Help with Florence Galleries/Museums
#1
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Help with Florence Galleries/Museums
We will only be passing through Florence for an afternoon, so I need advice on the feasiblity of visiting the Uffizi, Accademia and Medici galleries. <BR> <BR>We plan to make reservations for any that we choose, but wonder how much time we should allow for an abbreviated visit to each or if we should rule one out. <BR> <BR>I'd very much appreciate your opinions and suggestions. <BR> <BR>We will likely have about 4 hours to spend in Florence at most. <BR> <BR>(I know it sounds crazy, but we will likely make a return trip for a more leisurely experience at a later date. This is our "antipasto" of Florence.)
#2
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Well, I don't want to sound negative, but... We just got back from Italy, and we spent a good 3 hours at the Uffizi (not including time spent getting into the Gallery) -- and we skipped the second half because we were losing steam. I think trying to get there, rush through, and get back to your train would be a bit stressful. <BR> <BR>It's a bit hard to do a "highlights" tour of the Uffizi, because the crowd flow is designed to move everyone through along the same path. Many of the rooms are "railroaded," i.e, you have to go through a chain of rooms to get to certain things. If you really just want to see one or two specific pieces (the Botticellis, for example), it might work. <BR> <BR>We didn't do the Accademia or Medici - they might work better for this.
#4
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Daniel <BR>Personally, if I had to pick one, I'd have to choose the Accademia. It is a small museum, "David" is magnificent, and a sight you will never forget. <BR>Get advance tickets. Spend the other 2-3 hours strolling and seeing the Duomo and the Baptistry which are magnificent as well, or go to the Medici chapel to see more sculptures by Michelangelo.
#5
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This may sound like blasphemy, but my wife and I simply opted to skip all of the museums and chose to walk around Florence, eat, shop , tke pictures etc. We could not see waiting 2-3 hours in line in the sun during our vacation with a bunch of other tourists. You can make reservations for them so if you want o go do that. I wouldn't try to go to more than one in four hours though.
#6
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Thanks to all for your comments. I think I will go with the idea of sticking to the Accademia and the Medici galleries with advance reservations. (My travel companion is less a museum/art nut than I am, so this sounds like a good compromise.) <BR> <BR>We will be there mid-afternoon, around 2:00 or so. My hope is that with reservations, we can take in the museums and the Duomo, even if at a hurried pace. Uffizi next trip, I suppose.