Florence Pitti Palace Tickets and Visits

Among the best things to do in Florence during a short holiday is the Pitti Palace. Although initially built in the 15th century by Florentine banker Luca Pitti, the palace was later acquired by the important Medici family.

The Medici were a highly influential family of bankers during the Renaissance, responsible for sponsoring the works of various Italian masters and artists whose work can be enjoyed inside the palace today.

Recommended if... you are on holiday in Florence and want to get to know in depth one of the jewels of Renaissance architecture.

When organising a visit to the Pitti Palace in Florence, you should bear in mind that tickets to the monument are divided into categories. Below are the approximate prices so that you can budget your trip.

• A ticket to tour the Pitti Palace and its interior museums costs approximately €16.
• A ticket to tour the Boboli Gardens costs approximately €10.
• A combined ticket for the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens costs approximately €22.
• A combined ticket for the Pitti Palace, Boboli Gardens and Uffizi Gallery entrance costs approximately €38. This special ticket is valid for 5 days after the first use.

These prices correspond to the peak tourist season for the Tuscany region. If you go to Florence in March, October or any date in between, you may find higher rates than the rest of the year.

When looking for tickets to this iconic Florentine palace, it's also worth purchasing tickets to the Accademia Gallery as a way to complement your experience of Florence's best exhibition spaces.

The Pitti Palace has a ticket service at the ticket office. Entering from Piazza de' Pitti, the ticket office is on the right hand side. Prices are in the same range as the virtual ticket office, but the purchase process is much slower.

Ranked as one of the best museums in Florence, the best way to purchase your tickets to the Pitti Palace is online, days before your arrival. By booking your tickets online, you can avoid the long queues that are typical during peak tourist seasons, such as August in Florence.

Also, if your trip is short and you only have, for example, 3 days to visit Florence or less, you won't want to wait for long hours.

Yes, tickets to the Pitti Palace and also to the beautiful Boboli Gardens are included in a very popular tourist pass known as the Florence Pass Card.

Priced at over €85 per person and only valid for three days, the card is only recommended if you're staying in Florence for 5 days or more. This way you'll be able to see all the museums, but also enjoy the other charms of the city.

If your itinerary takes you to Florence for several days, you can make the most of this tourist pass. It covers entry to 70 attractions and museums in Florence, including the Pitti Palace, the Uffizi Gallery, tickets to the Dome of the Duomo and many more.

Please note that for both the Duomo of Florence Cathedral and the Pitti Palace museums you will need to book your visit in advance to ensure availability.

Yes, the Pitti Palace has special tickets for children and minors in general. Children under 18 years of age of any nationality enter the museum free of charge at any time of the year. The only requirement is to present a passport or ID card proving their age.

Children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult to enter the museum.

In my opinion, visiting the Pitti Palace is one of the best things to do with children in Florence, as it is an excellent opportunity to awaken their interest in art and history or simply in the fascinating Italian Renaissance period.

Guided tours of the Pitti Palace are extremely popular and totally worthwhile. As with guided tours of the Uffizi Gallery or other monuments, along with the entrance fee you will receive personal attention and an expert guide who leads the group through the elements or places of greatest interest.

Although often overshadowed by other important monuments, the Pitti Palace is still one of the largest museums in Italy, which makes the accompaniment of an expert guide invaluable.

Depending on the company you hire for your tour, these may include skip-the-line entry to the Pitti Palace, a tour of the majestic Palatine Gallery and a tour through the beautiful Boboli Gardens.

Finally, guided tours include in the experience some free time in which you can explore the site on your own or simply sit back and admire the beauty of the place.

Useful information.

• Duration: Pitti Palace tours take approximately 2 hours to complete. If a visit to the gardens is also included, it is necessary to reserve 3 hours for the experience.
• Number of participants: For group tours the number of participants varies depending on the company. Expect a minimum of 8 people and a maximum of 15.

Florence is a city with excellent public transport and this, coupled with the palace's geographical location, makes getting to this destination quite easy. Here are the most popular options.

Getting to the Pitti Palace by bus.

The bus is the best public transport system to reach this popular attraction. The nearest stops, Bardi and Pitti, are only a 6-minute walk away.

Several bus lines stop in the vicinity of the palace including line 11, line 370-A, line C3 and line C4.

Getting to the Pitti Palace by tramway

The closest tram stop to the Pitti Palace is Firenze Santa Maria Novella which is a 20-minute walk away. You can reach this area of the city by taking the R line of the Florence tramway.

Getting to the Pitti Palace by car

The Pitti Palace is located on Piazza de Pitti street, south of Ponte Vecchio. Keep in mind that the old district of Florence is rather small, so to get to know the city better I recommend walking between the different attractions.

If you go to the attraction by car you should keep in mind that there are no visitor car parks at the palace. However, you can use some of the nearby car parks, such as the Garage Fosi or the Garage Lungarno.

The Pitti Palace is currently divided into four major museums. However, in former times the rooms that make up the space were divided into 140 rooms of impressive luxury for the time.

On a visit to the Pitti Palace you will be able to enjoy the following permanent exhibition spaces.

The Palatine Gallery and the Royal Apartments

Located on the first floor, the Palatina Gallery is arguably the most famous exhibition space of the entire complex.

Even today it retains the typical layout of a private collection of a Renaissance palace: a sumptuous combination of luxurious interior decoration and richly preserved original frames.

Like the paintings in the Uffizi Gallery, this space houses an impressive collection of masterpieces where it is possible to enjoy original works by famous artists such as Raphael, Titian and Rubens.

You can also enjoy theRoyal and Imperial Apartments, 14 large rooms located on the south side of the palace and overlooking the main façade. The decoration is spectacular combining different historical periods.

You will find rooms such as: The Queen's Bedroom and Drawing Room, The Oval Drawing Room, The Round Room, The King's Study and Red Room and many more.

The Grand Dukes' Treasury

This space was once known as the Silver Museum. Located on the ground floor of the Pitti Palace, it comprises the spaces that were once the summer flats of the Medici family.

On your tour of the different rooms you will find impressive frescoes narrating historical events important to the family, such as the wedding between Duke Ferdinand II and Victoria della Rovere in 1637.

Here you will also find the family treasury, made up of numerous curious objects, semi-precious stones and rock crystals, amber and ivory. You will also find an impressive collection of silverware from the Salzburg Treasury.

The Gallery of Modern Art

Located on the first floor, the Gallery of Modern Art is housed in the rooms once inhabited by the Habsburg-Lorraine family. From here you get some of the best views of the Boboli Gardens as a whole.

As for the art collection, you can enjoy a wide variety of paintings and sculptures ranging from the late 17th century to the first decades of the 20th century. The best part is that the collection continues to expand year after year as a result of donations.

Some of the works on display here include Una Pastura by Serafino De Tivoli; La mattina del 27 aprile 1859 by Enrico Alessandro Fanfani; or L 'entrata di Carlo VIII a Firenze by Giuseppe Bezzuoli.

Costume and Fashion Museum

Formerly known as "The Costume Gallery", this space is located on the second level, in the south wing of the Palace, and houses a large collection of period costumes.

History or fashion lovers in general will love to see the impressive details with which the costumes were constructed.

The collection is truly comprehensive ranging from formal suits for men; ladies' day dresses, French-made evening dresses and even funerary clothes.

The Boboli Gardens

Located just behind the Pitti Palace, the Boboli Gardens have a formal design and are often referred to as an open-air museum.

Along the way you will find a landscape populated with statues and fountains in Renaissance style interspersed with plants and trees.

Highlights include the Fountain of Neptune and the Isolotto, a small oval-shaped island in a pond surrounded by trees and statues.

If you visit the Pitti Palace on your own, I recommend you set aside about 2 hours and 30 minutes to look for and appreciate the best works. For its part, the Boboli Gardens are really extensive, so at least another2 hours of your time is necessary to visit it.

If you go there on an organised tour, you don't have to worry, as the guide in charge of the tour organises a detailed visit plan that allows you to go through the facilities in the shortest time possible without missing any important work or detail.

I recommend planning your visit to the Pitti Palace in advance, especially on short trips to Florence or Tuscany. On the day booked, try to arrive at the site at opening time and devote most of your time and energy to touring the facilities.

The official opening hours of the Pitti Palace are from Tuesday to Sunday from 08:15 hours to 18:30 hours. On Mondays the attraction is closed, so please try not to arrange visits on this day of the week.

The last official entrance is at 17:30h, so that visitors have time to tour the facilities before closing. The attraction is open all year round except 1 January and 25 December. Remember them if you are goingto Florence for Christmas.

If you are planning your visit to the Pitti Palace, keep in mind the following important tips.

Autumn is the best time.

Autumn is the best time to visit the Tuscany region and the many museums in its capital city. If you go to Florence in September or if you go in October, you will be able to enjoy the place with less tourists, but also with spectacular weather.

Buy the full pass.

Pitti Palace tickets are usually divided into palace tickets and garden tickets. Although you may be tempted to just buy the palace pass and save time, I personally don't recommend it.

Touring the Boboli Gardens is an important part of the experience that should not be ignored.

If you go in summer or spring, book in advance.

Both spring and summer attract a large influx of tourists in Italy's major cities. If your trip is planned for these dates, early booking is the smartest option.

Between the months of May and October you will enjoy spectacular weather but also long queues to get in.

The Pitti Palace is located in Florence's Old Town, also known as District 1, on the south side of the Arno River.

Since it is one of the most beautiful areas of the city, I recommend taking time out of your itinerary to wander its streets and enjoy its many traditional restaurants. Here are a few quality recommendations located near the Palace.

• Osteria Santo Spirito: Located a 4-minute walk from the Palace, this place offers traditional Italian food in a rustic atmosphere and excellent views of a historic square.
• Gustapizza: Located 2 minutes walk from the Palace, the house speciality is wood-fired pizza. Famous for its soft pasta.
• Tameró: Tameró is only a 3 minute walk from the Palace. You'll find a beautiful rooftop seating area and a menu specialising in Italian pasta handmade from scratch.