Uffizi Gallery Tickets and Tours in Florence: how to buy, prices and schedules
The Uffizi Gallery is certainly the first mandatory stop in Florence: here's how to get tickets or take a guided tour.
Uffizi Gallery seen from the Arno River | ©John Menard
With 1,500 works of art and 45 rooms tracing the history of classical art, the Uffizi Gallery is one of the oldest and most important collections in the world.
How to visit the Uffizi Gallery
The Uffizi Gallery is one of those museums with endless queues with 2 million visitors a year, so grabbing a ticket or a guided tour in advance is practically essential. Here are the best options:
Fast track entrance to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence
If you are one of those who prefer to visit the tourist attractions on your own and at your own pace, getting an advance and fast-track ticket like this one to the Uffizi Gallery is really advisable. As I said, the queues that can form at the ticket offices of this museum can become endless, and entering the Gallery already tired can tarnish your visit.
With this ticket you are guaranteed to skip the lines and have time to visit the collection inside at your own pace, without following any guided tour (at the entrance of the museum you can find maps and audio guides to help you orient your visit).
Guided tour of the Uffizi Gallery
If you are one of those travelers who start their day of sightseeing early in the day and do not want to get lost among the immense collection of the Uffizi Gallery, take advantage of this ticket, which offers this guided group tour to learn the ins and outs of its main masterpieces with preferential access in the less crowded strip.
This is, for me, the best option. Personally, I consider that a museum with so much artistic load can be overwhelming and visiting it without a specialized guide can make your visit to the museum lose interest. With this tour guided by a professional, you are sure to see and understand the essentials of one of the most important museums in the world. In addition, being small groups, the atmosphere will be more personal and intimate.
What is included in this ticket
- Fast-track admission
- 2-hour guided tour with an art historian in English
- Small groups of about 9 people
- Headphones for groups of more than 7 attendees
- Time to walk around the gallery on your own after the tour is over
Fast-track entrance with guided tour to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence in the afternoon
If on the other hand you do not want to get up early and prefer to visit the Uffizi Gallery in the afternoon, this group tour with quick access is the same as the previous one and will not force you to get up so early.
Vicky's Traveller Tip
The Uffizi Gallery tours will guide you to the main works of the Uffizi Gallery. If you prefer to visit it on your own and without investing too much time, do it around 4.30 p.m., when there are fewer queues.
Guided tour of Florence, Uffizi Gallery and Accademia Gallery
If you are determined to visit both the Uffizi Gallery and the Accademia Gallery with its 'David' by Michelangelo, (which I recommend 100%, I would not be able to choose only one between the two) choose a guided tour of the two most important museums in Florence.
This seemed to me a very good option to save time (you will skip the queues) and money, as it is cheaper than hiring a guided tour for each museum separately. It also includes a walking tour of the historic center of Florence, where your guide will explain the history of this beautiful city and some of the most important monuments that you will see on your way, such as the Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio and the Piazza della Signoria.
About the Accademia Gallery
The "Galleria dell'Accademia" is the other must-see museum in Florence, as it houses nothing less than the original 5.2 meter sculpture of Michelangelo's 'David'. It was built in 1784 to be used as a sculptural study space for Fine Arts students and includes other sculptures by Michelangelo, such as the 'Prigioni' and 'San Matteo', and religious works by other Renaissance masters, such as Andrea Orcagna, Fra Filippo Lippi and Botticelli.
What's included
- Express ticket for mobile devices
- 4-hour guided tour of the historic center of Florence, the Accademia Gallery and the Uffizi Gallery
- Professional guide
- Groups of no more than 19 people
- Free time between visits to refuel (lunch not included)
Itinerary of the Guided Tour of Florence, the Uffizi Gallery and Accademia Gallery
- Galleria dell'Accademia
- Duomo of Florence
- Piazza della Signoria and Ponte Vecchio, where the David once stood.
- Palazzo Vecchio
- Battistero di San Giovanni
- Gallerie Degli Uffizi
Guided tour of the Uffizi Gallery and walking tour of Florence's main sights
This guided tour of Florence with fast track entry to the Uffizi Gallery is really good value, as for an affordable price it adds a walking tour of the city of Florence and some of its highlights, such as the exteriors of the Basilica of Santa Croce, the Convent of San Domenico and the Piazza della Signoria.
What is included
this tour
- Quick entrance to the Uffizi Gallery
- Guided group tour
- Headphones for groups of more than 15 people
- Walking tour of Florence with the following itinerary
Itinerary
- Departure from Piazza di San Firenze at 14.30
- Basilica of Santa Croce. It is the largest Franciscan church in the world and the most interesting temple in Florence, housing a real pantheon with nearly 300 tombs of important figures from the fourteenth to the nineteenth century as Machiavelli, Michael and Galileo and works by authors such as Donatello, Giotto and Brunelleschi.
- Church of Santa Felicità. An ancient portico church crowned by the Vasari corridor and housing two masterpieces by Pontormo.
- Piazza della Signoria. It is the most important square in Florence, a real open-air museum and with the magnificent Loggia dei Lanzi, which brings together sculptures by great masters of the Renaissance.
- Gallerie Degli Uffizi
- Ponte Vecchio. One of the most famous bridges in the world and a must stop for some of the best photographs in Florence.
- Fontana del Porcellino. It is tradition to touch the nose of this famous statue of piglets.
- Arno River. You will cross it over the Ponte alle Grazie, with a pleasant guided walk along its left bank. From there you will get great views of the Florence skyline, with the building that houses the Uffizi Gallery, the impressive aerial structure of the Vasari Corridor, the Dome of the Florence Cathedral and its Giotto's Bell Tower, the towers of the Palazzo Vecchio and Bargello.
Organize your visit to the Uffizi Gallery of Florence
Hours
The Uffizi Gallery in Florence is open from Tuesday to Sunday. Closed on Mondays, December 25 and January 1. Hours are from 8.15 am to 6.50 pm. In summer it opens in special hours some afternoons.
How to get to the Uffizi Gallery
The Uffizi Gallery of Florence is located in Piazzale degli Uffizi, 6. You can reach the Uffizi Gallery on foot from anywhere in the city center, aboard a tourist bus or on bus lines 23 and C1.
Why visit the Uffizi Gallery in Florence?
To begin with, because it is one of the most important museums not only in Florence but in the whole world and, finally because, even if you are not a great art lover, seeing works such as 'The Birth of Venus' by Botticelli or 'The Annunciation' by Da Vinci is one of those things that must be done once in a lifetime.
At the Uffizi Gallery you will also travel through the history of classical art, from Greece to the 18th century, through other gems by artists such as Caravaggio, Masaccio, Michelangelo, Fra Angelico, Raphael, Titian, Giotto and Greek and Roman statues, drawings and prints.
A bit of history
The vast collection of this museum is due to the fact that it was used as a storage place for the entire collection of works gathered by the most famous and powerful dynasty of patrons in history, the Medici. Designed by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 by order of Cosimo I de' Medici, this Gallery of Offices owes its name to the fact that it was originally conceived as the seat of the offices of the Florentine magistracies.
After the fall of the Medici from power in the 18th century, the palace was transformed into a museum, one with 1,500 works of art distributed in 45 rooms arranged chronologically.
Other interesting visits in Florence
A visit to the Uffizi Gallery is a must in Florence, but so is a visit to Michelangelo's David, housed in the Accademia Gallery, and the Duomo of Florence, so check out my other articles on Accademia Gallery Tickets and Tours in Florence: how to buy, prices and discounts y Florence Duomo Tickets and Tours: how to buy, prices and schedules discover the best ways to visit them and get to them on a Florence sightseeing bus: Florence Hop on Hop off Bus Tours.
Frequently asked questions
What can I see in the Uffizi Gallery?
The Uffizi Gallery houses some of the most important works of the Italian Renaissance, such as the Birth of Venus, Michelangelo's David, the Coronation of the Virgin by Fra Angelico and other classic paintings by Titian, Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael.
How long will it take me to visit the Uffizi Gallery?
Visiting the highlights of the Uffizi Gallery will take you about two hours, but if you want to visit the museum in depth you can take up to half a day.
What can I do after visiting the Uffizi Gallery?
Some interesting places in Florence near the gallery are Ponte Vecchio, the Loggia dei Lanzi, Piazza della Signoria and Palazzo Vecchio. In addition, you can go for a drink at La Terrazza Rooftop bar.