Best Uffizi Gallery Guided Tours

It is by its own merits one of the most visited and important places in Florence. And if you are also an art lover, the Uffizi Gallery is a must-see. The best way to see this impressive art gallery is on a guided tour.

The best option

Florence Uffizi Gallery Guided Visit

Book your guided tour to the Uffizi Gallery

Book your guided tour to the Uffizi Gallery y descubre toda la historia y secretos de sus obras sin colas y con un guía especializado.

From £47 at Hellotickets

The Uffizi Gallery, in Italian: Galleria degli Uffizi, is one of the best museums in the city of Florence as it houses one of the most important art collections in Italy and, therefore, in the world. Specifically, it houses paintings made between the 13th and 18th centuries by great artists such as Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian.

On a guided tour, an art expert will show you the most important works and, of course, put each and every one of them in context so that you leave with the feeling of knowing a little more about Italian art and culture.

The price of a guided tour depends on the type of tour and the season you choose. The standard prices for a guided tour of the Uffizi Gallery are:

• In the winter season (from 1 November to 28 February): From 64,00 euros.
• In summer season (From 1 March to 31 October). From 72,00 euros.
• Children from 6 to 17 years old: From 52,00 euros.
• Children from 0 to 6 years old: Free.

We can always buy tickets in advance online to get better deals. In this link I leave you all the information to get your tickets for the Uffizi Gallery.

The standard guided tour of the Uffizi Gallery lasts between two and two and a half hours. This is more than enough time to get to know the museum and see all its rooms. However, after the visit we have time to return to see some of the works on our own. I recommend that you find out about the layout of the museum beforehand to improve your visit.

Private guided tours are usually longer and last about three hours. In this case, as the group is smaller, the guides go into more depth on the questions you may ask them.

The simple answer is a resounding yes. There are three main points that make a guided tour a better option than a visit on your own:

• Include a professional and accredited guide: Whenever you visit a museum with a professional guide the experience is more enriching. But in the case of museums in Florence even more so. All Florentine museum guides need a special permit from the city to ensure maximum professionalism and knowledge. This is characteristic of one of the cities with the greatest artistic heritage in the world.
• Adaptation to all languages: Guided tours are available in English, but if you are unable to take one there is no problem. All guided tours include headphones with translator function and audio guide for a wide range of languages.
• Fixed timetable and no queues: By booking a guided tour you are guaranteed to enter at a fixed time and without queuing. If you visit the museum on your own, queues are almost obligatory.

There are three options for guided tours of the Uffizi Gallery: standard guided tour, private guided tour and guided tour with city centre tour:

Standard guided tour:

The most common option is to book a standard guided tour. It includes a professional guide, audio guides and admission without queuing. This type of visit is for groups of up to 20 people and has a fixed timetable. They usually take place on Fridays and Saturdays at 3.30pm and last 2.5 hours.

• Duration: 2 hours and a half.
• Timetable: Fridays and Saturdays at 15:30. You must be at gate 3 15 minutes beforehand.
• Price: From 64 euros in winter and 72 euros in summer. Children from 6 to 17 years old from 52 euros. Children under 6 years free.

Private tour:

This option is for those who want a guide exclusively for them or for a small group. The advantage is that it has no time and day restrictions, as you choose it, and it also includes the entrance without queues, the guide and audio guides on request. All this has an extra cost as the fixed rate is 215 euros for the guide service and a surcharge of 24 euros per person in winter and 32 euros in summer. You can calculate the price at this link.

• Duration: about 3 hours.
• Timetable: To be agreed every day except Mondays and from 9:00 to 15:00.
• Price: 215 euros basic + 24,00 euros (from November to February) or 32,00 euros (from March to October) per person. For children from 6 to 17 years old the extra is 14.00 € from November to February or 18.00 € from March to October.

Guided tour of the Uffizi Gallery + walk through the historic centre of the city:

There is also the possibility to combine the guided tour of the museum with a guided walk through the historic centre of Florence. The tour includes a walk around the Duomo, Palazzo Davanzati, Palazzo Vecchio, Ponte Vecchio, and some of the squares and monuments with an explanation of the life and history of the city by an accredited guide. It also includes the visit to the Gallery with the same services as a normal guided tour.

• Duration: about 3 hours and a half.
• Timetable: Friday and Saturday at 14:00. Be there at 13:30 in front of the Hard Rock Café in via Brunelleschi 1.
• Price: From November to February: From 85,00 euros. From March to October: From 93,00 euros. Children from 6 to 18 years old: 52,00 euros. Children under 6 years free.

There are no special tours for children, but the normal guided tours are perfectly suitable for children. The professional guides will adapt the explanations without any problems if there are children in the groups.

Admission is open to all ages and is free of charge for children up to 6 years of age. From 6 to 18 years old, the guided tour starts at 52 euros. All in all it is a good option to bring art closer to the little ones if you visit Florence with children.

The Uffizi Gallery has a collection of more than 1,500 works of art spread over 45 rooms and arranged in chronological order of style. Of these, the most outstanding works in the Uffizi Gallery, which deserve special attention during guided tours, are the following:

• Giotto's Madonna di Ognissanti: This large altarpiece dates from 1310 and the technique and representation used by Giotto for this work was a great revolution for the time. It depicts the Virgin and Child in a representation that broke with Byzantine standards.
• The Battle of San Romano by Paolo Uccello: This painting forms part of a triptych, specifically in its central part, parts of which are divided between the Uffizi Gallery, the National Gallery in London and the Louvre in Paris. Its representation of perspective is what made this work and its author famous.
• The Dukes of Urbino by Piero della Francesca: Portraits the spouses Federigo da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza in a diptych. It is one of the most famous works of the Italian Renaissance.
• The Birth of Venus by Botticelli: Possibly the most famous work in the Uffizi Gallery. Botticelli painted it between 1482 and 1485 and portrays the goddess Venus naked on a shell representing the birth of love and beauty represented in the figure of Venus.
• Botticelli's Spring: In the same room as the Venus, as it is a room dedicated exclusively to Botticelli's works, is the painting known as the Spring. It was commissioned by the Medici family and is a work of extreme beauty and mythological significance.
• The Annunciation by Leonardo da Vinci: This painting is another example of the impeccable technique of the Italian master Leonardo da Vinci. So much so that the painting has been the subject of much study and research. It stands out above all for its great amount of detail.

These are the main works to see in the Uffizi Gallery, but there are many others by such important artists as Titian, Raphael and Michelangelo. It is considered one of the most important museums in the world for a reason.

As the guided tours have a closed timetable there is not a wide range to choose from. Guided tours take place on Fridays and Saturdays at 15:30. In this case it is better to do it on Fridays, as there is less demand, but the difference is minimal.

If you book a private visit, you will be able to choose a timetable. Here it is best to make a visit early in the week, between Tuesday and Thursday, as there are fewer visitors.

As for the time of year, it is always better to visit the museum during the winter season, which runs from 1 November to 28 February. Prices are lower and the number of visitors is less.

To make the most of a guided tour of the Uffizi Gallery, here are a few tips you may find useful:

• The best way to book a guided tour is online and as far in advance as possible, as the opening hours are closed and only offered on Fridays and Saturdays.
• The museum has two seasons. Winter, from November to February, and summer, from March to October. Visiting the Gallery in winter will always be cheaper and the crowds are usually smaller.
• The museum has a cloakroom service for backpacks and large items. It is compulsory to leave your belongings here if they are too bulky.
• It is not allowed to take photos of the works of art due to copyright issues.
• Bring your own headphones if you hire an audio guide as, although you are given one, the ones you are offered are disposable and of poor quality.
• If you book a guided tour, always be at the meeting point indicated at least 15 minutes beforehand.