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Bucket list experience:

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

Containing some 5,400 works, the Uffizi’s collection spans art history from ancient Greece through to 18th-century Venetian painting. But most of all, it is known as the world’s largest and most important collection of Renaissance and Mannerist art.

You could spend all day wandering the galleries, but the best bet is to pick out the works you want to see beforehand and head straight for those. The website has helpfully selected 14 must-see masterpieces and provided some useful background information on each – worth reading before you go.

Don’t miss

Must-sees include Botticelli’s Primavera and The Birth of Venus, Leonardo da Vinci’s Annunciation, Caravaggio’s Bacchus and Medusa, and Michelangelo’s Holy Family.

While you’re there

There is a café-restaurant on the first floor at the end of the tour with a fabulous terrace offering magnificent views of the city.

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Price from: £10
Minimum age: Any
Age suitable: 18+
When: All year around

Getting there & doing it

The queues are legendary, so if you want to skip the worst of them it’s essential to pre-book tickets at least a week in advance via the official website of Florence Museums, entitling you to enter via a reserved entrance, or book onto a guided tour where all tickets are organised for you. If you don’t pre-book, you may not get in. This is one place where it is definitely worth investing in a pass. Pre-book a Firenze Card or Uffizi Card Amici degli, and you go to the front of the line. You may still have to wait a few minutes, though. Audio guides in six languages are available from the desk inside.

Expert-led guided tours are strongly recommended here. Aside from organising skip-the-line tickets, they’ll help you navigate the galleries, show you the greatest works that you really should see, give you the background and insight that bring the artworks to life. See our recommendations below.

When to do it

The museum is open all year round, Tuesday-Sunday. Closed Monday. The quietest moments are first thing in the morning, during lunchtime and the hour before closing.

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

UFFIZI GALLERY - PRIORITY TICKET (with escorted entrance)

UFFIZI GALLERY - PRIORITY TICKET (with escorted entrance)

Florence

Discover one of the most visited museums in the world by visiting the most important works of art to appreciate the art and history of the I...

€45 | Rating 4.66 / 5 [24 ratings]

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Tour supplied by:

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VIP PRIORITY ACCESS: Uffizi Gallery- Guided Experience

VIP PRIORITY ACCESS: Uffizi Gallery- Guided Experience

Florence

The Uffizi Gallery is the oldest museum in the world and it is very large it is not easy to find what you want in more the rows to enter ins...

€45 | Rating 4.95 / 5 [47 ratings]

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Florence: Uffizi Gallery Guided Tour

Florence: Uffizi Gallery Guided Tour

Florence

The Uffizi Gallery is considered one of the most iconic and important museums in the world of art. Every year people from all over the world...

€52 | Rating 4.87 / 5 [222 ratings]

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Uffizi Gallery Semi-Private Renaissance Art Tour

Uffizi Gallery Semi-Private Renaissance Art Tour

Florence

Skip the line at Florence’s Uffizi Gallery to witness its key masterpieces on this 1.5-hour small-group tour. Avoid the long entrance lines ...

€54 | Rating 4.49 / 5 [660 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

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[0.3 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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Galileo Museum

Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.1 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.

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Ponte Vecchio
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Ponte Vecchio

Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.2 miles]

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Best for ages: 18+ | Free

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Gucci Museum

Florence, Tuscany, Italy[0.3 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

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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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Palazzo Strozzi
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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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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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