I had to book two tickets each and 30 minutes apart for a party of four since at the time of my booking there were no options to buy 4. There was confusion at the time of claiming the actual entry tickets as each pai of tickets were coursed through different vendors.

If you try to buy a ticket locally, you have to stand in a very long line, so it is definitely better to buy a ticket. For art amateurs, there is nothing in particular to see at the Academy Gallery other than this muscular macho, so I think you can quickly see it in an hour or so.

The gallery was relatively easy to find however one thing to note is that the ticket office shown on the app’s meeting point section does not look like the store or kiosk where tickets are collected. On the day I went, the staff member told me that the ticket office is closed and that I need to go directly to the museum and show my QR code, which I did. Once that process was over the experience was pretty surreal. Stunning artwork and sculptures fill the rooms of this gorgeous venue and then the piece de resistance, Michaelangelo’s David, towers over the galleria. I went in February so there wasn’t much of a big crowd. Highly recommend a visit if you’re going to Florence.