More about: Florence Uffizi Gallery Tickets and Visits
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 getting a ticket or a guided tour in advance is a must. Here are the best options:
- Fast track ticket to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence - from AED 77
- Guided tour of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence - from AED 245
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 a 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 be endless, and entering the Gallery already tired can spoil your visit.
With this ticket you are guaranteed to skip the queues and have time to visit the interior collection at your own pace, without following any guided tour (at the museum entrance 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 travellers who start your day of sightseeing early in the morning and don't want to get lost among the immense collection of the Uffizi Gallery, take advantage of this ticket, which offers you this guided group tour to get to know the ins and outs of its main masterpieces with preferential access to the less crowded part of the museum.
This is, for me, the best option. Personally, I think that a museum with so much art can be overwhelming and visiting it without a specialised guide can make your visit to the museum less interesting. With this professionally guided tour, you are guaranteed to see and understand the essential aspects of one of the most important museums in the world. In addition, the small group size makes the atmosphere more personal and intimate.
What's included in this ticket
- Fast-track ticket
- 2-hour guided tour with an art historian in English
- Small groups of about 9 people
- Headphones for groups of more than 7 people
- Time to explore the gallery on your own after the tour is over
Express entrance with guided tour to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence in the afternoon
If, on the other hand, you don't want to get up early and prefer to visit the Uffizi Gallery in the afternoon, this group tour with fast-track access is the same as the previous one and won't force you to get up as early.
Vicky's Traveller Tip
Tours of the Uffizi Gallery will guide you to its most important works. If you prefer to visit on your own and without spending too much time, do it around 4.30pm when there are fewer queues.
Guided tour of Florence, the Uffizi Gallery and the 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 wouldn't be able to choose 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'll skip the queues) and money, as it's cheaper than hiring a guided tour for each museum separately. It also includes a walking tour of the historic centre of Florence, where your guide will explain the history of this beautiful city and some of the most important monuments you will see along the 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, housing no less than the original 5.2-metre 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
- Guided tour of the historic centre of Florence, the Accademia Gallery and the Uffizi Gallery lasting 4 hours
- Professional guide
- Groups of no more than 19 people
- Free time between visits to replenish your energy (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 landmarks
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 exterior of the Basilica of Santa Croce, the Convent of San Domenico and the Piazza della Signoria.
What's included
this tour
- Fast track entry 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 an authentic pantheon with almost 300 tombs of important figures from the 14th to the 19th century such as Machiavelli, Michelangelo and Galileo and works by authors such as Donatello, Giotto and Brunelleschi.
- Church of Santa Felicità. An ancient church with a portico crowned by the Vasari corridor and housing two masterpieces by Pontormo.
- Piazza della Signoria. This is the most important square in Florence, a veritable open-air museum with the magnificent Loggia dei Lanzi, which houses sculptures by the 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.
- River Arno. 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.
Plan your visit to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence
Opening hours
The Uffizi Gallery in Florence is open from Tuesday to Sunday. Closed on Mondays, 25 December and 1 January. Opening hours are from 8.15 am to 6.50 pm. In summer it is open in special opening hours on certain evenings.
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 any point in the city centre, by tourist bus or by bus lines 23 and C1.
Why visit the Uffizi Gallery in Florence?
First of all, 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 like Botticelli's 'The Birth of Venus' or Da Vinci's 'The Annunciation' is one of those things you must do once in a lifetime.
In 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 assembled 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, the Galleria delle Uffizi owes its name to the fact that it was originally intended to house the offices of the Florentine magistrates.
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 in chronological order.
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 in the Accademia Gallery and Florence's Duomo, so check out my other articles on the Uffizi Gallery and the Duomo. Florence Accademia Gallery Tickets and Visits y Florence Cathedral Tickets and Tours discover the best ways to visit them and get to them on a Florence sightseeing bus: Florence Hop-On Hop-Off Buses.