Florence

Skip-the-Line Accademia Guided Visit: David Secrets and Beyond

Florence, Italy
Skip the Line Florence Accademia Gallery Tour

From $58.45

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

  • 1 hour
  • Offered in: English

Overview

Skip the line to see Michelangelo’s 'David' on this tour of the Accademia Gallery in Florence. Accompanied by a professional guide, head straight inside the world-famous museum with your priority access ticket and learn about the impressive collection of artwork inside. Witness Michelangelo’s masterpiece and hear about its fascinating history from your guide. Have the chance to check out the artist's unfinished 'Prigioni', as well as works by Renaissance greats like Lippi and Botticelli.
  • Accademia Gallery (Galleria dell’Accademia) tour in Florence
  • Skip the line with your fast-track entrance ticket to Florence’s Accademia Gallery
  • Learn about prestigious Renaissance artwork from an expert guide
  • See Michelangelo’s 'Prigioni,' 'San Matteo,' and the statue of 'David'
  • Hear of the history behind 'David,' an icon of Florence
  • Admire works by artists such as Botticelli, Lippi, and Orcagna

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: Museum guided Visit in small group
  • 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.

Start time

09:00 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Your tour begins in central Florence, outside of the Accademia Gallery. Meet up with your guide and avoid the lines with a direct access ticket.

Listen to the rich history and stories behind the collection of artwork hosted within the museum’s walls. Examine Michelangelo’s unfinished sculptures, 'Prigioni' and 'San Matteo,' before making your way to the gem of the collection, the artist’s famed 'David.'

Sculpted entirely from Carrara marble, Michelangelo was only in his twenties while he worked on the masterpiece from 1501 to 1504. Originally commissioned to be placed along the roofline of the Florence Cathedral, the sculpture was instead positioned outside the Palazzo della Signoria in 1504. Look up to witness the lifelike outlines of muscles and veins of the biblical hero. At 17 feet (5.17 meters), 'David' stands as the iconic symbol of Florence's independence.

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 independently in the museum for as long as you wish.

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.
  • No health restrictions needed
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 19 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
  • Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
  • Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Traveler Photos

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Traveler Tips


This was worth the money to not have to stand in line.
Reviews by Viator travelers. We perform checks on reviews

Reviews

4.0
468 reviews
Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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Reviews by Viator travelers.
Showing 1-10 of 468 reviews
Fabulous Small Group Tour
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.)
Beautiful Museum!
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.
Loved the museum
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
Do it yourself instead
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.
Worthwhile
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.
Great Tour
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.
Great guide
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.
Amazing experience of the Galleria della Academia!
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.
Art was fabulous. Not too...
Arthur_S, May 2022
Art was fabulous. Not too crowded. Wonderful experience. Now just writing to meet the 100 character minimum. Silly rule.
Great tour
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
Superb Guide
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
Excellent tour!
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!
Nice tour
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.
Value for money
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
Excellent
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.
Beautiful Art
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.
Very good
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.
Excellent!
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
Accademia Gallery
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.
A morning with David
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.
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