Annalisa

Is it necessary to make train reservations in advance from Rome to Florence in March?

Are reservations necessary for the Uffizi and Accademia? Will both of these museums likely require a full day?

Thanks!

sandi_travelnut

If you want to ensure you have a seat, you get train reservations. Some regional trains do not allow reservations and it's first come, first served. It is not required to make a reservation for the museums, but a reservation does allow you to bypass the long line, walk right in a purchase your ticket. Be aware though that making a reservation adds a few euro to the price of your ticket. The Accademia is very small and depending on how long you want to stare at David, can be seen in an hour or less. The Uffizi can take many hours.

elaine

HI
everyone has different styles of museum-going. I go to a lot of museums a lot of the time, but I tend to have about a 2-hour limit for appreciation--after that I leave, or at the very least take a break. I'll appreciate it more if I see the rest at another time.

That said, I think for the Accademia, most people don't stay more than 30-45 minutes. There is David of course, and some other Michelangelo sculptures on the main floor, the rest of the museum had mostly minor works in my opinion and with limited time, I limited my appreciation to the Master.

For the Uffizi, which is not one of my favorite museums, I think 2 hours is a minimum, 3-4 hours not unusual.


There will always be someone who will tell you that when they went in March there were no lines, but I tend to be the kind of person who prefers to make reservations if they are possible (that goes for trains, too), because I really hate wasting time standing in line or not getting in. Your hotel can do the museum reservations for you.

TravelsWithStDavid

I don't know about the train reservations, but I would definitely make reservations for the Uffizi and the Accademia. Ira previously posted the telephone number to call before you leave. It is 011 39 055 294 883 and they are open from 8:30 to 18:30, Florence time. We are going in March and have the number at hand to make our plans, thanks to Ira.

sandi_travelnut

It's so easy to have the hotel call and make reservations for you. They can usually do it even the day you want to go.

tcreath

I was in both Rome and Florence the first week of March last year. I found there to be very little tourists in both cities overall, and walked right into museums (and most other major attractions) with little to no wait, so reservations wouldn't have been necessary. Now, I don't want to say that you don't need them because I don't know how crowded it will be when you go, but I just wanted to share my experiences.

As far as trains were concerned, again we didn't have a problem finding a seat on most trains. However, we had rail passes and were able to sit in first class, which generally has much more seating available as most Italians use second class. And trains run from Florence to Rome at least once an hour, if not more. But if you know exactly which train you want to take and you absolutely need to be on that particular train, then a reservation would probably be a good idea.

Marilyn

We have, on more than one occasion, made reservations at the Uffizi for the same day. Came into town late morning, went to the museum and made the reservation for mid-afternoon, and went off to do other things and have lunch. This was at the height of tourist season (July) so I can't imagine a problem with a same day rez in March.

kfusto

Seat reservations are REQUIRED on Eurostars between Florence and Rome no matter what class. And they DO check your seat assignments.

We had a first class Eurail pass last month and paid an additional 12 Euro each for seats on the 4 Eurostars we took, well worth the price considering the comfort factor and time savings vs. the regional and intercity trains.

I agree with making reservations for the musuems in Florence. It is a small price to pay to be able to just walk in and not have to wait. In late September, the lines for the Accademia were extremely long. We walked in and stayed over an hour and when we exited, the line had barely moved.

ira

Hi anna,

If you dial 1016868 011 39 055 294 883, it will cost you about 30 cts to make reservations for both the Accademia and the Uffizi.

If, when you get there, you find that there is not a long wait you don't haveto use the reservations and you will not be charged.

As noted, the Accademia is a fairly short visit. The Uffizi will be 3-4 hrs.

I would make train reservations ahead if I knew which train I wanted and knew I would be unlikely to change my mind.

krix

Ira, is the 106868 a voip/dial around number? Thanks in advance.

ira

Yes krix,

Thats 10 1 68 68.

zozozo

It depends on when you are in Italy this March. It is Easter on 27th of March this year and easter week is high season. The hotels I booked all charged more for hotel rooms and some did not have any rooms available. I am guessing this also means you would need reservations on train because of higher numbers of travelers and in museums.

kybourbon

I find kfusto's posts about train reservations confusing for new travelers. Kfusto is talking about Eurail passes pruchased in the states which do not include seats and would only be purchased if you were making multiple trips. For tickets on Eurostar purchased in Italy your seat reservation IS included - they are not sold without a seat.

If you are traveling during the busy Easter holiday you might want to book your tickets as soon as you arrive in Italy or on the Italian train website. www.trenitalia.com

Price for ES 1st cl is 42.35E and 2nd cl is 29.44E

eab

Hi Annalisa,
I'm pondering the same question about train reservations for our upcoming trip in April. I have a feeling we will wait and book when we get there.

Regarding the museums: we were in Florence on March 7 - 9 of 2003. We got to the Uffizi early and waited only a few minutes to get in. I agree with Elaine, the paintings are great but the museum is not one of my favorites. Two or three hours was plenty of time for us.

We showed up at the Accademia late in the day and walked right in. We had enough time to marvel at David -- a highlight of our trip.

Ellen

metellus

Don't bother making advanced reservations for the train. The odds of it being sold out are zip. The ticket machines at the train stations are by far the easist way to buy tickets.

You probabaly don't need reservations at art museuems in March. We went to the Uffizi in May with reservations but could have walked right in. Just go first thing in the morning.

How long you spend in the museums depends on your theshold for boredom.

kfusto

Kybourbon, thanks for clarifying my post. No matter where train tickets are purchased, seat reservatons are required for Eurostar trains in Italy. It is correct that these are included with the price of the ticket when purchased at the stations or thru a travel agency, but you will pay extra for seat reservations if you book through Rail Europe or many US travel agencies.

Easter will be very busy in Florence and I personally would want museum reservations as well as seat reservations.

Annalisa

I think that I will wait until I get to Rome and then make all of these reservations. I'm a little nervous about using the Trenitalia website, as someone here said that it's not that easy to use unless you speak Italian. Anyway, thanks so much to everyone for such wonderful advice as always.

artlover

I think it depends when you're traveling. If it's during Easter, I'd say for sure to get reservations. We were in Spain during Easter and half the country must have been taking the trains and we had to change our hotels etc. because we couldn't get get the AVE from Seville to Madrid when we had wanted.

As far as the Uffizi and Accademia--again, we were in Florence during Spring break when it seemed every student (yes! in Italy it seems the young people actually GO to musems!) was there and we had to wait over an hour for the Accademia and about 45 minutes for the Uffizi. We're going back in May and I plan to get reservations this time. But that's me--I don't like waiting in lines if I can avoid it.

Have a great trip.

P.S. I highly recommend the restaurant La Giostra in Florence--and for that you may need reservations as well. (You can check it out in Fodors restaurants).

Melissa5

Annalisa, a good hotel will make the Uffizi gallery and Accademia reservations for you, and they won't charge you anything for this service. Our florence hotel, Hotel Silla, did this for us. (They actually volunteered to do it!) You tell your hotel which day/time you prefer, they call and make the reservations for you, they e-mail you and give you your reservation numbers.

You just take the reservation numbers with you to the museums. You avoid the long lines and go straight to the window for people with reservations. The museum can charge you a small fee of a couple euros extra for the reservation, but they usually waive the extra fee if the regular line is only moderately long, and you get to go in for the regular price, skipping the regular line! It's a great way to do it. You pay the museum, not the hotel. Our extra fee was waived at both museums, we just paid regular admission price and skipped the line.

ira

Hi : Annalisa
> I'm a little nervous about using the Trenitalia website, as someone here said that it's not that easy to use unless you speak Italian. <

Go to www.trenitalia.com/en

It's all in English.