Uffizi vs. Accademia: Which to Visit? (I Saw Both)

If you’re visiting Florence on a tight schedule, you’ll want to make the most of it by picking the most worthwhile art gallery. Uffizi and Accademia are the most renowned museums in Florence and house art famous around the world.

I found myself trying to decide between them on my day trip to Florence, and ended up speedrunning both. Here are the main differences between Uffizi and Accademia, and how to pick a museum to visit.

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Reasons to Visit Uffizi

1. You get more more bang for your buck.

As of writing, entry to Uffizi costs 25€ while it’s 20€ for Accademia. You can easily spend HOURS in Uffizi though, while you can visit Accademia in under an hour.

There are several floors of galleries, including famous works like Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus and Primavera, Medusa by Caravaggio, Venus of Urbino by Titian, and more.

2. The building architecture is impressive.

Prepare to be stunned by Uffizi’s frescoes, the tribuna exhibition hall, and arched ceilings. You can take countless photos of the building itself.

3. You also get views of the city.

Because Uffizi is right by the river, you can see the famous Ponte Vecchio from above. From the windows, you can also view the Duomo and Palazzo Vecchio in one row. There’s also a balcony with a view of the Duomo and a cafe.

In contrast, there are no windows in Accademia and you wouldn’t be able to see much anyways since it’s one floor.

4. Lines are shorter (variable).

On a Friday afternoon in September, it took me longer to pick up my “skip-the-line” ticket at Uffizi than it would’ve to just buy a ticket at the counter. Ironically, there was a short line for the pre-booked tickets but not for the regular counter.

This of course can vary, but on the flip side, the lines were massive at Accademia even with pre-booked tickets, and I was so glad I’d gotten a skip-the-line option.

Uffizi just seems to have better infrastructure for crowds than Accademia, so if you plan to buy tickets the day of, I would try Uffizi over Accademia.

Reasons to Visit Accademia

1. See Michelangelo’s David and the famous plaster gallery.

David is of course the main attraction at Accademia. I don’t usually go out of my way to see the classically popular works of art, but David is of course famous for a reason. While the gallery was quite crowded, you could still get good shots of the sculpture.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the plaster cast gallery right after David, which featured countless busts and other emotive pieces.

2. You’re really tight on time.

Accademia is only four permanent galleries and one temporary exhibition. If you only have an hour in your schedule, I would book a skip-the-line ticket in advance and do a complete visit of Accademia.

It would simply be too rushed to see Uffizi, unless you’re only looking to view specific paintings.

3. Musical instruments or gold ground paintings are your passion.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the Museum of Musical Instruments within Accademia. They featured over 140 instruments, from harpsichords to a Stradivarius violin.

Accademia also has a collection of gold ground paintings, which is traditionally religious scenes painted on gold backgrounds. It’s not my thing but it could be yours.

4. You want to be surprised by the temporary exhibition.

One of my favorite parts of Accademia was actually the temporary exhibition of Wang Yan Cheng. I wasn’t expecting to see modern art at the museum, and especially not modern art that really spoke to me. Wang Yan Cheng’s paintings had such poetic colors and textures, and I feel lucky that to have seen it.

Accademia’s website doesn’t list its temporary exhibitions in a very accessible way (at least in English), so if you like surprises, it might also be fun to see what’s currently there.

The Bottom Line

You can’t make a wrong choice as you’ll see breathtaking art either way. I personally found Accademia more manageable and enjoyed my time there more because of the temporary exhibition. That said, Uffizi is much better value for the money and is more impressive as a building.

I went to both in a day and don’t regret it, but I pretty much only did Accademia and Uffizi, Ponte Vecchio, and Giotto’s Tower. I didn’t have time for anything else.

Let us know what you decided on and how you liked it!