My family (2 adults and 1 eleven yr. old) will be travelling in Italy for two weeks in April. We will be in Florence for only 2 days, falling on a Monday and Tuesday. I know that the Uffizi and Accademia are closed on Monday, but do not want to miss either one. Could you please suggest an itinerary for those 2 days which includes the 2 museums on Tuesday? We are not tremendously well versed in art and an overview of those museums will probably suffice. Thank you!

Hi<BR>First, have your hotel order advance tickets for the two museums.<BR>I'd do the Uffizi first thing in the morning. Even a brief stroll through will take at least two hours, and imo it's not that user-friendly a building<BR>(lots of stairs, etc). I'd suggest buying the Uffizi guidebook in their gift shop before you go in, or do some searching on their website to look at the highlights. It might help you point out some pretty or interesting details of the paintings to your child.<BR><BR>When you are finished, go shopping, have lunch, etc. Outstanding hot chocolate and pastry can be had at Rivoire, right on Piazza della Signoria.<BR><BR>Reserve for the Accademia at the end of the day, perhaps an hour or 45 minutes before closing.<BR>The greatest treasures are &quot;David&quot; and the &quot;Prisoners&quot;, right on the main floor.

If you can find the time, check out the History of Science museum. It's great for kids and adults. It's relatively small but interesting. Your 11 yr old would probably enjoy it. Being not well-versed in art, you may be best off going for a tour where the highlights can be pointed out and explained. These museums could be quite overwhelming.

You can also reserve for these museums on line. Not sure of the URL, but I found it easily doing a search.<BR>

Iregeo,<BR><BR>If open on Monday visit, the Piti Palace aross the Arno. Many wondeful Italian Impressionists displayed here.<BR><BR>Anthony

I'd recommend doing the Accademia first so that you can get it out of the way. It may depend on where your hotel is--is either museum on the way to the other?

Yes, definitely get reservations for the museums. You can even do this before going to Italy.<BR><BR>I think you'll also want to see the Santa Croce Church as well as hop a cab up to the Piazzale Michelangelo for a lovely view over the city. <BR><BR>You can stop for a latte at the Piazza della Signoria either before or after seeing the Uffizi. Also a stroll from the Piazza della Republica toward the Ponte Vecchio crossing over the river Arno and on to the Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens is very nice.

http://www.weekendafirenze.com<BR><BR>http://www.weekendafirenze.com/museifi/uffizi.htm<BR><BR>http://www.florenceitaly.net/uffizitk.html<BR>and these are the hotels that provide the service:<BR>Hotel Basilea * * * E-Mail: [email protected]<BR>Hotel Pendini * * * E-Mail: [email protected]<BR>Hotel Ritz * * * * E-Mail: [email protected].<BR><BR><BR>http://www....ce_tickets.htm<BR>

Forgot to add: the above are the websites for PRE_ORDERING tkts to Uffizi and Academia Galleries...<BR><BR>Another option is this:<BR><BR>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 resrvation service at the Uffizi and costs beyond the normal entry fee only about 1.60 euro for the service. This is MUCH cheaper than the commercial booking services.

The history of Science museum is open on Mondays. See http://galileo.imss.firenze.it/index.html for more info.

Thank you all for your expert advice. My hotel (Alessandra) has made reservations at the Uffizi and Accademia for my preferred times. They note that I must arrive 15 minutes prior to my reserved time to pay for and pick up the tickets. Does that mean that a long line will be unavoidable? If so, is there another way to reserve to avoid the lines? Thank you in advance for the information.

I wouldn't miss the Boboli Gardens. They are exquisite!

even if you reserve on line, you have to go to the little desk to pick up your actual ticket, at least that's what I recall. Mimimal line for that, if any.

Thanks, Elaine. How'd you get so knowledgeable about even intimate details of all that is Italy?!?

Iregeo - no, you won't have a line if you have reservations. They just don't want you to arrive tardy for your reservation.