Questions about my visit to Florence.

Nadine

New member
Hello,

I'm visiting Florence for 5 nights at the end of August and the start of September (30-8 till 4-9) and I have a couple of questions.
1. The temperature, is it still really hot that time of your or does it start to cool down a little already?
2. It could be that this question has been asked before, it's about the value of the Firenze card. We don't plan on using a lot of public transportation, we have accommodations right around the corner of ponte vecchio. We would like to visit the duomo, pitti palace, boboli gardens, uffizi gallery and we'd like to walk around the city and visit some more gardens, maybe a day trip into the country with a rental car. Are there a lot of things like gardens and churches where you have to pay an entrance fee and is a Firenze card worth the money now you know about our plans? Can you skip the line with the Firenze pass?
3. Now that I've said it, is everything really in walking distance from our location?
4. It's hard to find information about entrance prices, for example is it possible to buy a combined ticket for the palace and the gardens and the other museums attached to it like the costume museum. Because I have found combined tickets for the gardens and these museums, but there is no mention about the palace.
5. I'd really love to visit the Vasari corridor and I have found some tours but are they really open or are these things just scams? Because it often costs a lot of money and I'd hate to get ripped off. Do any of you have advice for a trustworthy tour agency for these tickets.
6. Talking about tickets, what are the official websites to buy tickets to museums and such, like the gardens and the palace?

Sorry for all of these questions but i really can't seem to find proper answers to my questions anywhere else. I've already done a lot of research. Thanks in advance!

Nadine
 
Ciao Nadine,

1. This page has detailed info on booking museums at the very bottom: https://www.visitflorence.com/what-to-see-in-florence/booking-florence-museums.html

2. for now, the Pitti Palace and Boboli gardens do offer a combo ticket that costs slightly more and is valid for 3 days - but you cannot buy this online, only at the ticket office.

3. where is your location? you didn't say ;) if you're in the center, yes, everything is walking distance! Florence is a small, very walkable town!

4. Firenze Card - yes, the card does let you skip lines! But so do pre-booked tickets!
Read this to decide whether you will be visiting lots of museums to make the card a good value - I make some sample cases where it might make sense to get it, other times when you might just buy tickets for individual museums (even with pre-booking charges, it comes out less) --- Note that public transportation is no longer included in the Firenze Card, you need to buy an extra + card to add back buses and free wi-fi service in town.

5. Vasari Corridor - it is closed to the public for now, and ONLY open to the travel tour agencies that form groups to request special openings just for that visit. The cost for each special opening is pretty high, so while the group splits the cost, it is still higher than a simple museum ticket. You also get the private guide. Viator offers several possibilities of tours that I would trust booking online: https://www.partner.viator.com/en/13618/travel-tips/Visit-the-Vasari-Corridor/ttd

6. Weather: generally end of August and September go from being hot/warm to excellent. Bring a brimmed hat, carry a bottle of water with you and you should do fine throughout the day. It is actually hard to make any definite predictions of the weather, because the last two years August hasn't been the hottest month (it was June and July this past year) and it actually rained a lot! In general, most museums are in old palaces and churches that stay quite cool even during the hottest months, others certainly have A/C so you should be fine while indoors.

Lots of questions so I hope I covered most of them - let me know what I missed ;)
 
Thank you so very much for your quick reply! we are staying around the corner of ponte vecchio, at via de barbadori, so I think it should al be within walking distance. I'm now still checking and reading your links, thanks so very much for the information, it has already been very helpful. I'm going to do some more research about the Firenze card. Do you know anything about the quality of the wifi they offer with the +card?
 
Thank you so very much for your quick reply! we are staying around the corner of ponte vecchio, at via de barbadori, so I think it should al be within walking distance. I'm now still checking and reading your links, thanks so very much for the information, it has already been very helpful. I'm going to do some more research about the Firenze card. Do you know anything about the quality of the wifi they offer with the +card?

A few tips on staying connected in Florence:

Almost all hotels and B&B's now offer FREE WiFi (Horray 2016!) AFAIK. Up until very recently there were a few of the more exclusive Hotels still trying to charge for it. Due to thick old stone walls WiFi in your room is still still a little hit and miss. Don't even wait till you get to your room to try it: mention on check-in that it is very important you are able to have a good connection. The reception/concierge will know only too well if there are any blackspots.

Free WiFi with the Firenze card is similar to the free Piazza WiFi for residents. Very hit and miss. You would be better going into almost any bar or restaurant and using their WiFi. (Just did a check on a random restaurant -4Leoni- and sure enough they do have free WiFi. I bet you could sit in Piazza della Passera and use it for as long as you please). In short, for the price of an espresso/bottle of water, in any bar you'll be able to get connected and plan your next move.
 
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