travman

Hello all,

I'm trying to decide if I can get both the Uffizi and Academia in Florence done in one afternoon (starting at about 1:30 pm - 13:30). I'm going to make reservations, so I want to make sure that I don't make bad reservations that force too much in one afternoon.

Is it feasible to appropriately see both in one afternoon? How long is the walk between the two? How long did you spend in each of these museums?

cab5s

If you are not a huge art lover, I would say to allow two hours for the Uffizi and then 15 minutes to walk to the Academia. If you are mainly in the Academia to see the David, you will probably only be in there for half an hour or so.

j_999_9

I'll 2nd what cab said. However, at the Uffizi, a lot depends on your level of interest in art. I read somewhere that the average time spent per visitor is under 2 hours. They have what I think is a new display on the works and inventions of da Vinci, and if you're interested, that may take up more time than anything else.

Agree totally with cab's estimate of walking time and time spent at the Ac.

cesca1

A little off topic, but related. I called the Reservation phone number to book reservations for Uffizi and Academia, but all I got was a recorded information message. How do you get a person?
I called 011 39 055 294883 about 7:00am EST. Should be about 3:00pm in Florence.

Can anyone help?

Thanks,

Cesca1

travman

Well, I was planning on calling the number. I hope that is still possible!! Anybody know of another way?

Below is the information I gleaned from other threads:

"The easiest and cheapest way is to call Florence 011 (U.S. international access code) 39 (Italy's country code) then 055-294-883 8:30-18:30 M-F and 8:30-12:00 Sat. Florence time. You will get an English speaking operator and in 2-3 minutes YOU CAN RESERVE FOR BOTH. This is through the reservation service at the Uffizi and costs beyond the normal entry fee only about 3 euro for the service."

"I ordered my tickets online at http://selectitaly.com/museums.php?ref=ggl. We received a voucher to be presented at the museum. They have a seperate line for those who already have tickets. It was extremely simple...you can also get tickets for the Uffizi, and many other attractions through this same web site."

"Date: 02/06/2006, 11:43 amRegarding the post suggesting selectitaly.com, just be aware that you pay a premium purchasing your tickets this way. The cost per ticket by phoning is 9.50 Euros/ticket, plus a 3 Euro/ticket booking fee, or 12.50 Euros, or about $16.00 per ticket, versus $21 per ticket via selectitaly.com. It's your call."

Eloise

As I understand it from another travel forum, the Uffizi/Accademia telephone number's message says that it will start accepting reservations again on April 26.

HelenDonegan

The answering service for booking the Uffizi etc by phone changed yesterday and it was very difficult to get through. Today is a holiday in Italy so the office is closed. Try again 8.30 - 6.30 tomorrow (Italian time).

csroe

I agree with the others regarding the Uffizi. Two hours is probably as much time as I took, and needed. I will say that I spend about 40 minutes at the Academia trying to memorize every possible view of David that I could! The rest of the Academia only took me about 15 minutes or so.

adamriemer

If I arrive at the Uffizi first thing in morning, will I be able to avoid lines/wait. It will be midweek???

Statia

We were there first thing in the morning during the summer and the lines weren't very long. As a matter of fact the reservations line was longer than the regular line.

You can always get a reservation to avoid having to wait in a long line and then just not use the reservation if the line is short.

cesca1

Thanks to all for the responses. It appears the reservaton number was offline... I will try again Wednesday.

Thanks,

cantstayhome

Also, are you staying at a hotel in Florence? Our hotel booked all of our tickets for us.

SusanMargaret

To get the most out of your visit to the Uffizi, I suggest that you take a guided walking tour. We used Art Viva (www.italy.artviva.com). The tours start at 1:30 and last 2 hours. The Academia is open until 4:45, so you would then have time to see the David for half an hour or so. We also took
Art Viva's evening walking tour of the Oltrarno - the one that ends with a glass of wine - and enjoyed that.

valtor

The time that other indicated to be spent is also the time we visited these museums.
However, I could not visit in the same afternoon these two museums. Too many impressions...I will be very tired after this, my head and my heart will be too full.

Polly_Magoo

As someone who works in the world of art and antiques, I suggest no more than two hours to view artwork. After that, everything becomes a blur.

Artificial Art Official

clevelandbrown

We stayed in Florence a week and passed the Uffizi virtually every morning. Some days there were long lines; some days there weren't. I don't think anyone can predict with accuracy which days will have lines.

We just asked our hotel to get us a reservation. You don't pay for the reservation until you use it, so just go there with a reservation number and if the regular line is short, don't use your reservation and save a euro or two.

I don't know about the lines at the Academia; we went there only once (I just wanted to see if I could find it before getting a reservation) and there was no line so we went in.

I would be very hesitant to say how long it takes to do a museum. It all depends on your own behaviour. Some people just want to say they have been there and they could do that by driving past in a taxi; some people like to take so much time appreciating the art that many people would not want to accompany them. Who is to say which is correct?

My wife and I like to be contemplative and ended up spending more time in the Academia than the Uffizi, even though it is smaller. We really enjoyed David, but also were captivated by the prisoners. The Uffizi, by contrast, was crowded with tours and there was no way one could have stood before a single work for more than a few moments without being interrupted.

I've not found a good web site with maps of these museums and lists of their art, but when we are pressed for time at a given museum, it's handy to do some preparation and have a list of what one really wants to see there, and where it is. Perhaps your local museum would have such materials. I'd rather spend my time looking at a Rembrandt than looking for it or, worse, never knowing it was there.

travman

Thanks all for the advice!

venezzia

It took me a few days of calling at midnight+ PST time and I finally got thru tonight to the Uffizi phone line. I couldn't believe I finally got thru after reaching the "all lines are busy message" so many times! You have to go thru a couple of menus, but finally you can reach "booking" and the reservation happens very quickly. I was able to book a reservation for May 5th - contrary to what I have read in other messages that they could not book until later in the month.

travman

Well, I called for about 30 minutes straight starting at 9:45 AM MDT and I finally got through. I booked the Ufizzi and Galleria for May 12