Florence in 48 hours without pointless queues

Florence goes wrong in two ways: standing in line in the sun outside a museum, or running back and forth because you never looked at the calendar. In 48 hours you can avoid both if you think about three things: which days are closed, what has to be booked at a fixed time, and what you can leave open. This itinerary puts the Duomo and the Accademia on the first day and the Uffizi on the second.

1. Day 1 · morning
   Brunelleschi Dome

   Time fixed at purchase, 5 minutes' tolerance, ID required. There are 463 steps.

2. Day 1 · late morning
   Cathedral and Piazza del Duomo

   The Cathedral is free; the other monuments need the Pass.

3. Day 1 · afternoon
   Galleria dell'Accademia

   The David and more. Open until 6:50 pm, but ticket sales stop 30 minutes earlier.

4. Day 2 · morning
   Uffizi

   Named ticket, best bought in advance. Open from 8:15 am.

5. Day 2 · afternoon
   Florence on foot

   No tickets: the rest is a stroll.

Day 1: Duomo, Dome and Accademia#

You start where the Pass forces you to be on time: the Dome. The Brunelleschi Pass includes entry to the Baptistery of San Giovanni, Giotto's Bell Tower, the Dome, the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo and the basilica of Santa Reparata, with one entry per monument, valid for 3 calendar days. Validity starts from the date chosen for the Dome, and the booked day and time cannot be changed: choose carefully. The other monuments can be visited with no time restriction.

On the Dome, the official site is clear: the climb takes about 45 minutes, there are 463 steps and no lift, it is not recommended for people with heart problems, vertigo or claustrophobia, and since 1 March 2025 you must show an ID document with your ticket. Backpacks and medium or large bags go in the cloakroom before entering, and the entrance is the Porta della Mandorla, on the north side of the Cathedral. The site allows at most 5 minutes early or late compared with the time you chose.

After the Dome, the Cathedral is free to enter and needs no Pass. A few things to know, all from the Opera's official site: the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo is closed on the first Tuesday of each month for maintenance, and the mosaics of the Baptistery vault are not visible because they are being restored. If the Baptistery is your reason to buy the Pass, keep that in mind.

The afternoon is for the Galleria dell'Accademia. According to the museum's site it is open from 8:15 am to 6:50 pm with last entry at 6:10 pm, but ticket sales close 30 minutes before closing time: arrive with some margin. The full ticket is 20 €, the reduced one 2 € for young people aged 18 to 25, and booking costs 4 € if you do it by phone with Firenze Musei. The Accademia "strongly" recommends booking, because without a reservation waiting times can be long. On 4 November 2026 and every first Sunday of the month entry is free, but on those days the booking service is not active and you wait your turn at the door.

Day 2: Uffizi and Florence on foot#

The Uffizi are open Tuesday to Sunday from 8:15 am to 6:30 pm, last entry 5:30 pm. The ticket is named, and the price changes with the day of purchase: 25 € full if bought on the same day, 29 € if bought earlier. There is also an "Afternoon" promotion, since 1 January 2026: for those who enter from 4 pm onwards the ticket costs 16 € (20 € if bought in advance). The museum occupies the first and second floors of the building put up between 1560 and 1580 to a design by Giorgio Vasari, and the names the site mentions include Giotto, Botticelli, Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and Caravaggio.

Two practical notes. The audio guide costs 6 € and handover stops at 5 pm; the cloakroom is free and umbrellas, backpacks and large bags must be left there. We do not name an ideal time to go in: it depends on your tolerance for crowds, and the site gives no attendance data.

Leave the afternoon of day two free. After a morning of masterpieces your head asks for air: a walk through the squares and bridges, with no tickets, is the best way to finish.

How much to spend (indicative averages)#

With the official prices: Uffizi 25 € and Accademia 20 € make 45 € per person, rising to 49 € with the Accademia's phone booking. The Duomo Pass is extra and has to be checked on the sales site, because the price does not appear on the pages consulted. The Accademia also lists a 48-hour combined ticket at 26 € with the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, which only makes sense if you want to see both. These are indicative averages: reductions, free days and promotions change the figure.

Mistakes that waste time#

• Arriving on a Monday: the Uffizi and the Accademia are closed.
• Buying the Duomo Pass without first choosing the Dome day: validity starts from there.
• Turning up at the Dome with a big backpack: it must go in the cloakroom, and if you arrive with forbidden items you do not get in.
• Not checking notices: for Friday 30 October 2026 the Uffizi announced a general strike, with the Galleria delle Statue e delle Pitture open only from 1:30 to 6:30 pm and last entry one hour before closing.

If you have another day#

If Florence has convinced you to think by areas, read Rome in two days, which uses the same logic, or one day in Lecce for another baroque city with winter hours. If you want an AI to build a plan like this without making up opening times, read AI travel itineraries: what works.

If the plan changes#

Sudden closures, strikes, rain: a 48-hour plan breaks at the first surprise. UNNIVAI rewrites the route when something changes, keeping hours and bookings together. If it helps, join the first people in.

Hours, prices and notices were read and checked on the official sites listed on 29 October 2026 and change during the year: check before you go.