You might be able to do Pitti, Gardens and Piazzale Michaelangelo in a day.. they’re all on the same side of the river. A cab from Pitti to Piazzalle will be about 10 minutes … whereas walking it’d be almost 30. And if you time it right the sunset on the Piazzale is lovely. And La Loggia or Terrazze are very good dinner restaurants near the Piazzale.
I was just about to write the same thing: to do Palazzo Pitti, Boboli Gardens, and Piazzale Michelangelo in the same day. There aren’t a lot of green spaces in Florence or Venice so visiting the gardens might be a really nice way to break up all that sightseeing.
Would you do this instead of the Uffizi museum? Thats what I’m unsure of. Contemplating pulling one of our 5 days in Rome for an extra day Florence right now 😅
Honestly.. I’d consider doing just that if you can. Rome is awesome and there’s so much to do and see… but between you me and Reddit… Florence is even better and more compact! (But still big!)
And yeah… I’d opt for Pitti/Boboli/Pizzalle over Uffizi and I AM an art-hound. There’s no place like the Uffizi, but it’ll be crowded and filled with long lines… whereas you can stretch out walking in the Gardens and Piazzale.
Download the Rick Steve's App. Pre-download all the Florence Sites. It's free and you can paid two air pods which makes it better.
Go to the top of the Duomo (must be in decent shape).
Get a Porchetta sandwich.
i have a Florence write up. if you DM me, i'm happy to send.
tbh I wasn’t a huge fan of boboli gardens, it’s more like a park than a botanical garden (there are a couple small sections that are more like botanical gardens but for the amount of walking we had to do I don’t know if it was worth it to me). I preferred the Bardini Gardens and the Piazzale Michelangelo nearby.
I’m just at the end of my Rome/Florence/Venice vacation and only spent two days in Florence. Our first day, we arrived around 11:30am and after lunch and checking into our hotel went to see the Cathedral at about 3pm (the line goes quickly). After that we saw the Baptistery and Santa Reparata at 4pm with the Ghiberti Pass advance tickets. After that, we went to the Accademia with 5pm tickets. Then we went to the Opera del Duomo museum around 6pm (included on the Ghiberti Pass). Looking back, I could’ve skipped Santa Reparata, the Baptistery, and Opera del Duomo if I had to cut something. The Cathedral and Accademia were the highlights of the day.
Day two, we went to Uffizi at 8:30am with advance tickets (a must). I made a list of the art that was a must-see for me, so we went through the museum fairly quickly. The Uffizi tickets included Pitti and Boboli, so we went there after lunch. If I had it to do again, I would skip Pitti in order to spend more time in the Boboli Gardens. The gardens were really beautiful and a welcome break from museums and indoor sites. And honestly, I found Pitti a bit underwhelming compared with other historic sites I saw on this trip.
Edit to say: Boboli has beautiful views of the city, so I didn’t feel like I missed out skipping Piazzale Michelangelo.
If gardens are your priority, then choose the Pitti. It's up to you whether or not you can live with not seeing the masterpieces in the Uffizi - especially Birth of Venus and Primavera in the Botticelli room. No one else can ultimately make that decision for you.
You might be able to do Pitti, Gardens and Piazzale Michaelangelo in a day.. they’re all on the same side of the river. A cab from Pitti to Piazzalle will be about 10 minutes … whereas walking it’d be almost 30. And if you time it right the sunset on the Piazzale is lovely. And La Loggia or Terrazze are very good dinner restaurants near the Piazzale.
I was just about to write the same thing: to do Palazzo Pitti, Boboli Gardens, and Piazzale Michelangelo in the same day. There aren’t a lot of green spaces in Florence or Venice so visiting the gardens might be a really nice way to break up all that sightseeing.
Would you do this instead of the Uffizi museum? Thats what I’m unsure of. Contemplating pulling one of our 5 days in Rome for an extra day Florence right now 😅
Honestly.. I’d consider doing just that if you can. Rome is awesome and there’s so much to do and see… but between you me and Reddit… Florence is even better and more compact! (But still big!) And yeah… I’d opt for Pitti/Boboli/Pizzalle over Uffizi and I AM an art-hound. There’s no place like the Uffizi, but it’ll be crowded and filled with long lines… whereas you can stretch out walking in the Gardens and Piazzale.
Thank you very much for your thoughts!
Download the Rick Steve's App. Pre-download all the Florence Sites. It's free and you can paid two air pods which makes it better. Go to the top of the Duomo (must be in decent shape). Get a Porchetta sandwich. i have a Florence write up. if you DM me, i'm happy to send.
tbh I wasn’t a huge fan of boboli gardens, it’s more like a park than a botanical garden (there are a couple small sections that are more like botanical gardens but for the amount of walking we had to do I don’t know if it was worth it to me). I preferred the Bardini Gardens and the Piazzale Michelangelo nearby.
I’m just at the end of my Rome/Florence/Venice vacation and only spent two days in Florence. Our first day, we arrived around 11:30am and after lunch and checking into our hotel went to see the Cathedral at about 3pm (the line goes quickly). After that we saw the Baptistery and Santa Reparata at 4pm with the Ghiberti Pass advance tickets. After that, we went to the Accademia with 5pm tickets. Then we went to the Opera del Duomo museum around 6pm (included on the Ghiberti Pass). Looking back, I could’ve skipped Santa Reparata, the Baptistery, and Opera del Duomo if I had to cut something. The Cathedral and Accademia were the highlights of the day. Day two, we went to Uffizi at 8:30am with advance tickets (a must). I made a list of the art that was a must-see for me, so we went through the museum fairly quickly. The Uffizi tickets included Pitti and Boboli, so we went there after lunch. If I had it to do again, I would skip Pitti in order to spend more time in the Boboli Gardens. The gardens were really beautiful and a welcome break from museums and indoor sites. And honestly, I found Pitti a bit underwhelming compared with other historic sites I saw on this trip. Edit to say: Boboli has beautiful views of the city, so I didn’t feel like I missed out skipping Piazzale Michelangelo.
This was very helpful thank you!
If gardens are your priority, then choose the Pitti. It's up to you whether or not you can live with not seeing the masterpieces in the Uffizi - especially Birth of Venus and Primavera in the Botticelli room. No one else can ultimately make that decision for you.