firenze card - is it worth it?

(Florence, Italy).  The Firenze Card is a 3-day tourist pass which entitles you to:

• Access to the majority of the tourist sites in Florence without reservations;
• Use of buses/trams in the cities; and
• Access to the Firenze WiFi network.

The card costs 72 euros and is valid for 72 hours from its first use.  

You can buy it at most of the major churches and museums in Florence.  We picked our cards up at the Basilica e Museo di S. Maria Novella which is across the street from the train station (Stazione Santa Maria Novella) when we arrived in Florence.  They don't sell out so there's no need to pre-purchase them online.

So, did we find it worth the price?


Considering we did some marathon sightseeing and crammed in lots of museums and churches into 3 days - the answer is Yes!  However, if you don't have many days in Florence and/or you don't plan on going to more than 6 of the included attractions, I'm not sure you would find it worth 72 euros.  The VIP entrance is really only useful at the Uffizi (where you need reservations or you have to wait in a long, horrendous line), the Palazzo Vecchio, and the Galleria dell'Accademia (where the statue of David is).   With the card, you can bypass the normal line and breeze right through the entrance so that is a definite benefit.

We used the Firenze Card for the following attractions:

Day One

• Galleria degli Uffizi (Uffizi Gallery)
• Museo Galileo
• Palazzo Vecchio
• Torre di Palazzo Vecchio (Tower of Palazzo Vecchio)
• Casa di Dante
• Galleria dell'Accademia 
• Museo Archeologico Nazionale

Day Two

• Palazzo Pitti which includes
• Galleria d'Arte Moderna
• Galleria Palatina
• Museo degli Argenti
• Giardino di Boboli
• Museo delle Porcellane 
• Galleria del Costume (we didn't go to this one)
• Museo di Zoologia

Day Three   (I skipped out on the third day, but my husband persevered!)

• Basilica e Museo di Santa Croce
• Museo Nazionale del Bargello
• Museo di Casa Buonarroti

There are lots of other attractions that are included on the Firenze Card that we didn't go to.  I would recommend getting the map and marking out the sites of interest to you; and then tackling them in an organized and efficient manner (e.g., Uffizi plus surroundings, South of Arno, etc.) in order to maximize the use of your card.  However, vacations are supposed to be fun so if you don't get to every attraction on your list - it's no big deal.