How long was your line to see David at the Academia?

[chipmaster]

Florence in a day will be about compromises. If you are an art and muesum buff than you need to do both. Accademia you can do in 30-40' IMHO. The Uffizie to do any justice to the art there is 2-3 hours at the very minimum which leaves you little for Florence's other wonderful history and sites.

Difficult choices and down to what is your must see.

Originally Posted by fcleiser3

Matcodixon,

Do you think you will enough time in port to do both Accademia and Uffizi?

[Podie]

We pre-purchased tickets for 8:15 am (their opening time) on 4/12 and at 8:18 am we were the second couple to see The David. When we left, the line was around the block.

[usermom]

Iin October 2011, we used Danny from Tuscan Heart for a Florence/Pisa tour. We went to Pisa first; arriving in Florence around noon. Danny purchased the tickets for us when we arrived at the Accademia since 4 of the 8 of us wanted to go there. We were able to go on the prepurchased ticket line, and were inside the Academia within 5 minutes. Then he took the rest of the group to city center. He suggested a certain amount of time there ( 1-1 1/2 hrs) and was back to pick us up to drive us to city center. It was a fabulous day. The line for people without pre purchased tickets was huge. Best advice I read on CC was to pre purchase tickets to all the sites in Italy. It was a huge time saver for us.

[CuTiAngel]

Originally Posted by Crusin6

Hi..may i step in? I red her review and now have concerns so i email the vatican on the address for tix purchasing question..and if you pre purchase timed tix you do not queue up. I specifically asked about arriving for a 10am non guided tour admission and was told that i would not line up. Lets hope that is the case. Imho the stacy thread op was probably looking at the non tix holder line. Not everyone micromanages their vacations like us ccers do! Lol

Thanks for your input. For Rome, I will have to take out the Vatican museum due to limited time but will still want to check out the St peters basilica. From what I remember, there isn't pre-purchased ticket for the basilica, so I'm going to keep my fingers crossed. :-)

[CuTiAngel]

Originally Posted by Podie

We pre-purchased tickets for 8:15 am (their opening time) on 4/12 and at 8:18 am we were the second couple to see The David. When we left, the line was around the block.

And to confirm, is that line around the block the regular line or is it the pre-purchased tickets line? Thanks for your response. :-)

[usermom]

Originally Posted by CuTiAngel

And to confirm, is that line around the block the regular line or is it the pre-purchased tickets line? Thanks for your response. :-)

It was the line for people who did NOT pre purchase tickets. Have a wonderful time!

[luvtheships]

Originally Posted by CuTiAngel

I'm reading different advice on the length of time to get into Florence's Academia from a small wait to 4-hour-long, with reserved tickets! What was your experience?
- Reservation by phone? Purchased online?
- Morning? Noon? Afternoon?
- 30min? 1 hr? 2 hr? 3 hr?

The original plan is to get ship's transport-only excursion to Florence and hoping to have no wait with phoned-in reservations. I don't know if I should spend tens of Euros extra for a private guide just to minimize the waiting.

this is getting ridiculous! One poster makes a comment on her thread about seeing a long line..which she puts at 4 hours long..AND..consisting of people who ALREADY bought timed tix. BTW..she was talking about the Vactican and she later said that she was assuming a few things as well. she doesn't mention what time of day it is though.

That one line has caused so much conflict! Let's stop now....and start thinking realistically.....

what we did last time in Florence was have RIL pick up up and we made advanced reservation..thru them..to get us to David at a time of their choosing during our day with them...we had no wait and paid for the tix there and then..not before.

If you want a no hassle day..then seriously go with RIL or someother company...but please do it because you want the no hassle aspect...which I am highly in favor of...not because of some mistaken assumption that a poster posted....and then later said she was not really sure about the line..at the Vatican btw...wether it was a ticket holder or non ticket holder line...

FWIW..when we went to the vactican with a private guide...yes, the lines were very long....but we walked right in with our guide..

so..if you want to actually understand what you are seeing..then get a guide..it is money well spent...not because of a misinformed poster on cc.

also..and I believe another poster here did this as well, when I read the misinformed posters post, I too got concerned...so I emailed the vatican tix website..at the vatican..not thru a reseller...and asked the question....and with a quick repy..over the weekend....they said I would be skipping the queue.....

FWIW..we have seen the Vatican Museums before...but again we are interested in understanding what we see...not just wandering aimlessly..so we are booking a TIMED group tour...and paying the extra...but we are not paying for a private guide this time...a group guide will work for us...and assure us that we will be admitted for the timed tour...

btw...it makes just way too much sense to book as early a time slot in the day as possible...and to look at the day of the week you are booking.

[maggie cruises]

Originally Posted by CuTiAngel

Thanks for your input. For Rome, I will have to take out the Vatican museum due to limited time but will still want to check out the St peters basilica. From what I remember, there isn't pre-purchased ticket for the basilica, so I'm going to keep my fingers crossed. :-)

as long as you are properly dressed all you do is go thru security and walk in..free of course...the problem lies in long lines to get thru security and the Pope's Wednesday public schedule. Althought the place is so huge that the line must move constantly. I have been there on a Saturday afternoon and saw people going thru security and walking in with no queuing.I have never heard of a jump the queue at the Basicilica....it's free to enter...although for a few E you CAN jump the line at St. Marks..and it is free to enter there as well...I was also there on a Saturday and there were no lines to enter.


Actually one reason why it is not bad idea to go thru the vatican is that right after the Sistine Chapel..which is way at the end of the Vatican Museums...you can go right in to the Basicilica..because you went thru security when you entered the Museum.

IMHO..as early as possible makes sense for Vatican City..whatever you choose to see. Good Luck and enjoy!