Uffizi Gallery

Vasari's building is two long wings joined by a short one, in a U that runs from Piazza della Signoria to the river. It was finished in the early 1580s. In 1584 Bernardo Buontalenti added the Tribuna, an octagonal room with a mother-of-pearl dome where the Medici kept their most prized pieces. Grand Tour travellers made it famous.

The collection grew for two centuries. When the last of the Medici line died out, Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici signed the Family Pact of 1737 with the new rulers, the house of Lorraine. It said the art could never leave Florence. That clause is the reason the paintings are still here.

In 1565 Vasari also built the corridor that bears his name, a private walkway about a kilometre long. It runs from the Uffizi over the Ponte Vecchio to the Pitti Palace, so the duke could cross the city without meeting anyone. On 27 May 1993 a Mafia car bomb exploded in Via dei Georgofili, behind the west wing. Five people died and more than 170 paintings were damaged. Most were restored, and the gallery has expanded several times since.

Entry is through the colonnade on Piazzale degli Uffizi, with a security check and a free cloakroom for backpacks and large bags. You then climb to the second floor, where the visit starts.

The top floor is a long corridor lined with Roman statues and painted ceilings, with the rooms opening off one side. Early on are the medieval altarpieces by Giotto and Cimabue, then the Botticelli rooms with the Birth of Venus and Primavera. These are the most crowded spots in the building. Nearby are Leonardo's Annunciation and his unfinished Adoration of the Magi, and the Tribuna. Halfway round, the short wing has windows over the Arno and the Ponte Vecchio. Michelangelo's Doni Tondo, a round painting of the Holy Family in its original carved frame, is on this floor too.

The first floor has the later works: Raphael, Titian's Venus of Urbino, and Caravaggio's Medusa, painted on a shield, alongside his Bacchus.

A guided visit of the highlights takes about two hours. Seeing everything takes most of a day. The Vasari Corridor adds about 45 minutes, walks one way only, and lets you out in the Boboli Gardens.

The gallery is open Tuesday to Sunday from 8:15 am to 6:30 pm. The ticket office closes at 5:30 pm. It is closed on Mondays, 1 January and 25 December, apart from a few holiday Mondays.

The first slots of the morning and the late afternoon are the quietest. Tour groups arrive mid-morning and fill the Botticelli rooms until early afternoon. Since January 2026 there is a cheaper ticket for anyone who enters after 4 pm, which still leaves two hours.

Entry is free on the first Sunday of each month, but you cannot pick a time, and queues in spring and summer can last hours. Saturdays, Easter and the summer months book up first. Reserve as soon as your dates are fixed.