Best Uffizi Gallery Guided Tours

It is by its own merits one of the most visited and relevant places in Florence. And if you are also an art lover, the Uffizi Gallery is a must-see. To see this impressive art gallery it is best to do it through a guided tour.

The best option

Florence Uffizi Gallery Guided Visit

Book your guided tour of the Uffizi Gallery

Book your guided tour of the Uffizi Gallery y descubre toda la historia y secretos de sus obras sin colas y con un guía especializado.

From $71 at Hellotickets

The Uffizi Gallery, in Italian: Galleria degli Uffizi, is one of the best museums in the city of Florence as it houses one of the most important art collections in Italy and, therefore, in the world. Specifically, it houses paintings made between the thirteenth and eighteenth centuries with the signature of great authors such as Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian.

In a guided tour an art expert will show you the most important works and of course putting each and every one of them in context so that you leave with the feeling of knowing a little more about Italian art and culture.

The price of a guided tour depends on the modality and the season we choose for it. The standard prices for a guided tour of the Uffizi Gallery are:

• In winter season (From November 1 to February 28): From 64,00 euro.
• In summer season (From March 1 to October 31). From 72,00 euros.
• Children from 6 to 17 years old: From 52,00 euros.
• Children from 0 to 6 years old: Free.

We can always buy tickets in advance online to get better deals. In this link I leave you all the information to get your tickets for the Uffizi Gallery.

The standard guided tour of the Uffizi Gallery lasts between 2 and 2.5 hours. This is more than enough time to get to know the must-sees of the museum and see all its rooms. However, after the visit we have time to return to see some of the works on our own. I recommend that you inform yourself beforehand about the layout of the museum to improve your visit.

Private guided tours are usually longer and last about three hours. In this case, being a smaller group, the guides go more in depth about the questions you may ask them.

The simple answer is a resounding yes. There are three main points that make a guided tour a better option than a visit on our own:

• Include a professional and accredited guide: whenever you visit a museum with a professional guide the experience is more enriching. But in the case of museums in Florence even more so. All Florentine museum guides need a special permit from the city to ensure maximum professionalism and knowledge. Something characteristic of one of the cities with the most artistic heritage in the world.
• Adaptation to all languages: There are guided tours in English but in case you can not make one there is no problem. All guided tours include headphones with translator function and audio guide for countless languages.
• Fixed schedule and no queues: By hiring a guided tour you are guaranteed to enter at a fixed time and without queuing. If you visit the museum on your own, queues are almost obligatory.

There are three options for guided tours of the Uffizi Gallery: standard guided tour, private tour and guided tour with city center tour:

Standard guided tour:

The most common option is to hire a standard guided tour. It includes a professional guide, audio guides and entrance without queuing. This type of visit is for groups of up to 20 people and has a fixed schedule. They usually take place on Fridays and Saturdays at 3:30 p.m. and last 2.5 hours.

• Duration: 2 hours and a half.
• Schedule: Fridays and Saturdays at 15:30. You must be at gate 3 15 minutes in advance.
• Price: From 64 euros in winter and 72 euros in summer. Children from 6 to 17 years old from 52 euros. Children under 6 years free.

Private tour:

This option is for those who want an exclusive guide for them or for a small group. The advantage is that it has no time and day limitations, since you choose it, and it also includes the entrance without queues, the guide and audio guides on request. All this has an extra cost since the fixed rate is 215 euros for the guide service and a surcharge of 24 euros per person in winter and 32 euros in summer. You can calculate the price in this link.

• Duration: about 3 hours.
• Schedule: To be agreed every day except Mondays and from 9:00 to 15:00.
• Price: 215 euros base + 24,00 euros (from November to February) or 32,00 euros (from March to October) euros per person. For children from 6 to 17 years old the extra is 14.00 € from November to February or 18.00 € from March to October.

Guided tour of the Uffizi Gallery + walk through the historic center of the city:

There is also the possibility to combine the guided tour of the museum with a guided walk through the historic center of Florence. The tour includes a walk through the Duomo, Palazzo Davanzati, Palazzo Vecchio, Ponte Vecchio, and some of the squares and monuments with the explanation of an accredited guide on the life and history of the city. It also includes the visit to the Gallery with the same services as a normal guided tour.

• Duration: about 3 hours and a half.
• Hours: Friday and Saturday at 2:00 pm. Be there at 13:30 in front of the Hard Rock Café in via Brunelleschi 1.
• Price: From November to February: From 85,00 euros. From March to October: From 93,00 euros. Children from 6 to 18 years old: 52,00 euros. Children under 6 years free.

There are no special tours for children but the normal guided tours are perfectly valid for children. The professional guides will adapt the explanations without any problems if there are children in the groups.

Admission is allowed for all ages and children up to 6 years old are free of charge. From 6 to 18 years the guided tour has a rate from 52 euros. All in all it is a good option to bring art closer to the little ones if you visit Florence with children.

The Uffizi Gallery has a collection of over 1,500 works of art spread over 45 rooms and arranged in the chronological order of their styles. Of all of them the works that stand out the most in the Uffizi Gallery and deserve special attention during guided tours are:

• Giotto's Madonna di Ognissanti: This large altarpiece dates from 1310 and the technique and representation used by Giotto for this work was a great revolution for the time. It shows the Virgin and child in a representation that broke with Byzantine standards.
• The Battle of San Romano by Paolo Uccello: This painting is part of a triptych, specifically in its central part, whose parts are divided between the Uffizi Gallery, the National Gallery in London and the Louvre in Paris. Its representation of perspective is what made this work and its author famous.
• The Dukes of Urbino by Piero della Francesca: It portrays the spouses Federigo da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza in a diptych. It is one of the most famous works of the Italian Renaissance.
• The Birth of Venus by Botticelli: Possibly the most famous work in the Uffizi Gallery. Botticelli painted it between 1482 and 1485 and portrays the goddess Venus naked on a shell representing the birth of love and beauty represented in the figure of Venus.
• The Spring of Botticelli: In the same room as the Venus, since it is a room dedicated exclusively to the works of Botticelli, is the painting known as the Spring. It was commissioned by the Medici family and is a work of extreme beauty and mythological significance.
• The Annunciation by Leonardo da Vinci: This painting is another example of the impeccable technique of the Italian master Leonardo da Vinci. So much so that the painting has been the subject of much study and research. It stands out above all for its great amount of details.

These are the main works to see in the Uffizi Gallery but there are many others of such important authors as Titian, Raphael and Michelangelo. It is considered one of the most important museums in the world for a reason.

Since the guided tours have a closed schedule there is not a wide range to choose from. Guided tours are on Fridays and Saturdays at 15:30. In this case it is better to do it on Fridays, as there is less demand, but the difference is minimal.

In the case of hiring a private visit we will have the possibility to choose a schedule. Here it is best to make a visit early in the week, between Tuesday and Thursday, since there is less volume of visitors.

As for the season, it will always be better to visit the museum in the winter season from November 1 to February 28. During these dates, prices are lower and the number of visitors is lower.

To get the most out of a guided tour of the Uffizi Gallery I share with you a series of tips that you may find useful:

• The best thing to do to book a guided tour is to do it online and as far in advance as possible, as the schedules are closed and only offered on Fridays and Saturdays.
• The museum has two seasons. The winter season, from November to February, and the summer season from March to October. Visiting the Gallery in winter will always be cheaper and the crowds are usually smaller.
• The museum has a checkroom service for backpacks and large items. It is mandatory to leave your belongings here if they are too bulky.
• It is not allowed to take pictures of the works of art due to copyright issues.
• Bring your own headphones if you hire an audio guide because, although they give you some, the ones they offer are disposable and of poor quality.
• If you hire a guided tour always be at least 15 minutes in advance at the meeting point indicated.