Uffizi Gallery

How to visit without losing half a day to the queue

The Uffizi runs on timed entry, and the single thing that decides whether your visit is smooth or miserable is whether you booked one. Each ticket gives you a half-hour arrival window; turn up in it and you join a short pre-booked line, rather than the buy-on-the-day queue that snakes across Piazzale degli Uffizi and can take two hours in summer. Book online before you fly — popular mid-morning slots from March to October go two to three weeks ahead.

The gallery is off the corner of Piazza della Signoria, between the Palazzo Vecchio and the Arno, an easy 15–20 minute walk from Santa Maria Novella station down Via dei Calzaiuoli. It’s open Tuesday to Sunday, 8:15 to 6:30, closed Mondays — a trap that catches a lot of weekend trippers, so don’t pencil it in for a Monday. The collection sits on the top two floors of Vasari’s U-shaped building, and the standard route walks you up the east wing, across the river-facing corridor, and back down the west.

Which rooms, and is it worth it?

Don’t try to see everything — the full route is a couple of kilometres of corridor. Head straight up to Rooms 10–14, the Botticelli hall, where the Birth of Venus and Primavera hang in the same room; get there at opening before the tour groups and you might have a minute alone with them. From there it’s Leonardo’s early work, Michelangelo’s Doni Tondo in its original frame, and, if you’ve still got energy, down to the lower floor for Caravaggio’s Medusa and Bacchus. Two hours covers the headliners; three lets you slow down.

On budget: the afternoon ticket introduced in January 2026 (entry from 4pm, €16 on site or €20 online) is a genuine saving and the galleries are quieter late, though you’ll have under three hours before they start clearing rooms. The free first Sunday is only worth it if you’ll queue from before opening — otherwise the crowds undo the saving. Our verdict: if you pay to go inside one museum in Florence, make it this one, and pair it with a climb up the Duomo or a walk to the Oltrarno rather than stacking it against the Accademia the same day.