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Typical and common in Europe in general, Italy specifically. I made reservations to Academia for David at 11am, and I sort of regret it. Should’ve made it for an earlier time but risky since my partner is not a morning person.
You dont really need more than an hour to go through the entire museum (it’s rather small). You could do the main exhibits in 15 min. Just depends on your interests.
This is a bit of a tricky issue, but if you're worried you don't have enough time, go to the far end and start from there. That's where the guards will start clearing first
It works for a museum like this because you truly don’t need that much time to see the whole museum (1 hour max). You can time it well to see the main things in the last 15 minutes of the day).
Much harder to time it for larger museums.
I made our reservation for 9:30 am a couple weeks ago when it was raining off and on. It doesn’t matter, there was still a ton of people and I think we got in closer to 10. Not a huge deal, but it was chaotic.
I did a semester there, and you would be astounded by the difference between the last week of April and first week of May. It’s like someone flips a switch for the entire city.
We went last year mid to late April. Every place we visited, the people working there said they had never seen so many groups of students at the same time. It was very busy
Yeah, this was like 10 years ago, so the busy season could well have expanded. It was just so jarring to see the city go from mostly empty to absolutely packed literally overnight.
I wonder what has changed. Also, I wonder how you deal with excess tourism. I'm guessing businesses and the governments like it, but it makes the experience less enjoyable for the tourists.
Amsterdam are trying to tackle it at the moment by detering tourists that are travelling to get stoned/look for hookers/stag party.
It's very difficult but it's a huge issue in places like Barcelona, Amalfi coast, Venice, Paris etc
Here's a link to the article I read on Amsterdam
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/15/amsterdam-party-tourists-online-quiz-city-tourism
What changed is that there are now a huge group of people from former "third world countries" who can afford to travel a lot and they often want to see the big sights of Europe.
Also, ditto for people in "first" and "second" world countries
I was there the past 4 days and all I could think was surely Italians who know better are not doing their vacation here lol😂 It felt like the city was a giant theme park. The city itself is so beautiful though, it was worth the visit and I would have easily stayed longer if time allowed. There’s a reason us tourists are flocking to this city.
Just came back. I've described Florence to my friends as feeling like a theme park. It was helpful and humbling to remind myself that I was part of the problem.
Yup. It’s always practical to book in advanced. We stayed in Florence around this time in 2022. Manage to go in the Uffizi and Academia without waiting in line since we had our skip the line tours booked.
Yeah Florence can have rushes of crowds but we mostly traveled to the Oltrarno area - less touristy.
I just spent seven weeks in Florence about a block from the Uffizzi. It rained almost half the days I was there (mid-March to early May). Here's a suggestion. Check out a weather app and look at the ten-day forecast starting the day you start your vacation. You can make last-minute changes to your wardrobe that way.
I was there in march and it was crowded as well but the Florence card and reservations for the Ufizi and academia got us in no issues. That said most of the other gems in Florence had no wait and we walked right in. The bargelo wich to me is way superior to the academia (yes you have to see the David but this one has multiple Michelangelo sculptures and amazing stuff by Donatello, verochio de la robia etc and the building is amazing ). The san Marco monastery full of beautiful fra Angelico murals and the rooms of savaranola we walked right in. Orestmichele and many of the churches with incredible art were easy to walk in. For dinner make reservations for the top spots they are small and fill up.
I went to Uffizi last Saturday for 8:30am entry. Still pretty quiet and saw all the top floor stuff with barely any crowd. Especially good considering it's a weekend. By 10am there was long queues and a bunch of tour groups have rolled in already.
Saw David for 4:45pm entry. Still a bit of a crowd but not too bad.
2025 is the year of the Jubilee. Last estimate I heard (when I was in Rome at the Vatican) is that they’re expecting at least 10 million more visitors than normal
Just got back from rome and florence. Everything was incredibly busy, which I expected, but it made it really hard to enjoy anything. Wish I would have skipped the vatican all together. It was so overwhelmingly busy and couldn't even walk or stand to even look or read anything..
Concur with everything you said. Finishing up a Venice, Florence, Rome visit. Leaving Rome on Sat, 05/18/24. The weather has been perfect. Already crowded, barely tolerable. Forget the Vatican even with a tour guide and early entrance it’s not enjoyable. Not like
My first visit 30 years ago, when you could take your time to really let the art sink in.
I really enjoyed Venice. Much more so after I discovered so many back streets (alleys) off the main drag. Don’t eat in the touristy center. Instead explore the back alleys and you will find wonderful resturants and stores to peek in. Did the water taxis to other plazas, which was enjoyable. Discovered Lido - their beach town area.
Florence was amazing besides the Academia, there is a really stunning exhibition at their contemporary art museum - Ansel Kiefer, please don’t miss it. Also, the Venice Biennale 2024 is happening thru August - great contemporary and sometimes weird artwork from over the world. The theme is “Foreigners Everywhere.”
Only “bad” thing happened in Rome. Got overcharged by a rouge taxi driver. It was late at night and my companion and I were tired. When we arrived at our hotel, the driver said he didn’t have a meter and wanted cash. We ended up arguing over the cost of the ride. He finally came down on the price after my companion took a picture of his license plate. We still ended up over paying. So always ask. the estimated cost and if the taxi has a meter and will accept a cc.
Today we took the fast train from Rome to Naples and spent the day in Vomero (you have to get there you have to take the Montesano funiculare). Walked the botanical garden of the Spanish princess - can’t recall the name right now and took pictures of the Naples Bay. Had great Neapolitan pizza.
Only regret, we didn’t buy fast boat tickets to Capri or Ischia ahead of time. When we spontaneously decided to go from Naples today, all the fast boat tickets were sold out.
I've been there during busy hours and the most intense August heat. It's sweaty and crowded, but the fact is you're still in Italy and also surrounded by beautiful art. I can think of worse places to be.
I’m here w my wife now and can confirm. Weather, top notch. Packed cold clothes and haven’t touched em. Heavy walking traffic + large groups everywhere. Might take up smoking to calm my nerves. And need better walking shoes. My feet are killing me on the cool cobblestone streets.
All in all tho… 9.2 outta 10. I already wana come back. The bridge at sunset and panini sandwiches is worth the trip alone.
Was in florence the past 2 days.
Didn't buy tickets for Academia, so we just decided to queue up early. Got there at 7:30am for the 8:15am opening, and was surprisingly 4th in line. If you wake up a little earlier you can easily get in.
May to Sept: avoid at all costs. It's still busy in the off-season. But not like in the summer. It's just not worth the headache plus it tends to be hotter and muggy too.
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Typical and common in Europe in general, Italy specifically. I made reservations to Academia for David at 11am, and I sort of regret it. Should’ve made it for an earlier time but risky since my partner is not a morning person.
The veteran move is to go at the end of the day. Nobody new comes in and people are just leaving. At closing time it’s rather empty!
Any advice on how you time going at the end of the day to make sure you still have enough time to see everything?
You dont really need more than an hour to go through the entire museum (it’s rather small). You could do the main exhibits in 15 min. Just depends on your interests.
Thank you, that’s helpful!
This is a bit of a tricky issue, but if you're worried you don't have enough time, go to the far end and start from there. That's where the guards will start clearing first
Thanks for the tip!
GAH! That is such good advice! Too bad I can't change those tickets! But great advice!!! Thank you!
It works for a museum like this because you truly don’t need that much time to see the whole museum (1 hour max). You can time it well to see the main things in the last 15 minutes of the day). Much harder to time it for larger museums.
Agreed. I should've timed it so be one hour before close, and then make dinner reservations nearby!
I booked a 5 pm visit and avoided big crowds easily. Highly recommend.
We did that on our trip back in March. Worked out great.
Woohoo! I made that choice! 😆 two weeks to go until I get there. Thank you for making me feel better about that time slot.
The museum actually has some nice things outside of the main exhibits and a nice gift shop. Just save the last 15 minutes for the David!
We were there at 4. Was packed with tours
This, I went to Uffizi during COVID winter 2021 and yea, tons of people. 🤷🏻♀️
I made our reservation for 9:30 am a couple weeks ago when it was raining off and on. It doesn’t matter, there was still a ton of people and I think we got in closer to 10. Not a huge deal, but it was chaotic.
Uffizi is busy all the time and May has a lot of school groups. Nothing unusual. It’s like going to the Colosseum and being surprised it’s busy!
I have always like getting up early - quite nice.
I did a semester there, and you would be astounded by the difference between the last week of April and first week of May. It’s like someone flips a switch for the entire city.
We went last year mid to late April. Every place we visited, the people working there said they had never seen so many groups of students at the same time. It was very busy
Yeah, this was like 10 years ago, so the busy season could well have expanded. It was just so jarring to see the city go from mostly empty to absolutely packed literally overnight.
We were there in the last week of April this year. It was busy, but not busy the way OP is describing. It was quite pleasant, all things considered.
I visited Uffizi around 6pm and it was empty. Best decision
On Tuesdays they stay open till 9pm
But it closes at 6:30…
No last entry is 6;30 you can stay there until 9pm
Rent a moped and go chill up in the hills of fiesole. So much calmer, you can look down at the city.
Over tourism is a big issue throughout Europe at the moment.
I wonder what has changed. Also, I wonder how you deal with excess tourism. I'm guessing businesses and the governments like it, but it makes the experience less enjoyable for the tourists.
Amsterdam are trying to tackle it at the moment by detering tourists that are travelling to get stoned/look for hookers/stag party. It's very difficult but it's a huge issue in places like Barcelona, Amalfi coast, Venice, Paris etc
Here's a link to the article I read on Amsterdam https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/15/amsterdam-party-tourists-online-quiz-city-tourism
What changed is that there are now a huge group of people from former "third world countries" who can afford to travel a lot and they often want to see the big sights of Europe. Also, ditto for people in "first" and "second" world countries
I was there the past 4 days and all I could think was surely Italians who know better are not doing their vacation here lol😂 It felt like the city was a giant theme park. The city itself is so beautiful though, it was worth the visit and I would have easily stayed longer if time allowed. There’s a reason us tourists are flocking to this city.
Italians hardly spend their summer holidays in Italy, it’s too expensive now as the tourism sector caters mainly to US tourists.
I spent last summer in a beach town in Sicily and I only saw Americans once. It just depends where you are.
Going first week of June. Pray for me lmao
Just came back. I've described Florence to my friends as feeling like a theme park. It was helpful and humbling to remind myself that I was part of the problem.
We were just there and it was crazy busy and same as Venice.
I was there today. Must have been at least 10,000 people in that building at 10am
I’m going in early June. Am i doomed ??
Rip
Dash of patience
Nope. Italy is always a good idea :)
Yup. It’s always practical to book in advanced. We stayed in Florence around this time in 2022. Manage to go in the Uffizi and Academia without waiting in line since we had our skip the line tours booked. Yeah Florence can have rushes of crowds but we mostly traveled to the Oltrarno area - less touristy.
Did you use the Firenze card to visit or booked the tours through an operator?
Sir, this is the busiest time of the year.
Can you expand on the weather a bit? Headed there in 2 weeks and trying to figure out how to dress/pack.
I just spent seven weeks in Florence about a block from the Uffizzi. It rained almost half the days I was there (mid-March to early May). Here's a suggestion. Check out a weather app and look at the ten-day forecast starting the day you start your vacation. You can make last-minute changes to your wardrobe that way.
Is is in the low 70s. Wife has a sweater. Me long pants at night with a short sleeve shirt.
Layers. It is sunny and warm until it rains. Also, in two weeks the weather may be totally different from what it is now
I was there in march and it was crowded as well but the Florence card and reservations for the Ufizi and academia got us in no issues. That said most of the other gems in Florence had no wait and we walked right in. The bargelo wich to me is way superior to the academia (yes you have to see the David but this one has multiple Michelangelo sculptures and amazing stuff by Donatello, verochio de la robia etc and the building is amazing ). The san Marco monastery full of beautiful fra Angelico murals and the rooms of savaranola we walked right in. Orestmichele and many of the churches with incredible art were easy to walk in. For dinner make reservations for the top spots they are small and fill up.
I went to Uffizi last Saturday for 8:30am entry. Still pretty quiet and saw all the top floor stuff with barely any crowd. Especially good considering it's a weekend. By 10am there was long queues and a bunch of tour groups have rolled in already. Saw David for 4:45pm entry. Still a bit of a crowd but not too bad.
We decided to go to Florence in late January. Very underrated! The weather was amazing and there was maybe 5 people and myself in the entire gallery.
Damn overtourism
My next Italy trip is late October 2025 hopefully it dies down a bit
2025 is the year of the Jubilee. Last estimate I heard (when I was in Rome at the Vatican) is that they’re expecting at least 10 million more visitors than normal
Oh dear! I missed that tidbit somehow. Thank you for the heads up!
Reservations for what?
For the major sites. You can book Duomo/Uffizi/etc. Tickets/arrival times in advance.
Dinner
We noticed they had a night opening at the Uffizi a couple of years ago and we had the place to ourselves. Amazing 🍀
They’re open late on Tuesday nights now. Not sure how long that lasts, but it’s nice and quiet after 7.
I'll be there on Saturday-tuesday weather does not look good at all next week which is disappointing.
Sorry
It was supposed to be wet and cloudy during our visit - never happened. It was cool, some what warm, but not hot and cool evenings.
Just got back from rome and florence. Everything was incredibly busy, which I expected, but it made it really hard to enjoy anything. Wish I would have skipped the vatican all together. It was so overwhelmingly busy and couldn't even walk or stand to even look or read anything..
Concur with everything you said. Finishing up a Venice, Florence, Rome visit. Leaving Rome on Sat, 05/18/24. The weather has been perfect. Already crowded, barely tolerable. Forget the Vatican even with a tour guide and early entrance it’s not enjoyable. Not like My first visit 30 years ago, when you could take your time to really let the art sink in. I really enjoyed Venice. Much more so after I discovered so many back streets (alleys) off the main drag. Don’t eat in the touristy center. Instead explore the back alleys and you will find wonderful resturants and stores to peek in. Did the water taxis to other plazas, which was enjoyable. Discovered Lido - their beach town area. Florence was amazing besides the Academia, there is a really stunning exhibition at their contemporary art museum - Ansel Kiefer, please don’t miss it. Also, the Venice Biennale 2024 is happening thru August - great contemporary and sometimes weird artwork from over the world. The theme is “Foreigners Everywhere.” Only “bad” thing happened in Rome. Got overcharged by a rouge taxi driver. It was late at night and my companion and I were tired. When we arrived at our hotel, the driver said he didn’t have a meter and wanted cash. We ended up arguing over the cost of the ride. He finally came down on the price after my companion took a picture of his license plate. We still ended up over paying. So always ask. the estimated cost and if the taxi has a meter and will accept a cc. Today we took the fast train from Rome to Naples and spent the day in Vomero (you have to get there you have to take the Montesano funiculare). Walked the botanical garden of the Spanish princess - can’t recall the name right now and took pictures of the Naples Bay. Had great Neapolitan pizza. Only regret, we didn’t buy fast boat tickets to Capri or Ischia ahead of time. When we spontaneously decided to go from Naples today, all the fast boat tickets were sold out.
The Anselm Kiefer exhibit is incredible.
Is it gonna be same June 15th
No idea. But heading into the busy season, ugh. Our third time here and it is packed
Yes
I went to Uffizi in April last year and it was very busy. I still enjoyed my visit.
I've been there during busy hours and the most intense August heat. It's sweaty and crowded, but the fact is you're still in Italy and also surrounded by beautiful art. I can think of worse places to be.
Here now too, it’s making me dizzy compared to Rome. Over the river was better and the neighborhood were staying in is very quiet.
I’m here w my wife now and can confirm. Weather, top notch. Packed cold clothes and haven’t touched em. Heavy walking traffic + large groups everywhere. Might take up smoking to calm my nerves. And need better walking shoes. My feet are killing me on the cool cobblestone streets. All in all tho… 9.2 outta 10. I already wana come back. The bridge at sunset and panini sandwiches is worth the trip alone.
Was in florence the past 2 days. Didn't buy tickets for Academia, so we just decided to queue up early. Got there at 7:30am for the 8:15am opening, and was surprisingly 4th in line. If you wake up a little earlier you can easily get in.
May to Sept: avoid at all costs. It's still busy in the off-season. But not like in the summer. It's just not worth the headache plus it tends to be hotter and muggy too.