Reservations in Florence
 

Hi.

Going to Florence for 5 days on May 27th. Staying outside city at the Villa La Vedetta.

What should I reserve before getting there. I'm going to make a dinner reservation or two, but besides that, are there museums or anything I need to plan in advance? I'm really not looking to spend hours waiting in lines if I can pay a fee for a ticket to anything in advance.

Thanks for the advice.

Rob

The Acadamy and Ufizzi definitely deserve reservations, otherwise look forward to waiting in line about 2 hours for each. Any good Florence guidebook will have the phone number to call, and there may even be internet reservations possible.

Aside from those two I should be ok?

Thanks Edward.

-rob

I think so. Also, don't overlook the duomo museum, which is near the actual duomo. All the cool stuff that used to adorn the exterior is now stored safely in the museum. Those amazing bronze doors, for example.

Hello robinnyc! I don't have any advice about your question in particular beyond what has been said, but I just wanted to mention that my husband and I are staying at the Villa La Vedetta for four nights in early May. It sounds lovely but I'm a little anxious to see it since there aren't many reviews of it.

merry,
i haven't heard too much, but what i've heard has been incredible. Sounds ideal for us. Easy transportation in and out of Florence, with a pool on beautiful grounds.

I was advised by my travel agent who was there and said it is just wonderful.

have a great time. i hope its as good as the pictures look.

My wife and I stay in Florence last year at this beautiful small hotel in the heart of Florence, walking distance to all of the sites.

www.relaiscavalcanti.com

Enjoy it!

you can reserve museum tickets in advance through www.italyselect.com (it may be www.selectitaly.com - I can't remember for sure which it is). You will pay for the convenience, but if you don't want to waste your time in line, it will be worth it. We used them and it was very convenient.

We also stayed at Relais Cavalicanti a year and half ago and are returning for 5 days in Florence in May. Very nice, very clean and Anna & Francesca are very helpful.

Hi r,

Uffizi and Academia Museum Reservations
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 1.60 euro for the service. This is MUCH cheaper than the commercial booking services.
You will not be charged for the reservations unless you use them.

((I))

We absolutely LOVED ITALY!!! The people were wonderful. The food was to die for and the sites- unbelievable.

We were let down in Florence though. Very disappointed with the online service www.weekendafirenze.it who was supposed to reserve our Uffizi and Accademia visits. We never received our confirmation vouchers via email and you can not retrieve your vouchers online through their website. They will not return our 7.77 euros/ticket service fee. That's ALOT of money for a service they did not provide!

Stay away from their service and dial 055-294-883 during office hours (Mon–Fri 8:30–18:30, Sat 8:30–12:30, closed Sun) to make reservations for the Florence museums for 3 euros each plus the cost of tickets.

Robin,

How was La Vedetta? Thinking of staying there in Sept.

Tuttlebrazil, I stayed at Villa La Vedetta in early May. This is from my trip report:

It was absolutely beautiful--the rooms, the common areas, the pool, the view, the patio, the grounds. The staff was very friendly and our room was spotless every day, and they had good turndown service. I was a little worried we'd get stuck in a crappy room since we booked through Orbitz at a pretty big discount over the rack rate (260E vs. 400E), but we were given a gorgeous room with views of the city below. The bathroom was also amazing--very big, marble and tile, with a whirlpool tub. The only drawback was the location. Yes, we had a view and it was lovely to retreat to it at night, but it was quite a hike to and from the city, and cabs were between 9 and 14E. I suppose the bus would be an option, but we were just too lazy to figure it out.

Sounds Great Merry.

Was therer no shuttle service provided by the hotel?

I don't think so, but they were more than happy to call taxis for you and the bus stop was about 100 yards down the road.