One day to see Florence museums, which ones!!??
 

Four of us have one Friday in May to see a couple museums. We are staying at the Hotel Casci and would love recommendations, and a good web-site to buy tickets in advance. Thanks!

UFFICI. I believe it is probably Italy's greatest art gallery. You do not want to miss it.\
\For second place, and choose yourselves, because there are several good options and at the end of the day it is a personal choice.

Well if you've never seen David you MUST. The Accedemia is a very small museum and can been seen in an hour (or less if you just go to gawk at David).

seeksocean, if you are interested in visiting the Uffizi Museum or any Museum in Florence your hotel will no doubt be happy to make the reservations for you. It is a typical service hotels in Florence offer.

Not offering any suggestion regarding museums because everyones taste and wishes are so different and I have no idea what yours are. If I were you I would do some research, perhaps go to your local library and check out some books regarding the museums in Florence. Use the Search box here on Fodors. And than go to Google and type in the names of the museums you think you would enjoy visiting for further information. And have a wonderful time in beautiful Florence!

I think the Museo dell'Opera is a very rewarding museum to go to, with a very moving Michaelangelo. And for admirers of Fra Angelico, so is the Museo San Marco, not far from the Accademeia. Both are small.

I also agree you should look at some books about what is available to you in Firenze before making your decision.

Hi!

Do I understand you correctly that you have only one day to spend in Florence?

Although I agree with the above that Accademia (David) and the Ufizzi are must see while in Florence, these visits will take up the whole day and leave you very tired. So, if you only have one day, why not pick either Accademia (very short visit, about an hour) or Ufizzi (at least two hours, if you pick and choose what you want to see), and spend the rest of the day hanging out and eating a leasurely meal. This would be my plan for a one-day visit.

If, however, you will be spending several days in Florence and only set aside that Friday in May for visiting the museums, by all means, make your reservations for a morning at the Accademia and an afternoon at the Ufizzi, or the other way around. For example, while in Florence, we went to see David at 10:00, had a nice lunch, and then went to the Ufizzi at 2:00. It worked!

Just e-mail your hotel with specific times and they will make your reservations.

Anna Roz

I agree that you need to determine your priorities, but I personally prefer the Accademia. I very much enjoyed all the sculpture there - lots of Michelangelo other than the David. I would recommend just being there first thing in the morning when they open to avoid the crowds.

btw, read 'The Agony and the Ecstasy' by Irving Stone (stone?) - it is about Michelangelo and will give you an excellent read-able perspective of Florence and history (Fra... you know -the bad guy that was burned in the square outside the Uffizi).

We were in Florence last May and had our hotel get us tickets for the Academia in the morning and Uffizi in the afternoon. I don't like to rush when travelling, but really, that was very doable in a day (grant it, my senses were a bit overloaded, but hey, that always seems to happen to me in European cities.) Just make sure you have reservations or otherwise you'll be spending the entire day waiting in line!

I would be very surprised if seeing the Uffizi and the Accademia would require an entire day or that seeing both would leave one "very tired" as a previous poster commented. If you have reservations, start the day promptly and are reasonably fit, seeing both in one day is very realistic, with time to spare.

I'd add a couple of non-museum sights to your day: the Duomo, the Baptistry, and the Santa Croce Church. If you can possibly add more time in Florence, add the Bargello Museum.

IF only one day, totally agree with Jean.

My recs after Uffizi and Accademia would be the Medici Chapel with sculptures by Michelangelo, San Marco for Fra Angelico frescos, Bargello for it's amazing sculpture. But you must be sure to see (and climb) the Duomo &/or Campanile, Bapistry, Santa Croce for it's lovely piazza and interior history, Piazza della Signoria, Piazzele Michelangelo for the view of the city and San Miniato al Monte, and the Ponte Vecchio.

With a good map, a planned walking route and advanced reservations at the two museums, you can see these all in two (very full and satisfying) days.