I will be travelling with my family in March and just read some great recommendations posted on this forum for reservations recommended in Rome and wanted to get some advice for reservations in Florence and Venice. Thanks!

Reservations for admission to the Uffizi and Accademia museums (Florence) should be at the top of your list. Your hotel can typically make the rseervations for you for a nominal fee.

Best wishes,

Rex

Many thanks. Any suggestions for Venice?

The Secret Itineraries tour of the Doge's Palace requires advance reservation, but it's not something that I would necessarily do on a first trip to Venice.

http://www.museiciviciveneziani.it/f...;sezione=musei

You can also book online for the Accademia:

http://www.gallerieaccademia.org/calendario/week.php

And for the Basilica di San Marco:

http://www.alata.it/eng/BOOKING/sanmarco.asp

We will be in Venice 15 & 16 December, a Friday and Saturday.

Do you think reservations for the Accademia Gallery are necessary?

How much time would you alot for it?

Thanks for the link.

Hi P,

Secret Itineraries tour of Doge’s palace Phone number is 011 39 041 520 9070. English-speaking operator.

You will not be charged for your tickets if you don't go on the tour.


Uffizi and Academia Museum Reservations
The easiest and cheapest way is to call Florence 1016868 (dial around number), 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 3 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.

Have a nice visit.

Great tips. We will do this. Thanks!

I was in Venice in mid-November and made a reservation at the Accademia, just in case. When I arrived at the appointed time, there was no line and no need for a reservation.

How long you spend there is really a personal decision. I'd definitely visit the two rooms with the "Holy Cross" and "Santa Ursula" cycles for their views of 15th-century Venice. Veronese's "Feast at the House of Levi" is pretty spectacular; it's great fun identifying all the elements - dog, parrot, etc. - that would have no place in a depiction of the Last Supper, which it was originally intended to be.

Thanks, Eloise. There might be more people in mid-December, but we're getting there at the very beginning of school winter break so I think we're all right. No reservations for us then.

The easiest and cheapest way to get reservations is to ask your hotel to do this for you. It is a local call for them and they should not charge you for the service. Just send them an e-mail.

"Feast at the House of Levi" sounds like it would be a great painting to focus on with our children. We like to identify a few pieces of artwork to concentrate on before we go, and they get a big kick out seeing the actual artwork when we arrive. Thanks!

Prhirsch:

Here's an English transcript of Veronese's questioning by the Inquisition about the painting, originally intended, as I mentioned, as a "Last Supper." It brings up all the things that the Inquisition found unacceptable. Try as I might - on several occasions - I never found the servant with the nosebleed. If you and your children find it, tell me where it is!

http://www.efn.org/~acd/Veronese.html

For some reason, that link didn't work...

This one did when I tried it:

http://www.efn.org/~acd/Veronese.html

Nope, no good either...

What appears as a slash / after acd should be a straight up-and-down line that I can't find on my keyboard...

Last try:

http://www.efn.org/~acd|Veronese.html