UFIZZI GALLERY LINES IN OCT
 

Is it necessary to make advance reservations for the Ufizzi and the Academia for Oct 10?
How are the lines at that time of year?
Is there any posting for seeing just the highlights of the Ufizzi?
Thanks a lot,
Molly

Hi

Many folks have recommended by tickets in advance.

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.

I was there last October and the lines were horrid. I was really glad that I had a reservation.
Have a great time!

on previous trips in early October the line was hours long

Although it's not my favorite museum (for facility reasons, not for art reasons) pretty much most of its collection is a highlight
there is an audio guide I believe and if nothing else you can buy a guide book in English on your way in
The Michelin Green guidebook for Florence has excellent information
as does the Eyewitness book, though I didn't care for the latter for lugging it around for general sightseeing in Florence.

Are both of these museums strictly art?

Maybe I was just lucky, but I found that I could practically walk into the Uffizi after 3 PM. This was in June, no less. However, book in advance if you don't want to risk it.

I'll agree with Elaine about the Uffizi. The museum is not that big, so it's quite manageable and easy to find whatever you would consider the "highlights."
Donnabee, by "just art" do mean do the museums only have paintings? If so, the answer is no, as the Accademia, among other things, houses Mechelangelo's David, one of the world's most famous sculptures!

Thanks Howard. I just don't want to go into a museum that has all paintings. Not our thing. Guess will go to the Academia then!

But Donnabee, you'll be missing out on seeing some great art!

The Ufizzi not only has some of the world's geatest paintings, it also contains some world famous sculpture. Also some very nice views of the river and the city from the musueum. Definitely worth at least an hour or two.
As for the 'facilities' at the Ufizzi - the building is roughly a 'U' shape, with the toilets and food service at the far end of the 'U'. However, there is no problem backtracking, you can peruse in any direction. There is a separate entrance for passholders at the Ufizzi.
The Academia is much smaller, and also has both paintings and sculpture (including the David).

We were there Sept. 20th (2001). The lines were such that at about noon, the next available reservations were for 2PM the next day. We went to the ticket booth and purchased advance/reservation tickets right there.

I guess it depends how much time you have; if you're really tight, you can phone and reserve (as mentioned above) from anywhere.

By The Way, that's what I did for the Last Supper in Milan, and it worked fine. I got the time I wanted. You just have to plan for whatever the time difference is for Italy when you call...

Go early (by 9 a.m.) and there won't be a line. Definitely get the audioguide -- you will need 2 hours to get through the museum using it.

We were in Florence in mid-October 1999. We had no reservations to the Uffizi but managed to go through it twice in five days.

The first time, we arrived about 30 minutes before opening and were inside within 40 minutes. The second time, we were walking past the entrance after dinner. The Gallery was still open (until 11:00 p.m.), and there was no line! We were almost alone as we strolled around and had a second look.