Mistakes everyone makes in Florence
Five mistakes that cost time or a wasted ticket in Florence, and what to do instead.
- Monday
- The Uffizi, Accademia and Pitti closed
- David
- The original is in the Accademia
- The dome
- By Brunelleschi Pass slot only
Most mistakes in Florence happen before you reach the city, in the planning: the wrong day is picked for museums, a painting is looked for where it isn't, or you turn up at the dome without a slot. Each has a quick fix.
1. Saving Monday for museums
The Uffizi, the Accademia and the Pitti Palace are closed on Mondays, and anyone who heads there that day arrives at locked doors. Instead, make Monday the day for what opens daily: the Duomo, the dome by slot, Piazzale Michelangelo and a walk through the Oltrarno. Leave the museums for Tuesday or any other day.
2. Looking for David in the Uffizi
The original of Michelangelo's David stands in the Accademia, not the Uffizi — what you see on Piazza della Signoria is a copy installed in 1910. Anyone who books only the Uffizi expecting to see David misses it. The Accademia ticket is separate, €20.
3. Turning up at the dome without a slot
The climb up Brunelleschi's dome runs only by the Brunelleschi Pass slot, €30 — there's no walk-in ticket, however short the queue looks. Anyone without a booking is left with just the cathedral, which is free, and the campanile, if that slot has room.
4. Paying full price for the Uffizi after 4 p.m.
After 4 p.m. the Uffizi ticket is cheaper, €16 instead of €25, for the same two-and-a-half-hour window before closing. Anyone who buys the full-price ticket in the morning for an afternoon slot pays more for the same time inside.
5. Renting a car for the centre
Florence's historic centre is a ZTL, a limited-traffic zone, and a car without a special permit isn't allowed in — cameras fine automatically. Every sight in the centre and the Oltrarno is within walking distance, and a car only makes sense for trips into Tuscany.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Is the original David in the Uffizi?
No. The original is in the Accademia; the one on Piazza della Signoria is a 1910 copy.
Can you climb the dome without a booking?
No. The climb runs only by the Brunelleschi Pass slot.
Do you need a car in central Florence?
No. The historic centre is a ZTL zone, and everything here is on foot.
Ready for Florence?
Where to next
Museums in Florence
→Of the five museums on this page, four shut on Mondays; only the Brancacci Chapel opens that day, and on…
San Gimignano · 38 km
→Walls with fourteen surviving towers out of what was once seventy-two, seen from the road before you even reach the gate.
How well does Florence suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
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