touring florence in april-may

[venkatraman]

We are a family from India consisting of my Daughter( 23 yrs old) , my wife and I and are travelling to florence to attend a wedding in chianti on April 28th/2016. We will then be staying in florence for 2 days from the 30th.

I have a few queries:

1) Can we get a taxi from the airport to chianti ( we will be staying at hotel Le Noci Gaiole , Chainti) or is it better to book it on line? How much will it cost?

2) We will be in florence from the 30th april to 2nd may. As 1st may is a sunday will we be able to see the monuments and the museums?

3) Is the academica galley open/free on 1st may ?

4) How convenient is it to visit Pisa from florence. I am planning to do it on the 1st of may if the museums are all closed in florence on that dau.

4) Any suggestions as to what we should not miss seeing in Florence during our two days stay would be most welcome.

[Leonardo]

Hello,

1. You will proabably be able to find a taxi willing to do it but do expect them to charge you insane amounts. Same for most bookable transportation you usually find online. Even Uber is expensive since they only offer Black car service right now.
I would find a private driver and negotiate with him for a reasonable price. The trip is 80 km + 80km return (slightly less if you take a paid highway) so 20 - 40 euro for gas. I would expect to pay around 150 euro.

2. Most museums in florence are open on Sundays and close Mondays.

3. Yes/Yes

4. Most people would reccomend doing Pisa as a half day trip by train from Florence. The trip by train takes about 1 hour.

5. Academia museum, Michelangelo square, Dumo square and cathedral, Signoria square, Venchi chocolate gelato is the short list

[venkatraman]

Thank you Leonardo for the input.
I thought 1st may is a holiday there as it is The International Labour Day.
The ufflizi Gallery site says that it is closed on 1st may. I was wondering whether the other museums would also be closed.

[DonnaDenise]

Buongiorno,

I suggest you try contacting a NCC (that is Italian for authorized driver with car) - like Leonardo was suggesting - for your travels to Gaiole.

I have used both of these services in the past and find them to be courteous, English speaking and professional:

Stedop@libero.it - his name is Stefano

essemazzini@gmail.com - his name is Simone

Buon Viaggio,

Donna Denise

PS I am partial to the Vestri Chocolate ;-)

[venkatraman]

Thank you Doanna.
I wiil get in touch with the NCC.

[Lourdes]

Most museums are closed on May 1st, because it is Labor Day.

This year it is also a Sunday and it is also the first Sunday of the month when entrance should be free for everyone --- so whether the museums will find staff willing to work or not on that day to make the special opening this year is to be seen. I've not seen any official communications yet.

Last year, both the Uffizi and Accademia remained closed on May 1st. Keeping in mind that in Florence, the "White Night" or Notte Bianca is usually held on April 30th and as part of the initiatives of hosting cultural and artistic events all night long, many museums prolong their opening hours at least until midnight. Last year, the Uffizi and Accademia closed at normal hours on April 30th and remained closed, while several other museums were open on May 1st so there were places to visit. At this time it is just difficult to know who will be open - as soon as we find out, we normally do a blog post in our news section so I recommend you check back on there (http://www.discovertuscany.com/blog) as the date approaches!

As far as Pisa, I can confirm that the tower and the monuments in the Square of Miracles should ALL be OPEN on May 1st (checking their website) so it should be perfect to do a day trip there on that day in the case the museums you want to visit in Florence are closed.