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Bucket list experience:

Last updated: 06 November, 2022
Expert travel writer: Nicky Swallow

This imposing 13th-century building, erstwhile prison and torture chamber, was opened as a museum in 1865 to celebrate Florence becoming capital of Italy. Today, it is to 14th- to 17th-century sculpture what the Uffizi Gallery is to Renaissance painting; it houses one of the most important collections in the city.

But it doesn’t finish there; you can also expect an eclectic and fascinating haul of the decorative arts from Islamic art to glittering Byzantine and Renaissance jewellery, ivories, textiles, ceramics  and miniature bronzes.

Don’t miss

The ground-floor Michelangelo Room showcases masterpieces by the great artist himself (the ‘Pitti Tondo’ and the drunken-eyed Bacchus sculpture, for example) plus his contemporaries; the star turns are Benvenuto Cellini’s bust of Cosimo I and Giambologna’s Mercury. The first floor Salone Donatello contains several of the artists’ most famous works, his two Davids and his St. George.

Here, too, are the two competing trial reliefs representing the Sacrifice of Isaac that were produced by Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi to win the contest for the second set of doors of the Florentine Baptistry (1401).

Recommended itineraries by our writers that include this experience

Price from: £6
Minimum age: Any
Age suitable: 18+
When: All year around

Getting there & doing it

The museum is a 10-minute walk from Santa Maria Novella Station. There are no guided tours in English, but audio guides are available in Italian and English.

There may be queues in high season; you can book tickets online.

When to do it

It’s open all year round. Closed on Tuesdays and on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month.

Our selection of the best Viator tours of this attraction or activity

Florence: Bargello Museum Tour

Florence: Bargello Museum Tour

Florence

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS • Skip the line with your pre-reserved entrance tickets • See David and St. George by Donatello, the Bacchus and Tondo Pitti...

€57 | Rating 5 / 5 [10 ratings]

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BARGELLO Private Tour in Florence

BARGELLO Private Tour in Florence

Florence

Explore one of the most stunning places in Florence - the National Museum of Bargello. The must for Renaissance art lovers it hosts world fa...

€79 | Rating 4.84 / 5 [13 ratings]

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Tour supplied by:

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Our writer’s picks of the best places to stay near this experience, closest first

In Piazza della Signoria Hotel

Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.1 miles]

This elegant guest house offers warm hospitality and an atmosphere of genteel ‘Old Florence’ steps from Piazza della Signoria and the Uffizi Gallery.

Official star rating:

Hotel Continentale Florence

Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.4 miles]

Cool, edgy Ferragamo-owned design hotel by the Ponte Vecchio in the heart of the city – the perfect base for sightseeing.

Official star rating:

Helvetia & Bristol

Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.5 miles]

A historic hotel well-deserving of its five-star status, the Helvetia & Bristol enjoys a fabulously central location and offers sumptuous rooms, bags of atmosphere and top-notch service.

Official star rating:

Hotel Lungarno Florence

Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.6 miles]

Set on the south bank of the Arno River, the Ferragamo-owned Lungarno is a central, stylish and luxurious place to be based for a stay in Florence.

Official star rating:

Destination guides including or relevant to this experience

Tuscany

Tuscany, Italy

The astonishingly beautiful region of Tuscany has it all: art cities and ancient hill towns, high mountains and long sandy beaches, alongside luxurious hotels and some of Italy’s best food and wine.

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Our writer’s recommendations of other bucket list experiences our writer says you must do in this destination, closest first

Gucci Museum

Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.1 miles]

Dresses to impress at this museum dedicated to 90 years at the forefront of fashion. Admire gowns worn to the Oscars, along with oddities such as Gucci bicycles, sledges and scuba-diving fins.

Best for ages: 8+ | £6

Galileo Museum

Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.3 miles]

Named after one of the most famous scientists in history, this fascinating museum holds a collection of more than 1,000 scientific instruments and related objects inherited from the Medici family and Lorraine dynasty – including two fingers belonging to Galileo.

Best for ages: 8+ | £9

Uffizi Gallery

Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.4 miles]

The world’s largest and most important collection of Renaissance and Mannerist art, home to 5,400 works spans art history from ancient Greece through to 18th-century Venetian painting.

Best for ages: 18+ | £10

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night view of Old Palace (Palazzo Vecchio) in Florence, Italy
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Palazzo Vecchio

Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.2 miles]

This imposing palace on Piazza della Signoria has been at the centre of power in Florence since its construction in 1299 and still functions as the town hall. Now partly a museum, its sumptuously decorated rooms reveal magnificent frescoes, coffered ceilings and hidden chambers. Book skip-the-line tickets online here.

Best for ages: 18+ | £8

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Scoppio del Carro
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Best for ages: 10+ | Free | 1 day

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Palazzo Strozzi
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Palazzo Strozzi

Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.5 miles]

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Best for ages: 18+ | £13

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Magi Chapel
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Magi Chapel

Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.6 miles]

Benozzo Gozzoli’s glorious fresco depicting the Procession of the Magi dates from 1459 and covers the tiny ‘Cappella dei Magi’ in Palazzo Medici-Riccardi. Painted in brilliant jewel colours, it shows a procession of richly-attired kings, knights and servants travelling through a fairytale rural landscape.

Best for ages: 18+ | £6

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