Book ahead for the big-name museums. All of these (plus Boboli Gardens) have a combined booking portal and there are several combi-tickets. In practice, it's Uffizi that draws the biggest crowds and so is hardest to access; your options are:
- - Just wait in line. On a good day this could mean a 4- to 5-hour wait, hopefully in good weather. On a bad day you wait hours outside in bad weather then they sell out and turn you away. This is especially likely on the first Sunday of the month when entry is free. Tuesday too is crowded, since it's closed Monday so there's pent-up demand.
- - Go on an organised tour - these have a pre-booked slot and you step right in. Caveat emptor, as tour operations range from the shambolic and rushed to the sublime and educating.
- - Buy a Firenzecard, so you skip the usual line. Upmarket hotels sometimes also have access to priority slots.
- - Book online, paying €4 extra and pre-printing your email for a fixed time slot. Be there at least an hour ahead, because so many people are skipping line, there's a line to skip the line.
- - Book by phone on +39 055 294883, likewise paying €4 extra for a fixed slot and arriving an hour early. It's not clear how long you'll typically wait to get through by phone.
- 5 Galleria degli Uffizi, Piazzale degli Uffizi, ☏ +39 055 294883. Tu-Su 08:15-18:50, M closed, last admission 18:00; you may not bring in water. Outstanding fine art museum with Renaissance paintings and sculptures from classical antiquity. It's in a late 16th-century palazzo designed by Vasari, in two wings enclosing a long narrow courtyard, effectively a street, an innovation in its day. Originally the palazzo was magistrates' offices (hence "Uffizi") and state archives; then it came to house the Medici's vast art collection. However, one collections seems to have crossed purposes: the massive number of standardized portraits, placed in the hallway, seem to have been an ID system for identifying important foreigners when they came to town. The artworks are on the first and second floors, they keep the lifts well hidden. Highlights include Birth of Venus by Boticelli, Dukes of Urbino by della Francesca, Medusa by Caravaggio, Venus of Urbino by Titian, Annunciation by da Vinci, Pope Leo X and family by Raphael, Velasquez' self-portrait, Rembrandt's final self-portrait, and many other big names. Allow three hours for a visit. Uffizi specialises in the Renaissance, so although later styles are represented, examples are few: you don't really come here for the 18th- to 20th-century material. The restaurant/cafè has a large balcony overlooking the main piazza with good views of the Palazzo Vecchio, and naturally their prices reflect the views. High season (21 Feb-9 Nov; 21 Dec-9 Jan): adult €29 (or €23 for early morning tickets: 08:15 and 08:30), conc €6, combi with Pitti & Boboli €38; low season: adult €16, conc €6, combi €18; including a booking fee of €4. (updated Oct 2024)
- 10 Museo Galileo, Piazza dei Giudici 1, ☏ +39 055 265 311. Daily 09:30-18:00, except Tu 09:30-13:00. This museum shows the evolution of the instruments used in various scientific fields such as mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, astronomy. The room of Galileo Galilei shows some of his original instruments as well as models from his drawings. The room of Spheres and Globes houses an excellent cartographic collection. In a rather macabre twist the museum also has the middle finger of Galileo's right hand on display. The museum offer some descriptions in Italian and English but you can access other languages by scanning QR codes (Chinese, French, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, German). The museum offers an open WiFi. It is recommended to have an idea of the principles behind the instruments (as the descriptions on the labels are rather generic). For that, you can download their free audio-guide app available in Italian and English (Google Play, Apple Store) and get an idea of the instruments displayed. €13. (updated Apr 2026)
- 11 Museo Horne, Palazzo Corsi on via dei Benci, 6. Th-Tu 10:00-14:00. Displays art and furnishings of the 14th & 15th century. The building and art collection were owned by art historian Herbert Percy Horne. €7. (updated May 2019)
- A Contemporary Art gallery is sited in 15 Palazzo Strozzi, and there are several other collections around city centre.
