Florence tourist stuff

[CatWontBudge]

I'm going to Florence next month and have heard booking tickets for the galleries and duomo in advance is a good plan. But I'm feeling overwhelmed by the options. Has anyone been in the last year or so that can advise please? We're 2 adults 3 teens. Are we better to have guides or skip the line or what works best? We definitely want to do Academia & Uffizi and climb the duomo, also any recommendations would be great outside those, especially if they're teen friendly as too much culture might tip the kids over the edge. We have 4 days.

I was there last month . Booked everything you mentioned about a week before and had v limited choices re times etc so earlier the better I'd say.
I was only there for three nights so cannot advise re teen stuff .
All lovely and the food was great even in places that looked like tourist traps
Have a lovely time x

Definitely book asap. Use the official websites, you can book everything online.

The Gucci museum! I suspect the teens may enjoy that if they have any interest at all in clothes. I think it may be free (or if not very low entry fee).

https://www.ciaoflorence.it/en/page/339

We did a Medici walking tour which was fab. Booked via trip advisor

Watch the sunset from the 'other' side of the river, up where there's a replica David statue. There were loads of people up there watching - it was fab.

Accademia isn't very big - it didn't take long to go round. We didn't go to the Ufizi.

Visit the pharmacy which was a location for Hannibal - it's one of the oldest in the world and is amazing.

Take a bus out to Fiesole. Amazing Eutruscan ruins and fab views over Florence.

Have lunch/drinks in the rooftop bar at the top of a department store overlooking the Duomo. A highlight for me.

Enjoy - it's a fabulous city.

You can book once there as long as you don't want to enter museums straight away and you can wander into most churches. There are also combination tickets where you only need an entry time for the first venue ie Uffizi and then la few days to visit the other sites, The duomo does sell out for the dome, crypt, belltower etc so prebook if you can but you can queue up for the cathedral itself,

Tickets can go suddenly very quickly, I would definitely book in advance, don’t wait until you are there.

I tried to book the Academia last September, still plenty of time slots available and 3 days later all were gone.

I was on my own and even if I had DD with me, she would have just wanted all Medici related things as she is history mad.

In the Accademia most people just go and look at the David. It's not that big and that's really the only star item. There are a lot of other galleries/churches with star attractions but you said not too much culture..

Uffizi is worth it, if you aren't crazy into art just do the top floor and finish at the v nice cafe, skip the lower floor. Has to be booked in advance.

Climbing the Duomo is good, the Bapistery is good, inside of the cathedral surprisingly dull. If you want all the frescos you need to go to Santa Croce.

We did a guided tour of the Palazzo Vecchio which I think was worth it.

For a short stay, and with teens who aren't crazy into culture, just wandering about a bit will probably take up a lot of time. Go over to the Oltrano, wander about, go up to the Piazza Michelangelo for the views - this was packed with teens who seemed to love it.

Have you thought about a food tour? We did a tour with Curious Appetite, it was a lot of fun and for your teens you would get all the crucial info on where, and where not to eat gelato.

Thanks all that's really helpful. Do you think guided tours are necessary or is just entry enough for the museums? Costs can easily start to mount up from what I'm seeing. I've been wanting to do this trip for genuinely about 20 years so I don't want to scrimp on something and regret it but equally I typically prefer to be flexible and see things at my own pace rather than be herded along.

Depends what you want out of a guided tour.

In the Uffizi you will pass loads of people having tours (and can listen to them as you go) but it's rare they are telling them anything more than you would get from a guide book. Unless you have booked a specialist who can do something designed for you (which is £££) it's not worth it.

Food tour I got a lot out of, learning about the culture, why they have the particular types of food and why Florentine bread is so bad, that none of the restaurants claiming to sell Chianina beef are because there aren't that many cows and so on. Plus the all important gelato.

Equally the tour of the Palazzo Vecchio was well done and told us a lot about Florence. And you got to see bits that weren't usually open.

If you really want to see the sites then a lot of the famous work is in the Opera del Duomo museum and very well displayed. Or its frescos still in the original locations eg San Marco, Santa Croce, Santa Maria Novella.

The Gozzoli chapel in the Medici Riccardi palace has to be booked in advance as entry is limited, it was a must see for me and might appeal to teens as it is so full on bling.

I went last month. Definitely book now for anything you want, we left it till we got there and couldn’t get tickets for some things. You don’t need a guide, go to the official website and just book a timed entry. I couldn’t compute the combination tickets, but they can work out cheaper.

We queued to get in the cathedral (no tickets for this) for one hour 40 minutes, and frankly it wasn’t worth it. There’s not much in there apart from the ceiling which is magnificent. Opted not to climb the Duomo, I don’t do heights and apparently the passages are very narrow, but we’d left it too late for my friend to get a ticket anyway.

The Boboli Gardens were beautiful, probably the best bit of the trip. Pitti Palace ok but crammed with art and not tremendously well explained. While you’re over that side of the river, it’s certainly worth climbing up to the Piazzala Michelangelo, a steep climb but fantastic views.

You need to book for the Uffizi and despite the timed tickets, it was very crowded. You can download a floorplan on your phone. Every other person seemed to be filming (not permitted) on their phone or taking selfies in front of the Botticelli Venus. There is some fabulous art there, but I did not enjoy the experience.

Some of the small museums are much better value, Dante’s house we were able to just turn up and walk in, and the Palazzo
Davanzati is a mediaeval nobleman’s house, really interesting and again you can just turn up.

We were unable to get tickets for the Accademia, but to be honest, we were a bit sick of art museums by then. Florence is very, very busy; walking down the pavement, you invariably have to step into the road or someone else does, to let you pass. I’m used to central London but found it quite overwhelming.

A great restaurant is Simbiosi on via de Ginori, there’s a pizza restaurant and a trattoria-type place side by side, great food and a very laid-back atmosphere that I think teens would enjoy. You can book tables online.

My advice would be book now for anything you really want to do, e.g. the Uffizi, climbing the Duomo or the bell-tower, we definitely left it too late. But I would also choose some of the less busy things that you don’t have to book for, San Marco museum is good apparently although we didn’t get there. I completely understand about wanting to make the most of it, but don’t pack too much in. Sitting with a coffee or a gelato and soaking up the atmosphere is also part of it in my view. I hope you have a great time, take comfy shoes!

Honestly can't thank you all enough - and specially @MerelyPlaying, @AnnaMagnani you've both been super informative.

I've now booked a duomo climb time slot with guided access in the cathedral because when I visited Rome I found the guided tour gave me extra knowledge of St Peter's Basilica. I've booked a regular time slot with no guide for Accademia.

I'm still weighing up Uffizi, I think actually the merchant house that was mentioned might be more appealing, thanks for that great tip. Also like the sound of Boboli gardens and a food tour. Plus some relaxed wandering. I definitely want to enjoy our trip rather than feel stressed rushing from place to place on a schedule.

We took a train to Pisa that made a good out of town day

oh, also you could watch 'Rob & Rylan's Grand Tour' as they cover Florence on one episode. However it was remarkably empty (think they must have got up very early), and they had exclusive access to the Uffizi after hours, so it's definitely not representative of the usual tourist experience! Worth watching anyway as they are very funny.

I went earlier in the season and it was just coming out of Covid so likely less busy. However even then it's clear most people are concentrated in 3-4 main sites. Florence is also very very small so it doesn't take long to go to say San Marco which is far less busy.

DH and I are art obsessives plus it being Covid opening hours were variable and there were a lot of limits so it was practically a job working out what was open when, when tickets were available etc etc. I pre-booked Everything but probably didn't need to.

Personally I think it would be a shame not to go to the Uffizi. Yes it's busy but you can wander about at your own pace. There are also a lot of painting such as Botticelli's Venus that you will be v familiar with from reproductions, which look unbelievably better in the flesh.

My top tips for eating are:

Club Culinario Toscano da Osvaldo - superb and not just for tourists, the place for your Florentine steak
Osteria dell-Enoteca - great location opposite the Pitti Palace, has a couple of set menus with wine tasting, gorgeous
Il Ricettario - v near the Uffizi, has food from around the regions of Tuscany

All the above are easily bookable on line.

Probably our best lunch was at Alimentaria Uffizi - plates of cured meat/cheese at a deli on a tiny backstreet near the Uffizi. Everything comes from the family farm. Turn up and hope there is a table.

Finally gelato:
Our guide told us the golden rules are - all gelato should be in lidded containers, not the piled high displays, no unnatural colours, plus ideally made by the shop and not bought in. If there isn't a queue go somewhere else as the best places will all have a queue.

On top of the art, definitely visit the original Santa Maria Novella pharmacy. It’s stunning, and their products are lovely.

Across the Ponte Vecchio is a great glove shop: Madova. I bought a pair of cashmere lined leather gloves from there that lasted me 15 years and several ski trips. They finally collapsed last year and I immediately got a new pair. Their leather is lovely and not too expensive.

The Alexander Armstrong programme (Invisible Cities) is interesting for some of the less known stories and background to the duomo and Versari corridor. The Michelangelo cell is accessible occasionally but only by pre-booking.

For anyone reading who is interested in going to some of the few tickets, pre-booking only places I found everywhere very helpful by email.

DH really really wanted to go to the Brancacci chapel. At the time it was closed for restoration (I think it is about to reopen). They had some v limited time slots when 10 people could go up the scaffolding to see the frescoes.

Obviously I thought we had no chance but I did email. They were really helpful, told me what day and time the relevant block of tickets would go on sale so I was sat by my laptop ready to go just as they came on sale.

And so we had a magical experience face to face with the frescoes.

If there is anything you think is a must see but are worried it is too popular, ask the ticket office, it is always worth a try.

I really wanted to go to see the excavations beneath the Palazzo Vecchio but they have been closed since the Pandemic.

Go to Menchetti for the pizza. It’s there as you exit Ufizi.

The tickets for the Bobili gardens also admit you to the Bardini gardens which are linked through a roadway. It's easy to miss this and just go to the exit. Both are beautiful with fab views. We stayed at a hotel with a roof garden restaurant and pool. Almost all of my holiday pics are taken from that roof. I've never lingered so long over breakfast. Kraft Hotel if you are still in the market for accommodation. We were there in the second week of April and the temperature range was 22 to 28. Perfect but like everywhere in the Med, Summer temperatures are becoming a deal breaker.

Fabulous place, I hope you get to see and do all you want.

Just beware that Florence is VERY crowded, hordes everywhere (and tourists like us are the cause lol!). I was there in February and honestly I could not believe how packed out the place was even off season. But like others here I had time slots booked for the things I wanted to see.

If you have time I'd highly recommend a day trip to the charming town/city of Lucca. Easily accessible by train - I did it and it was a great day out, a break from museums, churches, bridges, frescoes, and queues. But obviously if your time is limited you will want to spend it all in Florence.

Enjoy.