It's just two months before our September departure date for Italy. DH & I will be in Florence for 4 nights at the beginning of October. We are trying to solidify our plans in order to pre-book tickets for the Accademia & Uffizi.

I am very excited about going through the Accademia & the Bargello. For whatever reason, I am less keen about going to the Uffizi.

If we don't go, what would we be missing?

2010

Oh, just some masterpieces by Botticelli, Titian, Francesca, Caravaggio, Raphael, da Vinci, Michelangelo, Gentileschi, etc.

I suggest some basic research, so that you can amswer your own question.

Here are a list of the artists you will miss seeing: http://www.virtualuffizi.com/uffizi1/artisti.asp

If you are not keen on art or don't appreciate it or the history, you will not be missing much, why bother? You don't have to go inside if you would rather not. Have fun.

The queues and the heat in a gallery with limited if any air-con. A view from the gallery over the Vasari Corridor and Ponte Vecchio. Just putting something different down here

You will miss some fabulous art (Birth of Venus, Primavera) which for me made the Uffizi completely worthwhile. However..... there was a lot of art that didn't appeal to me at all. Maybe it was just my mood on the day?? There is also a very interesting da Vinci section which we only discovered on the way out and by that time I was too tired to care very much!!

There is still plenty to do in Florence if art isn't your thing. But I would suggest that you have a look at SeaUrchin's link and read up a bit before deciding.

Four nights wil be lovely - make sure you head out for a stroll in the evenings - Florence feels like a completely different city once the day trippers have gone!!

For me at least, I was underwhelmed by both the Accademia & Uffizi when we visited Florence a few weeks ago. Sure, Birth of Venus and Primavera were worthwhile and David at the Accademia, but beyond those masterpieces, you really have to be "into" Italian art of that period, which I , for one, am not. If you aren't sure, why not just wait and see how you feel about them when you are there. You won't have any problem with lines in September. In the late afternoon in June, we only had to queue 10 minutes for the Uffizi.

There is some amazing artwork in the Uffizi (and some of my favorite artists) but the museum is too dark for me and I couldn't get excited about what is offered.

The views over the Arno were the best part of the museum. Bring your camera!

>Uffizi in Florence: what would we be missing if we don't go? <

Some of the greatest art in the Western World.

However, you have already seen most of it in picture books.

One suggestion is to either buy or 'browse' the Florence for Dummies book at a local book store. Many now have reading tables so you may not need to buy it. Those books, along with a Rick Steves guide, usually have the must see works in galleries. We've used them to see the highlights in several galleries, appreciate the works and then move on. Some folks can spend several days in one gallery and we've done the same place in 2 hours. Just depends on your interest level and frankly, on how much art you can absorb at any one time. We do get to a point where 'one more madonna and child' didn't make a difference!

If you go to any art museum in Florence, go to the Uffizi. It's one of the premier art museums in the world, like the Prado, the Louvre, etc. It's also relatively small and compact. There's a copy of Michelangelo's David in the Piazza Signora, just outside the Uffizi, so you don't need to go inside the Accademia to see that.

Florence is all about Renaissance art and architecture, and the Uffizi has the best Renaissance paintings.

Although IMO there's not much beyond David in the Accademia that I can think would be of interest to the "average" joe, I don't think seeing just the copy fills the bill, either. There is something about the original that is missing from the copy. Perhaps it's just the presentation/lighting in the Accademia, but it seems very different. If you want to see it, spend the time and money and go there.

Rick

Hmmm.... if ure not that interested in art then u probably won't appreciate all the queing when u can spend time elsewhere in the city. We missed out the Uffizi but really enjoyed the Accademia. You don't have to do what everyone else recommends, its your trip so spend it doing what u want to do

Have a great time!

IMO the ACTUAL answer is "nothing that you haven't been 'missing' since the day you were born' and, realistically, how bad has the effect been on your life?

Believe it or not, there are actually people out there <B>who haven't even BEEN to Florence</B> and in their apparently abysmal ignorance don;t seem to mind.

Yes, you will "miss" some major works; skip the Louvre, the Rijksmuseum, the Prado, and the Hermitage and you'll be missing even more but when you are IN those places you really WANT to be in you won't care and I wouldn't either if I were you.

Enjoy your self-determined trip.

Thanks for your candid, frank comments!

It's not that art is not our thing and I am unsure why I am debating this one! We have visited art museums, big & small on many of our trips in France, England, US & locally --- we just saw Vermeer, Rembrandt & the Golden Age of Dutch Art at the VAG. It was wonderful, by the way!

We will be in Florence from October 1st - 5th, so I am wondering what the crowds/line ups will be like? Do you think it would be wise for us to pre-book tickets for the Accademia & wait until we get there to make a decision about the Uffizi? (I won't be pre-booking tickets for the Bargello, instead we plan to be there at opening.)

2010

I've been to the Ufizzi three times, and each time I ask myself why I'm bothering because I didn't enjoy it the last time. I am clearly one not into Italian art that much, and frankly, the Birth of Venus didn't make it for the rest of the musuem. But that's me. As others said, it totally depends on your feelings of Italian art. If you are having doubts, though, it sounds like you might be happier skipping it. For me, the churches and palaces (esp. the Palazzo Pitti) were the highlights of Florence.

One time I visited the Uffizi with a person who was wholly uninterested in art, knew none of the artist's works and didn't want to know them either. She told me she enjoyed the building itself and the history of it, built in the 1500's for the Medici. So you never know what you may enjoy.

I'm glad I went, but I found it particularly exhausting. If you go, first get a map and plan of what you want to see. I wish I had....

Substituting the copy of David in the Piazza Signoria for the real thing is like reading the Cliff Notes instead of reading the novel.

I much preferred the Brancacci Chapel to the Uffizi. Simply because it's less known than the Uffizi doesn't make the art less worthwhile.

http://www.museumsinflorence.com/mus...ci_chapel.html