A 'must see' to visit Michelangelo's statue of David at the Galleria dell'Accademia. Additionally you see half finished sculptures by Michelangelo so you get an opportunity to see how the process of creating David must have taken.
The most important thing is getting in and avoiding the queues. Sometimes there are small queues while other times the queues can be quite big.
You can call +39 055 294883 to make a reservation in advance which costs an extra €4 onto the €11 ticket price. The phone operator will give you a six digit extension number which you quote when you purchase tickets. All the operator takes is your name and asks what your chosen day / time slot is.
The reservation will then allow you to go to a different door avoiding the long queues. The real beauty of the phone reservation is that you do not pay until you turn up so if there are any unforeseen changes to your schedule you don't end up out of pocket. Additionally if there are small queues, you would simply queue up and avoid paying the €4 reservation fee.
Phone reservation available Mon - Fri 08.30 - 18.30 (Italian time) & Sat 08.30 - 12.30.
Tried the online booking service but gave up as it kept falling over as I input the details of my UK credit card.

www.uffizi.firenze.it/en/musei/?m=accademia
Galleria dell'Accademia, Via Ricasoli 58 - 60
50122 Florence
+39 055 294883
Google map: bit.ly/KLibF6

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If you join Friends of the Uffizi you get access to all state run museums in Florence and can go to the top of any queue. Museums include the Uffizi, Accademia, Bargello and San Marco but there is a longer list.

You can join in advance but it is easy to do when you arrive. Membership is for the calendar year and not for 12 months from payment but it is still value for money and encourages you to go to museums 'little and often'. Varied costs but it is 100 Euros for a family.

www.amicidegliuffizi.it/homenglish.html
The office is opposite the main Uffizi entrance in the old post office building.

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Most of the pottery known as Tuscan pottery or Florentine pottery is actually made in Montelupo Fiorentino, one of the most important ceramic centres in Italy during the Renaissance and immediately after.

Considered for a very long time a minor pottery production centre, the role played by Montelupo pottery in the history of Italian ceramics was re-defined only a few years ago, thanks to the unexpected discovery of an old well full of kiln shards.

Hundreds of ceramic pieces from the Renaissance were found in the excavations thanks to the hard work of an association of volunteers. Now they are the core of the Tuscan pottery collection housed in a newly renovated Museum of Ceramics.

What makes the Museum so definitely worth a visit is the uniqueness of its large collection of ceramic works. Most of the 5,500 pieces belonging to the collection come from the excavations made in the area of Montelupo in the last 33 years. They provide an extraordinary opportunity to travel back in time through five centuries in the history of one of the most important ceramic centres in Europe.

More about Tuscan pottery Museum at www.thatsarte.com/blog/highlights/tuscan-pottery-museum-montelupo-ceramics/

Montelupo Museum of Ceramics
Tue/Sun: 10.00/18.00
Tel. 0039 0571 51352
info@museomontelupo.it

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The centre of the city is not large, so it makes this place easy to visit in a day.

You can choose to visit Florence by bike, following the cycle tracks that reach the most famous historic sites.

What to see:
- Piazza della Signoria
- Piazzale Michelangelo
- Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square)
- The Bargello Museum
- Ponte Vecchio: To one side of the bridge there is the majestic bust of the most famous Florentine goldsmith, Benvenuto Cellini.

Scenic views:
- Bike along the romantic Viale dei Colli up to Piazzale Michelangelo to see the wonderful landscape of Florence
- Panoramic view of the Boboli Gardens

Bike rental estimated prices:
1 hour - about 3 Euro
1 day - from a minimum of 14 Euro to a maximum of 27 Euro

www.bicycleitaly.org
wikitravel.org/en/Florence

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Yes! It's a shoe museum. Besides showcasing the history of Ferragamo, there are lots of stills of famous customers and their shoe-lasts. Some surprises, like Anna Magnani.

via de' tornabuoni 2
055-3360456
www.ferragamo.it

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Stunning location to view Fra Angelico's works, including the sublime 'Annunciation' at the top of Dormitory stairs. The individual cells are also decorated with lovely frescoes. Of all the wonders offered in Florence, it is this gentlest of sites that leaves me smiling.

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If you only do two things in Florence, make sure it's the Accademia to see David, and Piazzale Michelangelo which has one of the best views of the city.

Galleria dell'Accademia: Via Ricasoli 58-60, a short walk from the Ponte Vecchio; tel: 055 294 883;
www.polomuseale.firenze.it/english/musei/accademia/

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The Boboli Gardens (Giardino di Boboli) are beautiful! Approximately 111 acres (45 hectares) of lavishly landscaped gardens behind the Pitti Palace ((Palazzo Pitti), extending to modern Fort Belvedere in Florence. Designed in a carefully structured and geometric Italian renaissance style, the gardens were begun in 1550 by Niccolò di Raffaello de' Pericoli detto Tribolo, who had been commissioned by Eleanora de Toledo, wife of Cosimo I, to create a setting that would be appropriate for vast pageants and Medici court entertainments.

Lacking a natural water supply, the gardens relied on an elaborate system of water distribution, a special conduit being built to tap the river; this was further enlarged by Ferdinando I, Cosimo's son, and the garden waters are known as the Acqua Ferdinanda. The Boboli, preserved by the Italian monarchy and today a public park, displays statuary from various historical periods, and includes works by important mannerist and baroque sculptors. Among well-known features are the Artichoke Fountain, the Museum of Porcelain, a Rococo Kaffeehaus, and a much-copied, horseshoe-shaped amphitheatre with an Egyptian obelisk.

After touring through the Pitti Palace you may wish to meander through the charming renaissance gardens that occupy the hill behind the museum. You will notice the occasional baroque and rococo touches while enjoying the cypress laneways, the Limonaia & botanical gardens, the hidden statues and bubbling fountains. Inside the gardens you can also enter into the Porcelain Museum with the same ticket. Technically picnics are not allowed in the gardens but pick a secluded spot or an empty bench and you can normally eat without being noticed. There are cafes in the street before you enter into the gardens, and here you can easily purchase sandwiches and wine to enjoy in the sun. Take extra bread and feed the ducks while your there

Also take a look at the Bardini Gardens. These are newly opened gardens and can be entered with the same ticket purchased for the Boboli gardens.

You can reserve Boboli Garden tickets with Florenceart (www.florenceart.it/booking);
For more information see www.polomuseale.firenze.it/english/musei/boboli;
tel: 39 0552651838;
email: giardino.boboli@polomuseale.firenze.it

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Instead of queueing for two hours to get in the Uffizi or one hour for the Accademia or Pitti Palace, call the hotline to book tickets for a three euro surcharge per person. They'll give you a booking number and you pay at the museum's ticket office. Number valid for all state musuems, hence the above plus San Marco, Bargello Archaeological Museum etc.

+39 055 294883

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