****Join me on a walk through the city of Florence (Firenze), enjoying Italian street art, Florentine cuisine and International culture. Learn a bit about the famous art history of Florence and the amazing masterpieces found in the Uffizi Gallery and the Galleria di Accademia- including Michelangelo’s Statue of David, as well as Botticelli’s Spring and The Birth of Venus. Check out beautiful shots of The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, and the most famous visual landmark of Florence Italy, Il Duomo di Firenze.*****
Book your flight to Florence here!
Florence is a sexy little city. It has a deep old-world feel while maintaining a sort of sophisticated freshness at the same time. I could have spent DAYS there just wandering around, exploring the streets and shops, grabbing bites to eat and crisp Nastro Azzurro from the cafe refrigerators, watching the street art and performers and admiring ALL the carved rock statues of naked men (besides just David).
Simply put, Florence Italy left me wanting MORE!
Not that Michelangelo’s gigantic stone carving of David wasn’t perfect, it was. It made me want to work out and get a giant rock booty like his.
If you go to Florence you must see David, period.
He is a rock god!
While David lives in the Galleria di Academia, most of the famous pieces of art, including Botticelli’s Spring and The Birth of Venus are found in the Uffizi Gallery. To get there, start at the Duomo and walk south on Via dei Calzaiuoli towards the river. Pass the Gucci cafe. Keep going, then you are there.
You might have to wait in line at the Uffizi Gallery, but this will be a good time to catch up on social media and make friends with the other people in line. Everybody in line is happy because they are tourists in Florence, just like you. Nobody cares if you drink beer in line, or anywhere in Florence, Italy, or Europe for that matter. It’s wonderful!
Although lines can be fun for 3-6 minutes, it’s best to try to avoid lines as they do waste precious art viewing/ shopping time. Everything you read about visiting the art galleries in Florence will mention terrible lines to get into the Uffizi Gallery and the Gallerie dell’Accademia. Travel bloggers will warn you to get the tickets and passes and memberships months in advance, to help you avoid hours of waiting. This works great if you plan things months in advance.
I’ve always had a saying that goes like this- I don’t wait in lines- because generally, I don’t. I admit it originally came from bar/club culture, where if there is a line to get into an establishment, I either work with the establishment to declare exemption from the line, or I leave in search of a more sophisticated establishment. I think this is something that most girls should do at least to some extent.
While there are many ways to avoid waiting in lines, charming your way in is just one of them. After visiting the Uffizi Gallery and fearing another line at the Gallerie dell’ Accademia, we decided to use the same line avoidance technique that I use to board flights. We arrived at the gallery as late as possible. We were the last ones there right before the cut-off time and got our place in the end of the line. Fortunately at this hour, the line was only a few people long so it didn’t even really count as a line. Essentially, we got right in!
This technique is brilliant if you think about it. Who on earth plans to arrive right before a museum closes?
Nobody. Except us!
The Uffizi Gallery is open Tuesday-Sunday, 8:15am- 6:50pm. The ticket office closes at 6:05 and the museum “begins” to close at 6:35.
The Gallerie dell’Accademia -aka- Gallery of the Academy is open on 7 days a week from 8:15am 7:15pm with the exception of Monday, on which it closes at 2pm. The ticket office closes at 6:30. So if you go to either of these galleries and didn’t pre-plan it months prior, simply shoot for a 6pm arrival. You’ll probably be late so if you arrive at 6:15 this plan should work perfectly to ensure you are the last into the gallery- making you first in life for not having to wait in line!
Once you get into the Gallerie you will probably want to take a #selfie with David.
Photography of any sort is NOT allowed in the Gallerie dell’Accademia!
Here are some links you will
need for your travels in Florence
Gucci
Lonely Planet
Gallerie dell’Accademia -aka- Gallery of the Academy
Uffizi Gallery
If you want to frame a poster of David in your foyer,
bedroom, or home gym, you can buy a print here
Donate BitCoins so I can one day enroll for an
International Master of Fine Arts degree at the Florence Academy of Art!
