Skip-the-Line Accademia Guided Visit: David Secrets and Beyond
Florence, Italy
- 1 hour (approx.)
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Skip the long lines to see Michelangelo’s "David" on this guided tour of the Accademia Gallery in Florence. Accompanied by your guide, head straight inside with your priority access ticket and learn about the gallery's impressive collection of artwork. See Michelangelo’s masterpiece and hear about its fascinating history.
- Discover one of Italy's greatest artistic treasures
- Save time and skip the line with your guaranteed time entry ticket
- Learn about prestigious Renaissance artwork from expert guide
- Headsets provided so you can hear your guide clearly
What's Included
- Entrance ticket, museum reservation fee and guaranteed entry time
- Multilingual assistance at the meeting point
- Entrance ticket delivered directly at the meeting point, in front of the museum, by our assistant
- Local Professional Guide
- Earphones to follow your Guide during the Guided Visit
- April to October - monolingual Guided Visit
- Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Via Ricasoli, 68, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy
At the corner between Via Ricasoli and Piazza San Marco, in front of the loggiato of Accademia delle Belle Arti.An Assistant will wait for you wearing blue clothing with CAF tour - Gray Line logos. Please come 15 minutes before.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
Your tour begins in central Florence, outside the Accademia Gallery. Meet your guide and avoid the lines with a guaranteed time entry ticket.
Listen to the rich history behind the collection of artwork. Examine Michelangelo’s unfinished sculptures, “Prigioni,“ and “San Matteo” before making your way to the gem of the collection, “David.”
Sculpted entirely from Carrara marble, Michelangelo was only in his twenties while he worked on the masterpiece. Originally commissioned to be placed along the roof of the Florence Cathedral, the sculpture was instead positioned outside the Palazzo della Signoria. Look up to witness the lifelike outlines of muscles and veins of the biblical hero.
After examining David up close, continue to explore other Renaissance artwork featured in the Accademia, including greats such as Botticelli, Lippi, and Orcagna. After parting ways with your guide, you may continue exploring the museum independently for as long as you wish.
Listen to the rich history behind the collection of artwork. Examine Michelangelo’s unfinished sculptures, “Prigioni,“ and “San Matteo” before making your way to the gem of the collection, “David.”
Sculpted entirely from Carrara marble, Michelangelo was only in his twenties while he worked on the masterpiece. Originally commissioned to be placed along the roof of the Florence Cathedral, the sculpture was instead positioned outside the Palazzo della Signoria. Look up to witness the lifelike outlines of muscles and veins of the biblical hero.
After examining David up close, continue to explore other Renaissance artwork featured in the Accademia, including greats such as Botticelli, Lippi, and Orcagna. After parting ways with your guide, you may continue exploring the museum independently for as long as you wish.
1
Galleria dell'Accademia
1 hour • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- Suggested to wear comfortable shoes
- November - March: The guided service may be provided in two languages
- It is mandatory to arrive at the meeting point at the mentioned check in time. In case of delay it will not be possible to join the visit, nor to have a refund or reschedule the guided visit.
- The museum ticket has a fixed entry time that cannot be changed after booking.
- No health restrictions needed
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 19 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.1
based on 533 reviews
Heather_F, Sep 2024
Headsets would go in and out throughout the tour, so that was unfortunate, but guide did a nice job, it was very crowded, but we were able to learn and enjoy the Galleria.
Response from Host, Sep 2024
Good morning from Caf Tour & Travel,
Dear Heather,
Thank you for your review!
We’re so glad to hear that you enjoyed your tour of the Accademia Gallery despite the minor issue with the headsets. It's great to know that your guide did a nice job and that you were able to learn and enjoy the experience.
We truly hope to have the pleasure of welcoming you on another tour soon!
Kind regards
Russell_B, Jul 2024
Excellent Tour ! Highly Recommend !! I have taken the Tour Before, Then we had ear buds to cover both ears (Helped block out background noise from the room) This tour however we only had 1 in one ear, and it made it Difficult to just hear the tour Guide. Recommend they go back to 2 ear plugs.
Response from Host, Jul 2024
Dear Russell,
Thank you so much for your wonderful review of the "Skip-the-Line Accademia Guided Visit: David Secrets and Beyond" tour. We are thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the tour and highly recommend it.
We appreciate your feedback regarding the earbuds. We will certainly consider this for future tours to enhance our guests' experience.
Thank you again for your recommendation and for choosing our tour. We hope to welcome you back soon for another exceptional experience!
Warm regards,
Kitty_K, Jun 2023
Our guide was knowledgeable and personable sharing much valuable info about Michelangelo and his glorious David along with many other pieces in this collection. Take this tour early in the morning, because as the day progresses, the crowds increase. Audio guide worked perfectly and we could hear all the explanations. Would definitely recommend this tour. (The information we learned here served as a great basis for all our future tours in Florence to The Uffizi and Medici Chapels…..in other words, start at l’Accademia first, then tour other Florence sites.)
Kathleen_M, May 2023
It was a thrill to see the statue of David! A wonderful tour - short but all that was needed as David is the main attraction for most. We did though have a very difficult time hearing our guide in the museum. We really should have had a headset in order to hear as it was noisy. She did a good job but between her strong accent and low voice, the four of us did not hear a thing she said.
MAMAMARIA60, Apr 2023
Loved that we were able to get in quickly and learn lots of history and facts with the guide . Recommend the skip the line tours
Angela_S, Feb 2023
Our guide was a soft talker who did not have great command of English. We caught maybe 20% of what she said.
This museum is very tiny, not sure the guided tour is actually necessary. Just book a timed entry and go it alone.
Response from Host, Feb 2023
Good morning from Caf, we regret that you didn't appreciate our tour guide. The museum is tiny but there are several masterpieces to discover, apart from The David of Michelangelo. Thanks for your feedback.
Eilis_F, Oct 2022
Most enjoyable - looking at the queues I would certainly recommend booking online. Our tour guide was excellent. Very knowledgeable and approachable without patronising. Michelangelo's statue of David makes this visit worthwhile on its own but there are many other highlights. It is useful to hear the knowledge of the guide and then wander around the museum to home in in the things you want to afterwards.
WalterF_B, Aug 2022
Excellent tour with an enthusiastic, knowledgeable guide who explained the most famous pieces, and gave great insight into Michelangelo’s David. The tour was the right pace and the information educational.
Highly recommend.
Peggy_C, May 2022
Our guide was very knowledgeable and took time to explain many paintings and sculptures. There were only 4 in our small group, so it really was a private tour.
Janet_L, May 2022
Learning more about Michelangelo and the meaning behind his sculptures. Our guide was amazing and well informed. She made the visit worthwhile. I would definitely go on a tour with Chiara again.
Arthur_S, May 2022
Art was fabulous. Not too crowded. Wonderful experience. Now just writing to meet the 100 character minimum. Silly rule.
Sylvia_H, Sep 2021
Short tour but was very interesting. Can’t miss the famous statue of David if in Florence. Really enjoyed the unfinished works of Michelangelo too.
Response from Host, Sep 2021
Dear Sylvia_Craig,
many thanks for having shared your kind opinion with us! We are happy to know that you have appreciated your Accademia Gallery guided tour in small group.
Hoping to see you again in the future,
Our best regards
adriennehirsch, Feb 2020
We booked this only a few days before our trip, recommend in busy season booking earlier. Our guide was superb, ex. English, extremely knowledgeable...wow !
Response from Host, Feb 2020
Dear adriennehirsch,
first of all let us thank you for your good review.
We are really happy to see that you have appreciated so much Skip-the-Line Florence Accademia Gallery Small Group Tour, which gives you the opportunity to discover one of the most famous museums in the world led by a local professional guide.
Hoping to meet you again in the future,
Best regards
Patricia_B, Oct 2019
Our guide for our tour of the Accademia Gallery was fantastic! Fredericka was so knowledgeable, easy to understand and personable. We learned so much!
Nevagay A, Sep 2019
This was worth the money to not have to stand in line. The guide was very good and we had no trouble finding the person we need to check in with, this is typically not the guide.
Varghese_J, Jul 2019
The tour guide was knowledgeable, spoke fluent English and took extra effort to go into the history. I would recommend her for a bonus.
Response from Host, Jul 2019
Dear vkj39,
let us thank you for having booked one of our activities and shared your experience with us and our common readers! We are happy to hear that you appreciated so much our Accademia Guided Visit with one of our professional local guides! Your review represents the best reward for all the passion that we daily put in our job, since more than 60 years, to provide our customers the most professional and high-quality service and it fills us with great pride! We hope to welcome you again in one of our activities, there's so much more to see and experience! Our Best Regards
Fern C, Jul 2019
Loved seeing David! Tour was perfect. Great and knowledgeable tour guide. Unfortunately there during a heat wave and the AC wasn’t working. It was 105F degrees the entire trip so suggest getting it fixed.
andrea p, Jul 2019
This tour allowed us to see many of Michelangelo's beautiful sculptures, including David. The art is breathtaking but unfortunately we didn't see much else in the museum. Our guide spent a lot of time looking at the sculptures and speaking about them. And while I learned a lot the pace was very slow and we didn't really see much else until the tour ended and we could explore for ourselves.
Michael_K, Jul 2019
Our tour guide was excellent and informative. Unfortunately, we had too many people in our group. The skip-the-line aspect was beneficial to see as much as we could during our short visit to Florence.
David_L, Jun 2019
Although we waited in a short line (15 min or so?), Our Guide (I believe her name was Elissa?) was very efficient and made sure to guide us to all of the main exhibits in a very professional manner, culminating with the David statue. If you need to see the highlights and have a knowledgeable guide to inform you of what you are viewing, this is money well spent!
Response from Host, Jun 2019
Dear Ambassador613955,
let us thank you for your kind words and for having shared your experience with us and our common readers! We are so proud to notice that the quality of the service given and the experience and care of our guide, have been able to meet your expectations! The guided tour that you booked is a comprehensive and fascinating visit of the world-famous Accademia Gallery, where to deep into Michelangelo's art led by a professional local guide, able to captivate you and passionately introduce you to the works of art kept in the Gallery! We hope to have the possibility to welcome you again in one of our activities, to show you other wonders of our city and country!
Our Best Regards
edwinjs2018, May 2019
The tour was a little drawn out. The skip the line is well worth the extra money.
The David is extremely impressive.
Joseph_A, Oct 2018
Beautiful artwork and a very knowledgeable guide. But she really needed to update her equipment from the technician in the beginning of the tour, as everyone on the tour was having trouble hearing and understanding her.
Angela E, Oct 2018
This was an easy to follow tour. We enjoyed seeing the David, now my favorite sculpture of all time!
Amanda_S, Sep 2018
Our tour guide was great at relating to the international group of tourists and she got us through the gallery at a nice pace. We saw some great sights and learned a lot along the way. David was definitely the must see in this gallery but it was great to see other paintings, sculptures and even instruments.
vmbell7, Aug 2018
Was worth skip the line here. I was booked early morning and queue for those not booked in skip the line was over 200 metres long so I gather it only to longer during the day. Great tour guide the tour was really worth it.
Bill M, Jul 2018
The Gallery is great and so was the tour. That said, you need to reset your expectations about the 'skip the line'. And while yes you do get to skip the line, what you need to realize is that almost everyone has a similar tour. So, my advice is to pick one of the earliest timeslots so that when you meet your group guide and get into the tour line that its not around the block.
daniel_d, Apr 2018
Tour guide was very knowledgeable and explained everything clearly and precisely
Monica_K, Apr 2018
You definitely want to skip the line! The Accademia gallery was mainly worth seeing for the Michelangelo sculptures. The whole top floor is Byzantine religious art which is a fantastic collection if that is your interest.
Kevin S, Mar 2018
The tour was the best way to skip the lines, but the tour itself was not overly informative or thorough.
William_R, Mar 2018
The tour of the museum was amazing. Our guide was knowledgeable about the artwork and artists. What was a challenge - and the reason I did not give the tour a full 5 stars, was that we got lost trying to find the meeting point. We had downloaded Google maps on our phones to use offline, only it does not work for walking instructions. It was snowing when we got to Florence and wandering through the city, trying to find our meeting point, was a challenge. Clearer instructions on how to find it would have been helpful.
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