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EU citizens under 25 and over 65 get a fifty-percent discount at state-run museums , and everyone under 20 gets a twenty-five percent discount at city-run museums. Note that most forbid entry one hour before stated closing times.

There are three museum passes. The L10,000/¬5.16 Musei Fiorentini carnet gives fifty percent off all the city-run museums (the Cappella Brancacci, Palazzio Vecchio, Santa Maria Novella and half-a-dozen small collections; www.comune.firenze.it/servizi_ pubblici/arte/musei ) plus the private Museo Marini. The L20,000/¬10.33 Palazzo Pitti biglietto cumulativo gives free entry to the Pitti and the Bóboli gardens for three days. Best of all is the three-day L25,000/¬12.91 Michelangelo itinerary ticket , giving free entry to the unmissable trio of the Accademia, Cappelle Medicee and Bargello. All these grant only one admission to each museum.

All state-run museums ( www.sbas.firenze.it ) allow you to book in advance , thereby cutting down on the time you're otherwise likely to spend waiting in very long lines. Currently, it's possible to book at the Uffizi (with or without the Corridoio Vasariano), the Accademia, the Bargello, the Cappelle Medicee, the Museo di San Marco, the Museo Archeologico, and all the Pitti museums. You have to call Firenze Musei on tel 055.294.883 (Mon-Fri 8.30am-6.30pm, Sat 8.30am-12.30pm) and state which museums you want, the day and time you wish to enter, and your name; they then give you a reservation number . You can reserve from an hour to a year in advance for anything up to thirty people. On the day, you head straight to the dedicated reservations pickup desk, quote your name and number and pay the museum admission charge (in cash only) plus a L3000/¬1.55 booking fee per person.

At the time of writing, the only way to pay by credit card was online at www.weekendafirenze.com or english.firenze.net , a minimum of three days in advance. There's a service fee totalling L10,700/¬5.52 extra per ticket. Once you're in Florence, you can book in person at any of the above museums for entry to any other.