Sunday or Tuesday visit to Uffizi in August?

[mb2014]

Hi,
We plan to go to Florence and visit the Uffizi this August.
We are free only on August 17 (sunday) and 19 (Tuesday).
We are traveling with our 75 year old mother with reduced mobility.
Would appreciate any suggestion as to which is the better day. We know both would be crowded.
Thank you very much.

[Lourdes]

Both will be busy days but I'd recommend Tuesday over Sunday. During summer, the opening hours have been extended and it closes at 9pm. Not too many people know about it and therefore it tends to be less crowded already starting at 6pm (many go to dinner )
I recommend you buy your tickets ahead of time on http://www.uffizi.org/ (affiliate partner) as it still would mean avoiding any crowds at the entrance! If you wish, once you're at the entrance, ask for a wheelchair for your mom - they have several for visitors free of charge. They can't be reserved ahead of time but if they are available, they will go get one for her to use during your visit.

Enjoy the Uffizi!

[lauras]

Hello I wasnt sure how to start a new thread so I attached to this one sorry. I was wondering if anyone has any advice about getting around in tuscany. My boyfriend and I are arriving in Florence in the late afternoon on a Sunday. We will probably dine in florence on this night and just walk around Florence. We are only there 2 more full days so and I was trying to get a lot in. We really want to see the countryside possibly Cinque Terre and Siena. We were going to do the one day tour around Tuscany but it sounds soooo long being 12 hours. We were thinking of possibly renting a car and driving to Siena walking around a bit then head to some wineries. Not sure what wineries are good. I am not going to be a fan of Chianti as I only like whites. I keep hearing of SG but not really sure what this is.

Is driving going to be difficult? Is it best to take a tour? We are trying to fit a lot in in one day because we think maybe its smart to also spend one of our two days in Florence. Also is it worth going to Cinque Terre over other places? Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you,

Laura

[mb2014]

Both will be busy days but I'd recommend Tuesday over Sunday. During summer, the opening hours have been extended and it closes at 9pm. Not too many people know about it and therefore it tends to be less crowded already starting at 6pm (many go to dinner )
I recommend you buy your tickets ahead of time on http://www.uffizi.org/ (affiliate partner) as it still would mean avoiding any crowds at the entrance! If you wish, once you're at the entrance, ask for a wheelchair for your mom - they have several for visitors free of charge. They can't be reserved ahead of time but if they are available, they will go get one for her to use during your visit.

Enjoy the Uffizi!

Thank you so much for your reply Lourdes!
Will your suggestion change if our plan is to visit Uffizi once it opens at 8am and then leave in the afternoon? We plan to leave Florence by 6pm. Is Tuesday still better than Sunday if that is our plan?
We have requested a wheelchair by email and they have replied that we can skip the line and our disabled mother and helpers get free entrance =)
Thank you very much for your time!

[Lourdes]

Yes, my suggestion does change.... if you can't stay until late on Tuesday, then I'd go for late afternoon on Sunday. Tuesday morning is pretty crowded, since Monday is closed everyone turns up early Tuesday. You'll enjoy it better if there are a little less crowds in the museum, even if it is August and you should expect them in any case.

Great - yes, if you're an EU citizen anyone with handicaps and an assistant get to enter for free and skip the line. It is not applicable to non-EU citizens, however.

Enjoy your visit!

[mb2014]

Yes, my suggestion does change.... if you can't stay until late on Tuesday, then I'd go for late afternoon on Sunday. Tuesday morning is pretty crowded, since Monday is closed everyone turns up early Tuesday. You'll enjoy it better if there are a little less crowds in the museum, even if it is August and you should expect them in any case.

Great - yes, if you're an EU citizen anyone with handicaps and an assistant get to enter for free and skip the line. It is not applicable to non-EU citizens, however.

Enjoy your visit!

Thank you so much! I think now we are going for Sunday morning when it opens (instead of Tuesday morning =) Late afternoon walks are not ok for our mother =(

I actually emailed Firenze Musei and said that our mother has a Philippine disability card and they said its no problem because all disabled skip the line and get free access (with their helpers).

[Lourdes]

Very interesting to know they have extended the disability exclusion to everyone, thank you for letting us know. Hope you had a great time at the Uffizi!

[mb2014]

Very interesting to know they have extended the disability exclusion to everyone, thank you for letting us know. Hope you had a great time at the Uffizi!

Hi Lourdes! Sorry for the late reply. We have been to the Uffizi. We arrived around 9am Aug 19, Tuesday. The Uffizi tour was exhausting but worth it !
For everyone's info, we went to museums/sites in France and Italy (Vatican Museums, Uffizi, Louvre, Musee D'Orsay, Saint Chapelle, Versailles Palace, etc). All we had to do was one of us would go straight to the front of the line and say to the guard/attendant that my mother is disabled. Their common answer was "bring her here" (meaning to the start of the line). So we always skipped the line. And when we would go to the ticket counter, she would just present her Philippine disability card and she would be given a free ticket as well as her assistant/helper. In Barcelona though, she only got a free ticket at the Picasso Museum and discounted tickets at Joan Miro museum and Sagrada Familia. Hope this info is helpful.
Thanks a lot Lourdes for your help!

[Lourdes]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us - it will be of definite help to others!! It seems like you truly enjoyed your time in Italy and France, was glad to help provide info when I could!