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Bucket list experience:

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

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

Highlights include Ludovico Buti’s optical trick, a portrait of a man in a ruff that becomes a woman in the mirror; gruesome wax models of foetuses in the womb for 18th-century medical students; and two preserved fingers belonging to Galileo Galilei himself.

Recommended itineraries by our writers that include this experience

Price from: £9
Minimum age: Any
Age suitable: 8+
When: All year around

Getting there & doing it

The museum is located behind the Uffizi, on the banks of the Arno. Thankfully, queues are rare.

Clear explanations of exhibits are on offer, and you can interact with exhibits to understand why and how some of the original instruments kept in the museum’s historical collection work. You can also download an app or a PDF from the website, which contains a short introduction to each of the 18 halls inside. If science is your thing, you can book onto a guided tour with an expert for a deeper insight and some fascinating insider facts.

When to do it

The museum is open all year round, seven days a week.

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

Small-group Guided tour of Galileo's Museum

Small-group Guided tour of Galileo's Museum

Florence

Step back in time to discover one of the greatest minds in history with this exclusive small group (max 9 persons) 1.5-hour guided tour thro...

€86 | Rating 4.77 / 5 [9 ratings]

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

Hotel Continentale Florence

Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.2 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:

In Piazza della Signoria Hotel

Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.3 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 Lungarno Florence

Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.4 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:

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:

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

Uffizi Gallery

Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.1 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

Ponte Vecchio
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Ponte Vecchio

Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.2 miles]

Florence’s oldest bridge spans the Arno at its narrowest point and was spared from bombing by the retreating Germans after World War II. Thronged with tourists, it is famous for its glittering gold shops which replaced the original foul-smelling butcher’s shops in the 1590s.

Best for ages: 18+ | Free

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Gucci Museum

Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.2 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

Bargello Museum

Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.3 miles]

An eclectic, world-class collection of sculpture, decorative arts and Renaissance masterpieces, housed in a former fortified prison.

Best for ages: 18+ | £6

Other worthwhile experiences near this experience if you have time or interest..

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

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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Palazzo Strozzi
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Palazzo Strozzi

Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.5 miles]

This 16th-century palazzo is home to one of Italy’s most innovative public art galleries. Rotating exhibitions showcase artists as diverse as Jeff Koons, Ai Wei-Wei and Bill Viola and Bronzino, Donatello and Pontormo. The ‘Strozzino’ gallery in the basement focuses on contemporary art and peripheral cultural events.

Best for ages: 18+ | £13

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Scoppio del Carro
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Scoppio del Carro

Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.6 miles]

This traditional Easter festival sees a towering cart laden with fireworks pulled through the city by white oxen accompanied by a procession of flag throwers and drummers in colourful Renaissance garb. In Piazza del Duomo, a mechanical dove swoops down from the cathedral to light the blue touchpaper.

Best for ages: 10+ | Free | 1 day

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