To discover a city that is full of museums and monuments, having a city pass can always be useful. Not only to reduce expenses, but also to benefit from skip-the-line entry. And this is essential for a city like Florence where the wait can be really long.
There are three city passes for Florence. Which one should you choose? Are they good value for money? After a presentation of these two tourist cards, we will share our opinion and advice to help you choose the one best suited to your stay.
Quick comparison of Florence tourist passes
Before detailing the advantages of each of the tourist cards, we will start with a short comparison. This should allow you to quickly identify the main differences between these city passes.
This official Florence pass gives you unlimited access for 72 hours to around sixty museums, including the most famous.
The price depends on your age.
- The most comprehensive of the city passes for visiting Florence
- perfect for a cultural stay
Main sites included
- Gallery of the Academy
- Uffizi Gallery
- Palazzo Pitti
- Palazzo Vecchio
Pricing
- Firenze Card : 94 €
This 100% web city pass gives you access to the three must-see attractions in Florence! By opting for this tourist card, you will reduce your budget but also the waiting time on site.
As a bonus, you can benefit from a 10% discount on your other entrance tickets. On a positive note, there is no validity period, so you can spread out your visits to these monuments over the whole of your stay.
Main sites included
- Florence Cathedral
- Accademia Gallery
- Uffizi Gallery
Pricing
- Florence Pass : 118 €
More basic, this tourist card also works entirely online. It offers exactly the same advantages: 10% discount on other visits, skip-the-line entry.
This time, it is limited to the two must-see museums of the famous Tuscan city. This city pass does not cover access to the top of the dome of the Duomo (cathedral).
Main sites included
- Gallery of the Academy
- Gallery of the Uffizi
Pricing
- Uffizi Accademia Pass : 62 €
The Firenze Card, the official city pass of Florence
It is the historical pass of the city of Florence. It is the most complete pass for visiting the largest number of museums while achieving great savings in total. The more you use it, the more you will get out of it.
It is also an effective way to avoid queuing at the ticket offices.
Price of the Firenze Card
The price of this Florence pass depends on the age of the holder. It is worth remembering that in Florence admission to museums is free for children under 18 years of age accompanied by at least one adult family member.
So, during the 72 hours of coverage of this tourist card, you can visit all the city’s museums for free.
These are the prices:
| Age | Price |
|---|---|
| 18+ | 94 € |
| 0 - 17 | free |
How do I use the Firenze Card?
This Florence tourist card is very easy to use. All you have to do is present it at the ticket office of the different places it covers.
As it is a physical card, you will have to collect it from a point in Florence. To do so, you just have to present the confirmation voucher that you will have received by email after purchasing it online.
There are multiple collection points, located in places you are sure to pass by. The most interesting ones are:
- the airport arrivals terminal, open every day from 9:00 to 19:00.
- the tourist office near the station, at Piazza stazione 4. It is open from 9:00 to 19:00 from Monday to Saturday, and from 9:00 to 14:00 on Sundays and public holidays.
- Palazzo Strozzi, in the heart of Florence. It is open every day from 10:00 to 18:00.
You will receive the complete list, opening times and exact addresses when you receive your voucher by email.
Visits included
This card focuses on museums and some churches. Without listing them all (there are about sixty), the most outstanding are:
- ticket + skip-the-line access to the gallery of the Accademia in Florence
- ticket including skip-the-line access to the Uffizi Gallery
- Palazzo Pitti
- Palazzo Vecchio
- walking through the Boboli Gardens
- Galileo Museum
- other museums: archaeological, natural history, contemporary art, etc.
- churches such as Santa María Novella.
It does not give access to the Duomo of Florence, another of the unmissable visits.
In addition, it allows you to obtain discounts in other places and additional activities. Among them, in restaurants, clothing stores and other shops. However, this is rather anecdotal.
Period of validity
The period of validity of this Florence pass is 72 hours. It begins with the first use of the card.
In other words, the period of validity will begin with your first visit. Therefore, you can buy the Firenze Card up to 12 months in advance of when you will use it for the first time. So, the date shown at the time of purchase is merely indicative.
Specifically, if you make your first visit on a Monday at 15:00, unlimited access to the museums will end on Thursday at 14:59. The practical thing is that if you arrive in the late morning, you can already start using it on your first day in Florence if you wish.
It is also worth knowing that you can reactivate the Firenze Card for an additional 48 hours once the pass has expired. This service, called “Firenze Card Restart”, is done online and is currently free of charge.
In some large cities, there is sometimes the option to choose the period of validity at the time of purchase. This is not the case here. Therefore, as you may have gathered, this card is only worthwhile if you are going to spend at least 3 days in Florence.
Florence Digital Pass: prices, visits included & principle
After this quick comparison, we will focus on the most comprehensive option, namely the Florence Digital Pass. Overview of what to remember.
Price of the Florence city pass
The pricing logic is simple: only age determines the price. There is no option, number of visits or period of validity to choose from.
| Age | Price |
|---|---|
| 0 - 99 | 118 € |
How it works
First of all, you should know that this city pass is only available online; it cannot be purchased on site. It is more like a group purchase of admission tickets than a physical tourist card.
When purchasing, you must choose your visit dates in order to benefit from skip-the-line access on site. This reduces waiting times, especially for the 3 key tourist sites that are covered.
After purchase, you will receive your tickets by email. All you have to do is present them on site, either via your smartphone or after printing them out. As a bonus, you will be given a 10% discount code that you can use for any other ticket reservations.
Visits included in the Florence city pass
Here are the details of the tickets included as well as the other benefits provided by the city pass.
- Skip-the-line ticket to the top of the dome of the Duomo
- ticket + skip-the-line access to the gallery of the Accademia in Florence
- ticket including skip-the-line access to the Uffizi Gallery
- mobile audio guide app for the city of Florence
- promotional code for a 10% discount on other tours or excursions in Florence
Duration of validity
There is no notion of a period of use. You must choose your visit dates at the time of purchase. And these can be spread over a week, 10 days, 2 weeks or even more.
This is therefore a real advantage because, in addition to the savings made, you do not have to concentrate all your visits over a short period of 2 or 3 days, as is often the case.
Where can I pick up this city pass in Florence?
No travel to be planned on site. As the Digital Pass is 100% digital (as the name suggests), there is no physical card to collect at an exchange point in Florence.
All your tickets will be sent to you by email just after purchase! And it is these tickets that you will need to present on site.
Uffizi & Accademia Pass: prices, visits included & principle
Let’s move on to the alternative to the Digital Pass, namely the Uffizi + Accademia Pass.
Price of the Florence museum pass
As for the previous one, the logic concerning the rates is identical.
| Age | Price |
|---|---|
| 18+ | 62 € |
| 0 - 17 | free |
How it works
Once again, it works in exactly the same way as the Florence city pass. Everything is done online and you also benefit from an additional discount on your other visits.
Only the list of included visits varies (slightly…).
Visits included in the Uffizi + Accademia Pass
Below you will find a comprehensive list of the tickets included in the city pass as well as additional benefits.
- ticket + skip-the-line access to the gallery of the Accademia in Florence
- ticket including skip-the-line access to the Uffizi Gallery
- Florence audio guide mobile app
- 10% discount on other attractions in Florence
Duration of validity
As with the Florence city pass, there is no expiry date. You can spread out all the visits over the whole of your stay. And the logic is the same for using the 10% promo code.
Where can I pick up the Uffizi + Accademia city pass?
Again, no difference! Nothing to collect on site. All your tickets are sent to you by email, just after purchase on the web.
Which must-see attractions are included in the Florence city pass?
Before concluding with our opinion, here is a kind of summary of the tourist sites not to be missed that are included in the Florence passes. This allows you to see the main differences at a glance.
Florence Cathedral
The Duomo is one of the city's must-see attractions. Access to the interior of the cathedral is free of charge. However, reservations are required to access the top of the dome (entry is by time slot). As an alternative to a single ticket, you can purchase a city pass that includes access to the dome of Florence's Duomo.
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The Uffizi Gallery
The Uffizi Gallery (Galleria degli Uffizi), a must-see museum in Florence, displays in its huge palace the masterpieces of the greatest European, but especially Italian, painters. Among others, it houses the most famous works of the Florentine Botticelli, such as Venus Rising from the Sea, which alone are worth the trip.
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Palazzo Pitti
The largest palace in Florence, Palazzo Pitti, was built in the 15th century. Seat of the Medici power in Tuscany, this palace today houses no less than five museums, including the Treasury of the Grand Dukes, the Palatine Gallery and the Royal Apartments. It is also surrounded by the Boboli Gardens, a true example of Italian-style gardens.
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Palazzo Vecchio
Este museo del Renacimiento italiano es uno de los monumentos más hermosos e interesantes de la ciudad. En la actualidad, alberga el ayuntamiento de Florencia. En el interior de este palacio hay amplias salas magníficamente decoradas y numerosas obras de arte.
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Gallery of the Academy
The Galleria dell'Accademia is the other must-see museum in Florence. There is one work that makes it so popular: David by Michelangelo, a famous marble statue. As with the other flagship museum, having a ticket (or a city pass) allows you to skip the line. This saves a lot of time because the wait is impressive ...
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Galileo Museum
The Galileo Museum is dedicated to the scientist of the same name. The museum's collections include many scientific instruments, including those of Galileo himself and others dating from the 11th to the 19th centuries. It also has an extensive collection dedicated to the Medici family.
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Conclusion: when should you buy a pass for Florence?
Should you opt for a city pass? If so, which one should you choose?
To conclude, we share our opinion and our recommendations to quickly target the one to choose according to your travel profile.
Which tourist card should I choose for a short stay in Florence?
For a short stay in the Tuscan capital, you will focus on the essential visits. The Florence Pass fits the bill perfectly here, as it includes the 2 main museums along with the cathedral and Brunelleschi’s dome.
Therefore, you will be able to visit these 3 essential places, but also enjoy discounts on additional activities you may wish to do.
Also keep in mind that booking your visiting time slots online in advance will really save you time when you get there.
What alternative is there if I don’t want to go up to the dome of the Duomo?
In a context similar to the previous one, but if you can’t climb the 463 steps to the top of the cathedral dome (mobility problems, claustrophobia or simply a tight budget to stick to), the Uffizi & Accademia Pass is the solution.
This way you will have priority access without queuing to the 2 essential galleries, as well as the same discounts and advantages as with the previous pass.
Which pass do I choose for a more complete visit to Florence?
If you feel like enjoying the many museums in Florence, the Firenze Card is obviously the city pass you need.
It’s ideal for getting the most out of your visit without breaking the bank. With its system that gives you access to all the museums for 72 hours, it allows you to discover places that you would surely pass by if you had to pay for everything.
However, it is only suitable for stays of more than 3 days; otherwise, it is difficult to make it profitable.