When does Florence free time begin?

[jlou]

Hi,

I'd like to buy tickets to the Uffizi for the day we're in Florence, but I don't know what time we'll be free. Our itinerary says "enjoy and afternoon lunch" in Florence, and then we have an "afternoon and dinner in Florence on your own".

So, I'm thinking that 3 pm is a good time for the tickets?

Anyone who has done this tour recently, is this reasonable?

Is the last bus back to the Villa still at 7 pm? That just seems so early to me considering that we're supposed to have dinner in Florence.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!

 

[DisneyKevin]

We were done with our guided tour of Florence at approximately 1:00pm.

We were offered one of two times to return to Artimino. We had a choice of 3:00pm or 6:00pm.

Keep in mind that Artimino is a minimum of an hour from Florence. It's actually more like 90 minutes..

We were told that should we decide to take the 6:00pm bus, we should bring dinner back with us, as the restaurant would be closed by the time we returned.

There are no other choices in Artimino. None.

We worked something out and had our guides arrange a bus into Florence on our "quiet, hang out at the pool, do nothing day".

This has been done on other trips as well.

3 - 4 hours is just not enough time to get to know Florence....in my opinion.

Even spending the whole day in Florence prior to the guided tour and free time didn't seem like enough time in this amazing city.

Hope that helps.

 

[jlou]

Thanks Kevin,

this is very helpful.

Totally agree that the one day in Florence is not enough. It will have to be enough for us for this trip though, I think my kids will be ready for a "do nothing, relax by the pool day".

I do think this is a day that Disney should think about adding a planned meal instead of "on your own", as the options don't seem very good to me. Maybe it's just me, but if we get food to bring back with us, my kids will likely want to eat it on the bus. Having dinner on a bus doesn't sound very good to me. And unless I get to sit and enjoy the Florentine atmosphere, I don't want to waste my time there getting food. I'm thinking we'll just grab something quick and whatever makes it back to the villa does, and whatever we eat on the bus, we'll eat.

You aren't the first person who's alerted me to the lack of eating options at Artimino. I'm definitely going to take someone else's advice and buy snacks on the way there.

Maybe I'll book the Uffizi tickets earlier. Decisions, decisions!

 

[Hermi]

We were in Florence on Friday. Lunch was over at 1:30. 3:00 should work out great for the museum. Last bus to villa was at 7. We had dinner at a pizzeria in Florence, however, the night before Florence our guides came by to see if anyone wanted reservations at one of at least two restaurants in Artimino.

My kids (13 and 15) really enjoyed their free day in Artimino. Last night several of the kids expressed that their favorite part of the trip was their free day in Artimino.

We are spending a post day in Venice. The kiddos have expressed multiple times that they are ready to go home

 

[jcb]

I was with Kevin and agree with everything he said. I did the Uffizi in the afternoon so I'll supplement his post with my first hand experience.

Our guides made arrangements for us to get Uffizi tickets and we took them up on it. Our tickets let us enter at 1:45 and we were early for that.

The Uffizi is a very interesting gallery. When you enter, you climb three flights of stairs, then work your way back down. The various galleries take you through the different periods and/or masters. The hallway walls are lined with incredible statues. But then, remember that you will have just seen David and, in my view, all other statues seem pretty ordinary in comparison. As you go back down you pass a lot of tapestries, which you will also have seen a lot of at the Vatican museum.

While I am glad I went, the next time I go I might to the Galileo museum (which is right next door) or take the time to look inside the Florence Cathedrals. Also, be aware that when we were there (late May) the da Vinci "Adoration of the Magi" was not on display at the Uffizi because it is being restored. That was a big disappointment for me.

Also, we were done with the Uffizi well in time to catch the early bus back to Artimino.

 

[jlou]

I was with Kevin and agree with everything he said. I did the Uffizi in the afternoon so I'll supplement his post with my first hand experience.

Our guides made arrangements for us to get Uffizi tickets and we took them up on it. Our tickets let us enter at 1:45 and we were early for that.

The Uffizi is a very interesting gallery. When you enter, you climb three flights of stairs, then work your way back down. The various galleries take you through the different periods and/or masters. The hallway walls are lined with incredible statues. But then, remember that you will have just seen David and, in my view, all other statues seem pretty ordinary in comparison. As you go back down you pass a lot of tapestries, which you will also have seen a lot of at the Vatican museum.

While I am glad I went, the next time I go I might to the Galileo museum (which is right next door) or take the time to look inside the Florence Cathedrals. Also, be aware that when we were there (late May) the da Vinci "Adoration of the Magi" was not on display at the Uffizi because it is being restored. That was a big disappointment for me.

Also, we were done with the Uffizi well in time to catch the early bus back to Artimino.

Very interesting, I had especially wanted to see the da Vinci. Also, unfortunately, the Galileo museum closes at 1:00 the day we'll be in Florence. That would have been my first choice, with my kids.

Thanks for posting!

 

[sssteele]

We were done with our guided tour of Florence at approximately 1:00pm.

We were offered one of two times to return to Artimino. We had a choice of 3:00pm or 6:00pm.

Keep in mind that Artimino is a minimum of an hour from Florence. It's actually more like 90 minutes..

We were told that should we decide to take the 6:00pm bus, we should bring dinner back with us, as the restaurant would be closed by the time we returned.

There are no other choices in Artimino. None.

We worked something out and had our guides arrange a bus into Florence on our "quiet, hang out at the pool, do nothing day".

This has been done on other trips as well.

3 - 4 hours is just not enough time to get to know Florence....in my opinion.

Even spending the whole day in Florence prior to the guided tour and free time didn't seem like enough time in this amazing city.

Hope that helps.

Things were pretty much the same on our trip last October, but the guides arranged for a bus to Pisa for our free day in Artimino. Many opted to do that, but we stayed behind and enjoyed the area.

It was a beautiful day, but not swimming weather. Several of us walked up to the village area and explored over there. No stores or anything, but lovely. Very relaxing...just what we needed after our long days and fun nights in Rome.