5 Clever Ways to Book Accademia Gallery Tickets in Florence

Heading to Florence soon? Then you can’t miss the beautiful artworks treasured in the Accademia Gallery – like Michelangelo’s Statue of David! Don’t get caught off-guard, though –  make sure you book your Accademia Gallery tickets in advance if you want to skip the line and enjoy your visit! ***UPDATED 2024

How to do that? Just read on and find out – and if you’re also visiting the Uffizi, check our post on how to book Uffizi tickets!

After the Uffizi, the Accademia Gallery is the most famous museum in Florence – and definitely one of the most visited in Italy.

It also holds a truly enviable record – it’s the place that houses the highest number of artworks by Michelangelo in the whole world, like the very famous statue of David. It’s no surprise that it’s also called ‘Michelangelo’s museum’!

If you’re also heading to Milan, don’t forget to check our posts on how to book tickets for the Last Supper and the Milan Duomo!

Why You Need to Book Tickets for the Accademia Gallery

Having said that, it’s clear that you can’t miss visiting the Accademia Gallery while you’re in Florence. Be prepared, though – just like you, thousands of other tourists and art enthusiasts will want to visit it… which translates into long queues at the entrance gates.

Unless you purchase your tickets in advance to skip the lines, of course. If you have no idea about how to do that, don’t worry – I will explain everything later on.

If you’re not a planner (like me), you may be thinking you’ll find a way to skip the line to get your Accademia Gallery ticket – but trust me, if you’re visiting in high season especially, it’s VERY unlikely. 

Florence continues to struggle with over tourism, and it’s visited by an increasing number of tourists every year. In 2018, Florence received over 10 million tourists, with 2.5 MILLION (yes, million) visiting the Accademia Gallery.

Some of these visitors are looking for the ‘real Florence’ in Oltrarno, or head to previously offbeat places, like Fiesole or Borgo San Frediano, but the majority just want to tick off the same four or five destinations – with the Duomo of Florence, Uffizi, and Statue of David firmly at the top of the list. 

Before we move onto looking at how to book tickets to see Michelangelo’s David, first let me dig into the Accademia Gallery masterpieces for a second. A lot of people step in just to see the statue of David in person, but the museum features a lot more than that.

Don’t miss the chance to explore it all – this is your chance to discover its collections and enjoy your visit at the fullest.

David and Friends: What to see at the Accademia Gallery in Florence

Yes, the statue of David by Michelangelo is surely impressive and famous worldwide, but it’s not the only work of art worth a visit in the Accademia Gallery. Since you paid for your ticket it’s wiser to try and make the most out of it, don’t you think?

So, given that the David is the main reason why you enter the Accademia Gallery, in the first place, what else can you see while there?

• The Hall of the Colossus

Here you can find the ‘Rape of the Sabines’ statue by Giambologna, plus a great collection of religious paintings and sculptures by some of the main artists of the Florentine Renaissance.

• The Hall of the Prisoners

This room hosts the statues of four nude slaves (hence the name) by Michelangelo. They stand out not only for their size but also because they are intentionally unfinished, as a symbol of the never ending human effort to break free.

• The Tribune

This is where you’ll find Michelangelo’s David in all of its greatness. By the way: did you know that it was created when the sculptor was only 26 years old, from a single solid block of Carrara marble?

• The Hall of Models (or Bartolini Gallery)

Here you will see a series of plaster cast models by two sculptors from the 19^th Century, Bartolini and Pampaloni. These works are a good way to understand how the beauty and style standards changed over time in Florence.

• The Florentine Gothic Rooms

This space presents many religious paintings from the Gothic period, as well as gold-decorated altar pieces and colourful mosaics.

• The First Floor

Everything previously mentioned is located on the ground floor, but you shouldn’t skip the first one either. Less popular but also less crowded, it features interesting and touching works of art from the late Gothic period of Florence.

• The Museum of Musical Instruments

Maybe you didn’t know, but the Gallery doesn’t display art pieces only. If you’re passionate about music, you will surely love the antique instruments exhibited here and the immersive experience due to the audio-visual tools.

As you can understand, the Accademia Gallery in Florence is well worth a stop during your holiday – not just for Michelangelo’s David, but for all of its friends too.

Here is all you need to know to plan the 20 Best Day Trips from Florence!

Accademia Gallery Tickets – Types and Prices

Now let’s dive into practical information about Accademia Gallery tickets. First of all, you should know that there are different kinds of tickets you can get:

• Full price

The full ticket price to enter the Accademia Gallery is €16, whether you buy online or in person. The price could change in case a special exhibition is going on at the museum.

• Free entrance

You can visit the Accademia in Florence for free on some specific days (spoiler alert: I will write them down for you later on!), but also if you are: under 18 or over 65 years old; a university student or professor at the faculties of architecture, cultural heritage, primary education, literature and philosophy or archaeology, history or art; a guide or interpreter; a disabled person or their chaperone; an employee of the Ministry of Culture or the owner of a Firenze Card (find out more about that later).

• Reduced price

There is also a chance to enter the Accademia Gallery for the reduced price of just €2 for young citizens of EU, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland or Liechtenstein under the age of 26, or for teachers of Italian public schools.

These are the different possibilities you have in terms of price. It’s finally time to find out how you can purchase your tickets, skip the line and enjoy the Accademia Gallery in Florence.

5 Smart Ways to Book Accademia Gallery Tickets

You have several options to buy the tickets to the Accademia Gallery in Florence. Whatever way you choose, my suggestion is to book them in advance to make sure you’ll be able to get in… and to skip the line of course, which can be very long especially during peak season.

So here’s an overview of your possibilities.

1) Buy Accademia Gallery Tickets Online

You can get your tickets for the Accademia Gallery online – and that’s probably the easiest way to go. The ticket will be a few euros more expensive than at the door due to the pre-sale fee, but you’ll also be able to cancel/reschedule tickets up to 24 hours before your visit.

The official website to purchase tickets to see Michelangelo’s Statue of David is B-Ticket, where you’ll pay €16 (those additional €4 are the pre-sale fee).

The system will ask you to select a day and time for your visit, then it will send you an email voucher that you have to print and show at the ticket counter of the museum (there is one specifically dedicated to those who have a reservation).

You’re all ready to go: skip the line, just get in and explore the Accademia Gallery!

2) Book a guided tour of the Accademia Gallery

Booking a guided tour, whether it is private or in a group, not only means that you’re going to skip the line at the door of the Accademia Gallery, but also that you will have the chance to get to know a lot more about the works displayed at the museum.

Of course, a private guided tour is the ideal solution, because it’s 100% customizable based on your preferences and pace. On the downside, it could be pretty expensive.

Joining a group tour is cheaper and it still gives you the opportunity to go deeper and not limit yourself to a quick gaze to the artworks.

Don’t miss Boboli Gardens – find 6 ways to book Boboli tickets here!

3) Book Accademia Gallery Tickets in Person

If you happen to walk by the Accademia Gallery during one of your strolls around the streets of Florence, you can stop and buy your ticket personally. Of course it’s better if you book the visit on a different day, but maybe you will find available tickets on that same day too: just ask, you never know… perhaps the “last minute” approach will work out!

4) Book Accademia Gallery Tickets on the Phone 

If you want to save time skipping the line at the entrance of the Accademia but you’re not that much into buying online, you can reserve your tickets with an old-fashioned but effective phone call.

The number, +39 055294883, is active Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 6:30pm, and on Saturday until 12:30pm. Most operators speak English, as well as other languages (French, German, Spanish, and more).

You will be given a booking ID Code that you have to communicate at the dedicated counter at the Accademia Gallery, and that will be turned into an admission ticket upon payment.

5) Purchase the Firenze Card

Not only is the Firenze Card a way to avoid the queues outside the Accademia Gallery, it also gets you free entrance to some of the best museums and attractions in Florence – for example the Uffizi Gallery, Palazzo Vecchio museum, Pitti Palace, Boboli Gardens, the churches of Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce, and so on.

The Card is an ideal solution if you have a few days to spend in Florence, and want to make the most out of your visit, since it’s got a validity of 72 hours from the moment you start using it (basically when you access the first museum).

BONUS! How to visit the Accademia in Florence for free

There is one last tip I want to share with you, and I’m sure you’re going to love this. Did you know that there are some days where you can actually visit the Accademia Gallery for free?

Some dates are fixed, like:

• National Museum Week (in March);
• The first Sunday of the months between October and March;
• November 22^nd (day dedicated to Cecilia, patron saint of music);
• December 8^th (National holiday).

In addition to these, there is one more week of free access to the Accademia Gallery that will change year by year – in 2019 it was from November 5^th to the 10^th – so I suggest checking the news online before your visit (unfortunately, there’s no official website in English for that).

Just remember that, during these days, tickets cannot be booked ahead of time: you will be able to get in on a first-come-first-served basis so make sure not to be late or you could miss the chance to get in!

This said, there’s only one thing to add: enjoy your visit to the Accademia Gallery in Florence and prepare to be amazed by its beauty!

Looking for more Florence posts? Here you are!

• One Day in Florence – A Quick Itinerary
• 2 Days in Florence for First-Timers
• Florence Insider Tips
• How to Spend 3 Days in Florence