent's cards at no extra charge even though they are not EU citizens. I only have one munchkin. So, I don't know the limit on number of children. Then, I just learned on this forum that there is a family pass at "Friends of the Uffizi." It's cheaper than Firenze Pass. Too late to help me now.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
15800 posts
The "Friends of the Uffizi" pass is a good buy - especially if you're in Florence for more than a whirlwind tour, and enjoy walking.
• Life of the pass extends to the end of the calendar year purchased instead of the 72-hour Firenze card. This was a plus for our stay over the better part of a week.
• A family pass covers two children - of ANY nationality- under the age of 18 versus the Firenze card's requirement that they be EU citizens. Do note, however, that under-18's of all nationalities may enter Italian State Museums (in Florence, the Uffizi, Pitti Palace; Bargello, Accademia and a few others) for free.
• There's a reduced-price card for ages 18 to 25: not so for the Firenze card.
• Unlimited entry to any of the attractions covered versus only only visit allowed to each attraction listed on the Firenze card. This is great for seeing the larger museums in over shorter, multiple visits instead of having to cram the entire collection into one day. It also allows greater flexibility for working daily itineraries around the weather. Nice day? You can spend it at scenic spots rather than feeling pressured to fit another museum/church in those 72 hours.
• The Firenze card includes transport but that also adds to its considerable cost. Florence is fairly compact and easily explored on foot, and you'll still come out ahead by buying individual tickets for the occasional hop onto public transit. We didn't feel the need to use the buses at all although persons with mobility challenges will have different needs there.
In short, Firenze cards would have added up to €144 for the two of us, included services we didn't want or need, and we would have felt rushed trying to get to everything in 3 days. A € 100 Friends of the Uffizi family membership not only saved us some money, but allowed us to sightsee at more relaxed pace and with greater flexibility.
I should note that the Firenze card covers a larger array of attractions but in reality, there's only so many of those a person can stuff into three days so the majority of those attractions will go unvisited. The Uffizi card covers most of the 'majors', and we still better than broke even when adding in the few tickets we had to purchase in addition to the card. As with any pass, you have to do the math for your own (realistic) must-do list but it worked for us.
See details here:
http://www.amicidegliuffizi.it/diventa_socio.php?pg=8&ln=en
Posted by
1 posts
We were only in Florence for 2 days, but we found the Firenze card extremely useful. Not only did it allow to skip the lines, we went into places we were just walking by, because it was free with the Firenze Card. We seen much much more than we would have if we didn't have the card. I should note that I am a very busy traveler and enjoy staying on the go. For people who want to leisurely see a few sites and don't mind standing in lines, then the Firenze card would have been an unnecessary expense.
Posted by
8 posts
Must one buy the Uffizi membership AT the Uffizi gallery only our can it be gotten from say the Accademe? We plan to see David first thing upon arriving in Florence, getting to Uffizi would be considerably out of the way.