Uffizi or Accadamia

[ehogan]

If we only have two hours in Florence (we will be doing a ship tour which gives us 3 hours after our tour is completed) should be do the Uffizi or Accadamia ( we would get reservations)

[wwinfl91]

I would say the Accadamia because that would allow you to see Michelangelo's David. It is definitely a must see if you are going to be in Florence.

 

Link to it.

 

http://www.tickitaly.com/galleries/accademia.php

 

Have a great next cruise.

[jstallt]

Hi- we're on Splendour on May 14 and we had to make that decision as well. We dedcided on the Accademia because the Uffizi requires lots of time...it's supposed to be fantastic and I would want to meander through to see everything. So next time!! We pre-purchased our tickets, I got them through http://www.tickitaly.com and we paid 17.50 per person.

 

Good luck with your decisions - have a blast on your trip.

 

jennifer

[elin]

If you only have 2 hours, go see David. There are other interesting pieces in the Accademia (including an interesting exhibit on art restortation) and 6 of the "slaves" (the best 2 are in the Louvre though).

If you want to arrange tickets in advance, you can phone the gallery and make reservations (for both the Accademia and the Uffizi).

There will charge you $3EUR a piece extra reservation fee, but you will not be charged until you pick up your tickets (they give you a confirm number and a time - do NOT lose this number). It is much cheaper then any on-line agency (some which charge double the price) and the operators all speak English.

Elin

[pezeli]

That is a tough one. My opinion is to visit the Uffizi. David is spectacular but I thought it was really the only work that interested me there. The Uffizi is much bigger and has a collection of Florentine art unrivaled anywhere. Additionally, it is right on the river next to ponte vecchio with great shops to explore. Right over the bridge on the way to the Medici palace is a leather shop with coats my wife loved so much she bought two!

 

Also, the entrance to the Uffizi is on a plazza, across the plazza are three restaurants, with outdoor seating, in a row. The middle one had the best pizza I've ever eaten.

 

Whichever you choose however, I am sure you won't be disappointed.

[FLJudi]

We've done both and give a strong vote for seeing the David at the Accademia. If you can get a guide to take you through, it would be a plus. We stood transfixed for more than 1/2 hour in front of David, awed by the skill of the artist in turning a cold piece of marble into a warm, lifelike, heroic man.

 

We found the paintings in the Uffizi to be beautiful, lots of Madonna and Childs, but overload, too much of a good thing. You could be exhausted after two hours there.

 

FLJudi

[realproperty]

The Academy is compact and fits within the time frame. It is also easy to understand. If you know a lot about Renaissance art, then the Uffuzi is the place to go but it is like the Louvre--too much to handle in a couple of hours. We did a 2 hour tour of the Uffuzi with an art historian who took us to key pieces and actually explained why they are significant and representative of a certain period of art. We saw maybe 15 or 20 pieces in 2 hours. Unless you know what you are looking for or at, or have a good guide book and lots of time, you will just ramble through it, not know what you saw or what the big deal was but be able to say "I did the Uffuzi and it was awesome" and probably not know what the heck you saw. It is a big art gallery and as I recall, it did not have one of those books that they have in the Louvre and the Gallerie d'Orsay titled a first time visitors guide to the gallery that takes you to the must sees in a 2 hour visit. Just walking through the gallery and seeing a lot of what looks like religious art will otherwise be a bore. IMHO

[SteveS]

Do a private tour and see both plus a whole lot more. The price is about the same if you are four but definitly worth the extra if you are only two. We used Alessandro two years ago, it was a great experence. Be sure to get advance tickets for the Uffizi and Accademia. alecamma@hotmail.com

[OCTravelerGene]

Hands down, see David --- and get your tickets over the Internet in advance to avoid standing in line once you get there. Uffizi is wonderful too but takes far more time than you appear to have available. gene

[drinkahoy]

We are taking the train in. How far away is the Accadamia from the train station. We want to book our reservation ahead of time and want to make sure we have enough time to get there. Can we walk from the station or do we need to take a taxi.

[cruisinsince75]

We just got back from Florence. The Accademia is about a 15-20 minute easy walk from the SMN train station. You will walk right past the Duomo, Camanillle, and Baptistry on your way to the Accademia. If you have difficulty walking you can take a bus to the Piazza San Marco from the train station and the Accademia is right there.

 

Now as far as which one to visit. I am going to go against the grain here. I would do the Uffizi hands down. David is amazing, but there is so much more to see at the Uffizi and it is by the Ponte Vecchio and the Piazza Signoria. You do need to get reservations if you are doing the Uffizi and you can do that directly with the museum itself.

 

Call 011 39 0552388651

 

Here is the link to the website http://www.polomuseale.firenze.it/english/uffizi/

[pvmkmyer]

I would do the Accademia, especially if you like sculpture better than paintings. The last time we were in Florence the Uffizi was closed so we went to the Accademia and didn't regret it.

 

In the great rush to see David everyone just whizzes by another breathtaking set of Michelangelo sculptures, "The Slaves." They are lining the hallway on the way to David, who is standing at the end. Do not miss these other sculptures. Some are not finished, and are surrounded by the block of marble, so you get to see how the master was carving these unbelieveable bodies from a lump of stone. It makes you remember that these are inanimate objects, and they are quite remarkable. Some of the figures look like they're struggling to work free of the marble. Amazing.

 

Also fairly close to the Accademia are the Medici chapels. If you like Michelangelo be sure to get to the chapels, since his work is all over the tombs. He was commissioned to do a series of sculptures to cover their tombs.

[Tania]

Accadenia, hands down. It's much smaller than the Uffizi so I think you'll feel less rushed. Besides, it has couple of nice Raphael's too...Primavera (Spring) and The Birth of Venus, which were radical in their time because they weren't religious in nature.

[dlhoward]

We have 12 of us going on our cruise. We are all going to Florence. Some want to see David and some don't. Our ships excursion is $89 to drop us off with 5-6 hours in Florence on our own. I looked into a private guide but so far would be over $100 pp so it seems the ships excursion is cheaper so far. You said you went to David. The ships excursion leaves at 8:15 (whether it is on time or not I'm not sure). I believe it is a 1-1/2 hr drive so I can assume that we would be in Florence between 9:45-11:00 depending on time left and traffic. I see you have seen David. Was it worth it? What was the cost? Where online did you book tickets? What time would you suggest we get tickets? How long did it take to go through it? Some are going to be sick of museums by then. Is the whole museum worth going through? Thanks for your time.