Visitors to Florence might want to consider buying a
Florence museum pass if they're planning an intensive immersion in Florentine art during their stay. The idea is partly to save money but,
more importantly, to not have to join the sometimes long queues outside popular museums. A pass allows you to bypass these queues. There are now two museum passes available - see below.
As of 15 June 2015, the
Amici degli Uffizi card gets you
into the Uffizi Galleries only. It is valid until the end of the year in which you buy it. You can pick up your Amici degli Uffizi pass at the welcome desk at the Uffizi - don't forget to bring a passport-sized photo for each person to be included.
This is a distinct downgrade from the previous rules which allowed entry into numerous other museums and, in my opinion, makes this card useful only for individuals who plan to visit the Uffizi intensively, perhaps throughout the year.
Individual: valid for one adult cost 60 euro.
Family: two adults and two children up to 18 years of age costs 100 euros.
Young people: up to 26 years of age costs 40 euros.
The Florentine mayor's office announced a new type of museum card, the
Florence Museum Card, known as the
Firenze Card, that is now available. National and Florentine municipal museums are all included and the pass costs
72 euros for 3 days (72 hours) (tourist pass).
The Firenze Card is valid for 72 hours
from the moment of its first use in a museum or on city public transportation. So, for example, if you use it for the first time at 3pm on a Tuesday, you'll be able to enter the museums until 3pm of the following Friday.
The Florence Museum Card provides entry into at least 33 museums, reservations included. The museums are the Palazzo Vecchio, the Uffizi, the Accademia, the Pitti Palace - Boboli Gardens, Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Museo Archeologico, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Stibbert, Horne, Bardini, Cappella Brancacci, Alinari Photo Museum and others. Private and other museums are still in negotiation.
However, although 33 is a lot of museums, not all are included. Note that the
Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, for example, does NOT participate in this programme.
The Firenze Card allows you to enter the Uffizi even when there are no time slots left on the official booking site. Waiting time at the "reserved" queue of the Uffizi will probably be not more than 10 min and sometimes no waiting at all, compared with an hour or more on the open queue at popular times of day. That means the card is essentially as good as having reserved a particular timespot on-line - better, actually, since you don't have to show up at a particular time.
IMPORTANT NOTE: you must obtain separate tickets (free, of course) to climb the cupola of the Duomo (Cathedral), to enter the Baptistry and to enter the associated Museum. You do this by presenting your Firenze card at the appropriate ticket counters BEFORE lining up to enter any of these three venues. Tickets for the Baptistry and Museum can be obtained inside the museum.
The Firenze card allows you to use public ATAF city buses free. There seems to be some confusion on this issue, even among some drivers, Nevertheless, the Firenze card is good for ATAF city buses during its period of validity. It CANNOT be used on the Hop-on Hop-off (HoHo) tourist buses which are run by a private company.
Note that children who under 18 enter free when accompanied by an adult cardholder ONLY if they are citizens of the EU.
IMPORTANT STOP PRESS: ask about this if you are non-EU. There has been a confusing news release stating that all STATE-OWNED museums now have free entry to all under 18's. This will sooner or later become law and it seems to apply now to many STATE-OWNED museums. Bring passports to establish age.
Note also that an ordinary ticket and a Firenze card allow you to enter any given museum once only. With the Amici degli Uffizi card you can enter as often as you wish.
The Firenze Card can be bought online - click the link
Firenze Card. Some local sales points do not accept credit cards, but the information opposite SMN railway station, for example, does accept credit cards.
It will be important for you to do your arithmetic. For example, for a family of four, the Amici degli Uffizi pass costs 100 euros and is good until 31 December of the year you buy it. The Museum Card, good for three days, will cost 288 euros for the same family but gets you into a great many more museums and galleries. And of course it can save you hours because you skip the queues at ticket offices.
By the way, the
OFFICIAL website for the Bargello, the Uffizi and other museums in Florence is:
http://www.polomuseale.firenze.it/en/
And the
OFFICIAL website for buying tickets is:
www.b-ticket.com/b-ticket/Uffizi/default.aspx
There are a number of other websites with official-sounding names and domain names that are agencies charging exorbitant prices for tickets, reservations and other services.
Firenze Card can be purchased in the following sales points in Florence:
- Tourist Info Point, Piazza Stazione 4 - From Monday to Saturday 8.30 am - 7.00 pm; Sunday 9.00 am - 2.00 pm. Closed on 1 January, 1 May, 25 December.
- Tourist Info Point, Via Cavour 1 red - From Monday to Saturday 8.30 am - 6.30 pm. Closed Sundays and holidays.
- Museo di Palazzo Vecchio Info Point, Piazza della Signoria - From Monday to Sunday 9.00 am - 11.00 pm - Thursday and midweek holidays 9.00 am - 1.00 pm
- Palazzo Pitti, Piazza Pitti 1 - From Tuesday to Sunday 8.15 am - 6.20 pm - Closed on Monday; 1 January, 1 May, 25 December.
- Museo del Bargello, Via del Proconsolo 4 - Every day 8.15 am - 4.20 pm - Closed on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Sunday and 2nd and 4th Monday of each month
- Uffizi Gallery, Piazzale degli Uffizi - Tel. +39 (0)55 290249 - From Wednesday to Sunday 8.15am - 6.20pm; on Tuesday 8.15 am - 9.30 pm - Closed Monday, 1 January, 1 May, 25 December.
And, finally, many museums offer free entry for everyone on the last Tuesday of the month.
Author: Anna Maria Baldini
